Loch Leven Matters
What is Loch Leven Matters?
Loch Leven Matters is a new initiative to build partnerships between scientists and researchers, and members of the public and stakeholders to improve the future quality of Loch Leven. Loch Leven plays an important role in many people's lives around the catchment area. This may include, but is not limited to, members of the public, schools, local councillors, community councils, farmers, landowners, wild swimmers and recreational water sports users, walkers, cyclists, anglers, birdwatchers, dog walkers, conservation societies, artists and storytelling groups.
We are inviting anyone who interacts with, or is affected by, Loch Leven, to join us during our three-day public engagement event — taking place from Tuesday 11th June 2025 to Friday the 13th of June 2025. We are planning to hold a public conversation to co-develop a shared understanding of the causes and effects of water quality problems in the loch, explore possible solutions to those problems and agree the research required to evaluate their effectiveness.
What's the issue?
Scotland's lochs deliver important ecosystem services to people and nature. These include flood protection, water supply, food security, recreation, and improved health and wellbeing. If high levels of nutrients our enter our lochs, this affects the natural balance of the system resulting in harmful algal blooms. These blooms, which are often seen as green or brown scums floating on the surface of the water, can kill aquatic life and produce harmful toxins that affect the health of people and animals.
The link between algal blooms and nutrients was first recognised at Loch Leven in the mid 1980s. By the mid 1990s, restoration measures had reduced nutrient inputs to the loch by about 50 per cent and, by the mid 2000s, the loch had returned to good water quality. However, in recent years, the loch has experienced a resurgence in algal blooms; our monitoring suggests that this change is probably being caused by climate change.
To help us understand why this has happened, and to explore how the effects of climate change can be mitigated, we would like your views and opinions to help us co-develop research questions and management options that could improve the water quality of the loch.
Why do we need your help?
As scientists, we can propose theoretical solutions to water quality issues. However, we often lack insight into how Loch Leven's water quality directly affects the daily lives of local communities. We believe that fostering open communication between all who use and cherish Loch Leven is essential. By engaging with local residents, recreational users, and other stakeholders, we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of how people interact with the loch and their visions for its future. With the recurrence of algal blooms, it is more important than ever to listen to diverse perspectives. Collaboratively, we can develop research strategies that not only improve water quality but also reflect the needs and values of the community.
The meeting in June will bring together people who regularly use Loch Leven to help build a shared understanding of the causes and effects of water quality issues. Experience over recent years has shown that the most effective solutions come from taking a holistic approach — one that involves all relevant groups. That's why we want to collaborate directly with those who know the loch best to explore possible ways to address existing problems and agree on the research needed to test these solutions.
What's the plan?
We have two 'Community Conversation' evenings that are open to anyone who uses Loch Leven, or who cares about the loch in general, to come along and tell us what they believe the issues around Loch Leven to be and see if we can work together to find solutions to these issues, including algal blooms that are currently on the rise again in the loch. These will be held on Tuesday 11th June at the Green Hotel, and Wednesday 12th June at the Grouse and Claret restaurant. The second night is a repeat event to allow more flexibility for attendees. Both events will run in the evening from 6 pm until 8:30 pm and just to entice people a bit more – there will be free food and drinks up for grabs to all attendees!
| Date | Time | Event | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11th June | 18:30 – 20:30 | Community Conversation | Green Hotel, 2 The Muirs, KY13 8AS |
| 12th June | 18:30 – 20:30 | Community Conversation | Grouse & Claret Restaurant, Hetheryford, KY13 0NQ |
| 13th June | 18:00 – 20:00 | Science Activities Evening | Loch Leven's Larder, Channel Farm, KY13 9HD |
Following the Community Conversation evenings, we will also be running a Science Activities evening, in partnership with the Forth Rivers Trust, at Loch Leven's Larder on Friday the 13th of June from 6 pm – 8 pm. This will be aimed at the younger generations (but adults very welcome) and again, there will be free food and drinks available (always a bonus). We plan to show attendees how to use our Bloomin' Algae app, demonstrate electrofishing where attendees will hopefully see some fish in the loch, and then we'll show everyone some kick sampling techniques and the creepy crawlies you can find in there and what they mean for the health of the loch.
How to sign up?
There are two ways you can sign up — simply scan the QR code in our poster below, or follow the link to the Ticket Tailor event page where you can select which event you'd like to attend. These events are open to EVERYONE and poses a rare opportunity to hear how others use the loch and what issues are important to them. For the citizen science evening, we encourage parents and schools for their kids to attend as it's an open opportunity for some free ecological science sampling and an information session. Remember, there is free food, free science, and lots of fun. Well behaved dogs are welcome outdoors at the citizen science evenings but must be kept on a lead at all times.
