NatureScot's Gaelic Language Plan monitoring report 2022 - 2023

How many written communications have the organisation received from the public in Gaelic this year?

2 information requests

How many posts did the organisation distribute on social media in Gaelic this year?

65 tweets, with the content mirrored on Facebook

How many press releases did the organisation publish in Gaelic this year?

7 (plus 1 translation undertaken for Bumblebee Conservation Trust on behalf of the Species on the Edge partnership)

• 16/08/22: NatureScot builds on success with its latest Gaelic Plan
• 14/10/22: Scottish secondary pupils showcase new Gaelic songs
• 21/12/22: NatureScot celebrates winter and solstice in Gaelic
• 17/05/23: Rare beetle found at Species on the Edge programme launch event in the Outer Hebrides
• 30/05/23: Pioneering £22m fund leaves lasting legacy for Highlands and Islands tourism
• 03/06/23: New conservation programme tackling the decline of vulnerable coastal species
• 22/06/23: 3D-printed birds welcome migrating terns to Scottish breeding site

How many staff received Gaelic skills training this year?

We did not run training during this time.

How many posts do you currently have where Gaelic is an essential skill?

1 post (0.6 FTE) – Gaelic Officer

How many staff currently within the organisation have Gaelic skills?

Staff survey in May 2023: 43 employees have Gaelic skills. Related to understanding:

• 81% basic level
• 11% intermediate
• 3% advanced
• 5% fluent

How many organisational publications have been published bilingually (Gaelic and English) this year?

• December 2022: Peatland ACTION calendar for 2023
• April 2023: 2022/23 Annual Report
• April 2023: bilingual foreword in 2023 Equality Report
• June 2023: updated Corporate Plan

How many new bilingual signs has the organisation erected this year?

Temporary signage in offices: 9

Fixed signage in offices: 0 (We do not replace fixed signage often. Since the Gaelic Officer has not dealt with any other translation requests for such signage during this time, we infer that no additional fixed signage was erected. Figures relating to NNR signage are dealt with separately below.)

How is the organisation increasing the use of Gaelic?

Make Space For Nature campaign

As part of our ongoing Make Space For Nature campaign, our seasonal tips for reversing nature loss are bilingual - spring, summer, autumn, winter.

Scottish Outdoor Access Code

In April 2023 we published three campaign posters in Gaelic

• enjoying the outdoors
• dog owners
• camping

Our summer 2023 wildlife disturbance webpage is bilingual.

Species on the Edge partnership

Species on the Edge is a new partnership programme led by NatureScot, with seven nature conservation charities dedicated to improving the fortunes of 37 priority species found along Scotland's coast and islands. The project’s logo is bilingual and we have issued news releases and social media content bilingually, along with providing a BBC Alba interview in April 2023 about a project workshop in Uist.

National Nature Reserves – leaflets

During this reporting period, we have updated and reprinted the following NNR leaflets and they continue to be available bilingually:

• Taynish reserve
• Taynish trails
• Beinn Eighe
• Creag Meagaidh

All other bilingual NNR leaflets remain unchanged.

National Nature Reserves – interpretation

We have installed new interpretation panels at the following reserves:

• February 2023: Glasdrum Wood panels have bilingual titles and include Gaelic ‘awareness’ elements (such as a Gaelic verse on trees and their habitat (“seileach nan alt, caltainn nan creag...”), names for horse mussels and butterflies, and coppicing facts.
• March 2023: Knockan Crag panels are fully bilingual.

Peatland ACTION – interpretation

In March 2023 we produced three sets of bilingual interpretation for use at various events, such as the 2023 Royal Highland Show. Each set includes five panels – ‘how do you start restoring a peatland?’; ‘how Peatland ACTION can help’;  and ‘peatland – Scotland’s hidden treasure’. We also produced a bilingual ‘Are you a peatland protector?’ quiz panel.

Scone Game Fayre stall

Bilingual titles on wildlife management panels in July 2022 (panels consist of titles and images only).

