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    Lesley Anderson

    Life on Birchwood Croft: tales of smallholding in the Scottish Highlands

    Lesley Anderson 10-Jan-2019

    Lesley Anderson learns about the ups and downs of life for crofters Beth and Tim Rose in the Scottish Highlands. Read more

    Living and working as a horse logger in Scotland

    Lesley Anderson 06-Nov-2018

    Steffi Schaffler lives and works in Scotland, running a horse logging business along with her partner Dave and 3 horses. Read more

    The case for feeding food waste to pigs

    Lesley Anderson 03-Jul-2018

    If we are going to use livestock to produce food, we need to work out how to do so sustainably. It has always been a source of frustration to me that so much food is wasted, yet we cannot legally use it to feed our livestock, leaving them munching away on food which could have… Continue reading The case for feeding food waste to pigs Read more

    The simplest DIY compost toilet

    Lesley Anderson 27-May-2018

    For several years I lived in a tent in woodland and I never really readjusted to this business of flushing poo away with clean drinking water. Besides, I have always liked to feel I am dealing with my own… stuff, both figuratively and literally. So when we moved into our current house a DIY compost… Continue reading The simplest DIY compost toilet Read more

    How to make a chicken coop from a repurposed plastic barrel

    Lesley Anderson 22-Apr-2018

    Wooden chicken houses can be a nightmare, especially when they are infested with red mite: hiding in every crack and crevice and tormenting your hens. Those recycled plastic chicken houses can be expensive though and even they have some design flaws! Read more

    Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster)

    Lesley Anderson 30-Nov-2017

    I prefer to keep my animals as naturally as possible to allow them to express their natural behaviour and reduce stress, so I have always kept a rooster with my hens. It is true that you do not need a cockerel or a rooster in your flock for your hens to lay eggs. So why… Continue reading Should you keep a rooster with your hens? (and how to deal with a problem rooster) Read more

    Using pigs for woodland conservation

    Lesley Anderson 02-Nov-2017

    At this year’s Scottish Smallholder Festival  I attended a fascinating talk by Jack Flusk and Katie Swift of Conservation Pigs about their pioneering use of pigs for woodland conservation work. With benefits to the pigs, the pig keeper and the woodland this is a practice which could become far more widespread. Read more

    How the study of animal behaviour (ethology) can help you keep livestock more ethically and sustainably

    Lesley Anderson 12-Sep-2017

    I want to talk about something which can help us design more ethical and sustainable ways of keeping our livestock. It is a subject that has always fascinated me and, if you keep animals, I think you will find it fascinating too. It is the is the study the behaviour of animals, particularly in their… Continue reading How the study of animal behaviour (ethology) can help you keep livestock more ethically and sustainably Read more

    Slug control with ducks!

    Lesley Anderson 22-Aug-2017

    “You don’t have a slug problem, you have a duck deficiency” – Bill Mollison Read more

    There’s a crash coming – a slap from Mother Nature. This isn’t pessimistic; it’s realistic.

    The human impact on nature and on each other is accelerating and needs systemic change to reverse.

    We’re not advocating poverty, or a hair-shirt existence. We advocate changes that will mean better lives for almost everyone.

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