Badenoch and Strathspey's very own 'Ant Boy' featured on STV tribute
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The strath's Ant Boy – Xander Johnston, of Aviemore – is featured on the latest COP26 preview produce by STV's "Scotland Tonight" team.
He refers to the latest conservation project in the area, which the Strathy featured last week, where a major injection of new pine hoverfly larvae was released into the local forest to boost the numbers of the incredibly rare and hugely endangered species.
The timely release came in the build-up to next week's mega climate event, COP26 in Glasgow, where thousands of delegates will attempt to stitch together a deal to avoid climate catastrophe.
"Among them will be green-minded Scots doing their bit to preserve and improve the world around them," says the STV team.
"So who are these climate heroes on our doorsteps? STV current affairs show Scotland Tonight has been finding out."
Enter one of the very best.
"Xander Johnston, 15, moved to the Cairngorms six years ago with his family. After attending an event about ants, he got the bug and started learning more about the importance of insects to the environment.
"Scotland Tonight met him at the park, where the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and the RSPB-led Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms are releasing more than 3000 rare pine hoverfly larvae this month, in an attempt to bring the species back from the edge of extinction."
Xander explains: “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Being part of something like this is groundbreaking.
“Insects are the ones pollinating plants, so we get the food that we like to eat. They turn up the ground so the trees get the nutrients they need to give us oxygen.
“And, most importantly, they are a massive food source for many other species. The pine hoverfly is a step in the right direction to bring back one species – we have hundreds more to go.”
Once the student, Xander has now become the master and shares all his knowledge on his YouTube channel."
Strathy subscribers can see the short film here