Blogs

We published 15 Gaelic-themed bilingual blogs on our Scotland’s Nature blog, along with 6 NCHF bilingual project blogs and 1 green infrastructure blog.

Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund (NCHF)

An event to celebrate the success of the NCHF was held at our Great Glen House headquarters in Inverness on 30th May 2023. Gaelic was used throughout:

• Bilingual event invite
• Invite to Gaelic stakeholders
• Presentation from Brian Ó hEadhra (BnG)
• Gaelic pop-up banner
• 14 bilingual display panels (1 per project).   
• Interview with NatureScot’s Gaelic Officer as part of Make Space For Nature podcast that was recorded at the event.

Interviews for BBC Radio nan Gàidheal and An Là

9 Gaelic interviews recorded by our Gaelic Officer during this reporting period.

Multi-agency networks

We have continued to actively participate in the Gaelic Officers’ Network and Scottish Government’s Faster Rate of Progress group.

Central voicemail

As part of our new central telephony system, since November 2022 all voicemail greetings are bilingual (changing as needed for public holidays and other office closures).

How is the organisation increasing the learning of Gaelic?

Caithream na Cruinne

This partnership project with Fèis Rois began in late 2020 as a song-writing competition. Seven GME secondary pupils wrote new Gaelic songs connected to Scotland’s nature and landscapes, under the mentorshop of Mary Ann Kennedy and Ewen Henderson.

As part of the October 2022 Perth Royal National Mòd fringe NatureScot arranged a lunchtime concert that saw the young people bring their new music to the stage for the first time. The concert coincided with the launch of the music in an online songbook.  Further info in October 2022 press release.

Teanga na Tìre

This is an ongoing partnership project with HES, supported by BnG funding, to explore the extent to which Gaelic placenames shape our understanding of an area’s natural and cultural heritage. Our project focuses on the impact of climate change, biodiversity, land use, resource extraction and industry on communities’ sense of place in Scotland today.

During this reporting period, four researchers completed studies on Wester Ross, Glenmoriston, Luing and Fife place-names, and we began work on digital StoryMaps for each area.

Further detail, along with plans for community outreach events (outwith period of this report), are covering in a report submitted to BnG in October 2023.

‘In Our Nature’ animations

We produced a seven-part animation series exploring the literal translation of Gaelic names for summer plant and flower species (such as lus nam ban-sìth, bròg na cuthaige, ròs an t-solais).

Each short video features bespoke design work and audio, and were shared externally on our social media channels and internally via Yammer.

World Congress of Soil Science

In July 2022 we provided delegates to the World Congress of Soil Science with a short lexicon of Gaelic place-name elements.

Materials

Gaelic posters and booklets supplied to Fèisean nan Gàidheal for distribution at fèisean and other events, and continued distribution of place-name publications in partnership with AÀA.

How is the organisation promoting a positive image of Gaelic?

Forgotten Woodlands

Arising from a recommendation made in our 2021 ecosystem services and Gaelic scoping exercise, this is an ongoing partnership project with FLS and Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba, with funding from Edinburgh University and Future Woodland Scotland.

After NatureScot funded a feasibility study in summer 2022, the project sets out to

• explore Gaelic toponyms in areas of non-wooded land in Scotland where place-names suggest there were once woodlands or a collection of trees but are currently open ground with no maps/records of previous land-use beyond linguistic clues
• create a dataset that can be used alongside other land-use data to help identify potential key areas for ‘new’ woodland creation.

These data may help to identify historically, culturally and once-ecologically appropriate sites for tree planting or regeneration - for carbon capture, biodiversity and wider ecosystem service enhancement. This dataset may help policy-makers and land-managers prioritise suitable areas for woodland creation incentives and support.

In May 2023 we held a workshop with specialists from NatureScot, FLS, Trees For Life, Woodland Trust and BnG to discuss and refine ecologically appropriate search terms.

The project runs until May 2024.

