On 12th March, two night time walks took place at Kirkconnel Flow near Dumfries, and attendees might never be able to look at the natural world in the same way again…
Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands – in partnership with the SCAMP initiative – hosted David Atthowe from Reveal Nature at Kirkconnel Flow National Nature Reserve, near Dumfries. The events were titled ‘Bioflourescence Walks’, with very little explanatory information, so it was very surprising that both events were fully booked so quickly.
Reveal Nature defines Bioflourescence as “the absorption of light at one wavelength followed by its reemission at a lower energy and longer wavelength by a living organism. It is usually a response to Ultraviolet (UV) light and comes in an assortment of bright and wonderful colours.
Biofluorescence changes the colours of any landscape, green leaves suddenly become a vivid red colour, spiders bright blue, lichen an intense orange and a whole hidden world of bright colours suddenly becomes visible. Biofluorescence occurs in a variety of organisms including insects, plants, lichen, fungi, fish, coral, amphibians, birds and mammals.“
Each attendee was given their own UV torch and the group stepped out into Kirkconnel Flow. Before even leaving the car park, the impact of the Bioflourescence meant half the group were on their hands and knees, investigating the blues of grasses, the reds of choryphyll and the dazzlingly bright white of the normally low-key potworms (also called Enchytraeids).
We covered barely more than a mile throughout the hour and a half walks. At times with excited chatter, and others in silence. The content combined with the most perfectly still moonlit night to make these feel like slightly special events….
One of the attendees on the 9pm session was local photographer Mike Bolam, who has kindly provided these photos taken on the walk…
Many thanks to the local NatureScot team for hosting us, and to Mike Bolam for the photographs.
We are starting to advertise events like this first to DGW members. If you would like to become a member, find out more on our website.