Landscape Research Week, October 2006

Kilmaronock Millennium Hall, Gartocharn

As part of research on Protecting and Enhancing Landscapes and Rural Communities, funded by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department (SEERAD), computer models of landscapes were presented in the Virtual Landscape Theatre (VLT). These models included one of a broad overview of west central Scotland, and the Loch Lomond area, both of which were used to discuss forces for change in the landscape (e.g. pressures on farming, the management of woodlands, access and the opening-up of views of the loch).

The event was attended by members of the local community, land managers, pupils from two secondary schools, staff of the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority and members of the Park Board and local councillors.

The event was a venue for interviewing participants for the film 'Putting People in the Planning Picture', which describes the importance of public participation in planning to aid communications between parties, and highlights the role of virtual environments as a medium and forum for these types of engagement.

A follow-up to this event was a return visit to Gartocharn in the summer of 2007 as part of the development of the statutory Development Plan for The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, and for research into public reactions to selected scenarios of change in the landscape. This event focussed on public participation in the the planning process, and engaging younger people in particular.