‘Hidden’ Nature Networks

As part of our commitments to Nature Networks, in March 2023 we commissioned Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba to undertake a case study that explored the extent to which Gaelic toponymical data can contribute to identifying potential nature-rich sites within an urban landscape.

Edinburgh was chosen as the research area owing to the good availability of existing research into the city’s toponyms and the extensive Edinburgh Nature Network mapping that has already been carried out to identify opportunities for nature-based solutions and environmental enhancements.

The case study will be published as part of a handbook that will support and enable those on the ground to implement local nature networks.

Bho Bheul an Eòin

We continued to promote this unique collaboration, with public exhibitions in:

• Grinnebhat (Lewis) from 7 May – 2 July 2022
• Dunfermline Library and Gallery from 14 July 2022 - 13 October 2022
• Pittenweem Arts Festival from 4 – 12 August 2022
• Scottish Poetry Library in Edinburgh from 15 October until the end of December 2022.

Along with these exhibitions, the project artist, Derek Robertson, delivered a talk in Grinnebhat on 2 July as part of the Western Isle Wildlife Festival and a talk in Dunfermline on 16th July. On the 8th December, NatureScot and BnG CEOs met for a joint visit to the Poetry Library exhibition.

Full project report provided to BnG on 3 August 2022.

Fèis Rois Cèilidh Trail

We funded six Fèis Rois Cèilidh Trail performances at Loch Fleet, Knockan Crag, Forsinard, Cairnsmore of Fleet, Beinn Eighe and Falls of Clyde NNRs during summer 2022. The artists used Gaelic in their audience interaction and the performances promoted a greater understanding of our natural and cultural heritage links.

World Gaelic Week 2023

12 social media posts celebrating the close connections between the language and nature. We also did a Gaelic ‘takeover’ of our CEO’s weekly blog for staff and published three external blogs.

Internal comms – Yammer

As an organisation, we have had a Gaelic community on the platform since September 2022. We shared 39 posts, and as of 19th June 2023 had 38 members in the community (though content can be viewed by all staff). We use the community to share a wide variety of content, from blogs and project updates, to language learning resources and news stories.

Gaelic Tourism Strategy

We remain involved in the strategy group.

Has your public authority identified any particular issues relating to equality of opportunity with regard to the development of Gaelic language?

We have no evidence of such issues.

Are there any equalities policies, procedures or measures that have been implemented by your public authority, or are in the process of being implemented, that are relevant to advancing the equality of opportunity in the development of Gaelic language? Can you tell us about them?

The following appears on all of our job adverts: ‘Although Gaelic Language is not a pre-requisite for this post, as part of our commitment to our Gaelic Language Plan, Gaelic Language is a desirable skill for all posts within NatureScot’.

Equal Respect: Gaelic language plan commitments delivered to an equal standard in both Gaelic and English.

We demonstrate equal respect to both languages when delivering GLP commitments.

Active Offer: Practical measures to ensure that staff and public are kept regularly informed of all opportunities that exist to use Gaelic in relation to the work of the public authority.

Website: A link to our Gaelic webpage can be found on our homepage (under ‘quick links’) and it appears on every subsequent page that users visit. We also have a statement on our contact us and customer care pages. 

Social media: As listed above we regularly post in Gaelic on these channels.

Internal communications: We use our intranet and Yammer to promote opportunities.

Third Parties: Ensure that Arm’s Length Executive Organisations and other contractors help with the delivery of the public authority Gaelic language plan.

This happens to an extent with our facilities management contractor in Great Glen House (Inverness), but we recognise that more could be done to strengthen this with other contractors.

Normalisation: Gaelic plan commitments are normalised within the structures of the public authority over time, with opportunities to grow Gaelic within existing budgets constantly assessed.

Our GLP commitments are normalised throughout the organisation. NatureScot has an annual budget for its Gaelic Plan and associated projects.

Logo: Aim to render the corporate logo in both Gaelic and English at the first opportunity and as part of any renewal process. The logo should demonstrate equal prominence for both languages.

