This past weekend was the culmination of the Cairngorms Futurescape Wader-friendly Recipe Competition. We ran this in partnership with Kingussie Food on Film Festival (www.kingussiefoodonfilm.co.uk) with support from Scotland's Natural Larder (www.scotlandsnaturallarder.org).
Our declining breeding waders in Badenoch & Strathspey are the primary priority for the Farmed Floodplain Futurescape in the Cairngorms. Many of the farmers that Futurescapes is working with have also noted the decline with regret. There are a wide range of likely contributory factors to this decline, but a network of the right habitat is the foundation of sustaining the population, and the traditional low intensity farming in the area provides the essential breeding habitat for these species. We have to recognise though that the farmers are running businesses, and are therefore significantly affceted by market forces, but many are working actively with us looking for no cost and low cost management they can undertake to benefit the breeding waders. Futurescapes has been developing the awareness that taking waders into account when making farm management decisions need not be a negative for the business, but can actually be a positive selling point. This can also have positive effects on local butchers and meat processors, and so help sustain the local economy and rural communities.
At the Food on Film Festival the 300-odd attendees heard about Futurescapes and the link between breeding waders and local meat from the Cairngorms Futurescape Officer. The recipe was demonstrated on stage and the recipe cards, with information about Futurescapes on the reverse, were snapped up. Have a go at cooking the winning recipe below.