NatureScot’s logo is bilingual.

Signage: Prominent signage will include Gaelic and English as part of any renewal process.

We do not renew signage often, but are committed to using Gaelic.

Promotion: Positive message that communication from the public in Gaelic is always welcome.

We have information on our contact us webpage to say that we welcome communications in Gaelic.

Written communication: Written communication in Gaelic is always accepted (post, email and social media) and replies will be provided in Gaelic in accordance with the general policy.

This is correct. Supplied above is the data on written communication from the public during this reporting period, and we have a message on our website and customer care page.

Reception and phone: Where Gaelic speaking staff are capable of providing this service, they are supported to do so and the service is promoted to the public.

Currently our reception staff do not speak Gaelic. Gaelic is a desirable skill within all of our vacancies.

Public meetings: Opportunities to hold public meetings bilingually or in Gaelic are regularly explored and promoted.

We have not held bilingual public meetings during this reporting period.

News releases: High profile news releases and all news releases related to Gaelic are circulated in both Gaelic and English.

We had three news release specifically related to Gaelic (GLP launch, Caithream na Cruinne, and winter solstice compendium) and these were published bilingually. We also produced Gaelic versions of five other releases (listed above).

Social media: Gaelic content distributed regularly through social media, guided by the level of actual and potential users.

65 tweets, with the content mirrored on Facebook.

Website: Gaelic content should be available on the public authority’s website, with emphasis given to the pages with the highest potential reach.

16 bilingual webpages.

Corporate Publications: Produced in Gaelic and English, with priority given to those with the highest potential reach.

4 (plus the NNR leaflets that we refreshed during this period):

• Peatland ACTION calendar for 2023
• 2022/23 Annual Report
• bilingual foreword in 2023 Equality Report
• updated Corporate Plan

Language utility: A process is in place to ensure that the quality and accessibility of Gaelic language in all corporate information is high.

We have a contract with a professional Gaelic translator. Our Gaelic Officer proofreads all documents prior to publication.

Exhibitions: Opportunities to deliver public exhibitions bilingually or in Gaelic should be explored on a regular basis, with priority given to those with the highest potential impact.

Gaelic on our interpretation panels at our 2022 Scone Game Fair stall; bilingual Peatland ACTION panels at the Royal Highland Show 2022; and From The Bird’s Mouth exhibitions as listed above.

Internal audit: Conduct an internal audit of Gaelic skills and training needs through the life of each plan.

We ran an internal Gaelic skills audit with staff in May 2023. Results above.

Induction: Knowledge of the public authority’s Gaelic language plan included in new staff inductions.

This is in place.

Language training: Gaelic language skills training and development offered to staff, particularly in relation to implementing the public authority’s Gaelic language plan.

We did not run language training during this reporting period.

Awareness training: Gaelic awareness training offered, with priority given to senior staff, other key decision makers and staff dealing directly with the public.

We did not run Gaelic Awareness training during this reporting period.

Recruitment: Recognising and respecting Gaelic skills within the recruitment process throughout the authority.

Gaelic is a desirable skills for each of NatureScot’s job vacancies.

Recruitment: Gaelic named as an essential and / or desirable skill in job descriptions in order to deliver the Gaelic language plan and in accordance with the Bòrd na Gàidhlig recruitment advice.

Gaelic is a desirable skill for each of NatureScot’s job vacancies. Gaelic is an essential skill for our Gaelic Officer role.

Recruitment: Bilingual or Gaelic only job adverts for all posts where Gaelic is an essential skill.

This does happen, but did not occur during this reporting period as no Gaelic essential vacancies were advertised.

Gaelic Orthographic Conventions: The most recent Gaelic Orthographic Conventions will be followed in relation to all written materials produced by the public authority. 

We follow GOC in all aspects of our work in Gaelic.

Place names: Gaelic place name advice from Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba is sought and used.

We are members of AÀA and follow their advice on place-names. We also partner with AÀA on research projects. See above for further information on the projects.