Recycling in Scotland is more than taking the residue from the making of Scotch whisky and using it to feed the shaggy red Highland cattle. Re-use is more than castles and keeps open to the public as museums and goes beyond stately country houses reborn as hotels. Although a nonproductive piece of land is in danger of becoming a golf course in the country that invented the game and already has more than 470 places to play, it must also be considered for energy, water use, and waste disposal. No one questions the premise that one should support the Wildlife Trust any more than the fact that a properly made kilt should last you all your life.

For the traveler seeking an affordable vacation, Scotland has no peer. Getting there is a matter of watching for special and seasonal airfares (often with free stopovers in Iceland or London). Getting around is taking advantage of a network of railways and toll-free roads. The Freedom of Scotland Travelpass provides bargain travel by rail, bus and ferry; BritRail Flexipass and ScotRail Rovers provide cheap unlimited rail travel. Walking, hiking and cycling are friendly and healthful ways of coming and going. Places to stay run the gamut from rustic to regal, but with fair prices at every level.

Sportsmen find fishing and shooting unexcelled. Hikers can cross private property with impunity, cautioned only to look out for unfriendly bulls. Lovers of history can visit sites and restorations. Preservationists will delight at the care and authenticity that has gone into saving structures and parkland, also open to all. Naturalists will see both heather-covered hillsides and formal gardens ( the Great Garden of Pitmedden near Aberdeen is a masterpiece not only of precision planting but incorporates a wildlife garden and woodland nursery as well). Those looking for special events should note that scarcely a week goes by in Edinburgh without a festival.

Scotland is about the size of Maine, covers the top third of the British mainland and has 790 islands, 130 of them inhabited. The northern Highlands are mountainous with shrouded glens and sparkling silver lochs. The Lowlands contain all the industry and most of the population. The Uplands of the south are farm country. The weather can change as suddenly and dramatically as the vista. Although Scotland is barely 150 miles across, the annual rainfall in the east is 30 inches versus more than 200 in the west. The Gulf Stream modifies what might otherwise be a perpetual ice cover.

In the days before paved roads and modern transportation, families adapted to where they were which meant using the land and its resources to the fullest. Perhaps the famous tradition of Scottish thrift was forced upon them. Today it has translated into one of Europe's most environmentally aware countries.

Scotland was founded as a kingdom in 1034, and after centuries of fending off invasions, became united with England under a common king in 1603. It has not been an altogether happy marriage, and in 1997 the Scots voted to reestablish their own parliament and run their own affairs, thank you very much.

They had seized the reins of control over the natural attributes of their homeland before this. In 1992 the Scottish Office Minister for Tourism set up a Tourism and Environment Task Force with the objectives of increasing environmental awareness throughout the tourism industry, promote sensitive development, introduce mechanisms that anticipate and reduce the environmental impacts caused by users and providers of tourist facilities. Sustainable tourism is both goal and method. From the official statement: "A 'green approach' need not cost more, indeed it may save money. Caring for the landscape, wildlife and heritage of Scotland makes commercial sense, opens up new business opportunities and contributes to a positive environmental future."

Lest you think no one is watching the tourist, surveys have shown the flip side as well as the economic benefits. Traffic congestion, litter, erosion on footpaths, beaches and dunes, disturbances to plant, bird and animal life, come back to the human intruder. Through a Tourist Management Initiative (TMI) working within ten pilot locations throughout Scotland, community tourist development and economic benefits are being fused. Beaches, trailer parks and road routes are being examined and lessons learned put into guidelines. Those who abuse the privilege of touring will get more than a scolding by a passing Scotsman.

In Aberdeen, I picked up a copy of The Green Diary, an environmental newsletter for the northeast region, and found every day of the month marked by the meeting of support groups and environmental networks. For example, the National Trust for Scotland Ranger Service organizes a Guided Walks Program and a Young Naturalist's Club as well as watching over the heritage of lands and forests. BOOTS (Body of Oldmeldlrum Trampers & Stompers) will meet for a trip to Skye. Trees for Life has a volunteer work week in Glen Affric. The Diary's cover story concerns the plans of the new environmental manager of Tait Paper Products of Inverurie, makers of wood-free printing stock, to advance new uses as well as the reduction of waste paper and byproducts.

What appear to be random acts of eco-sensitivity are, in fact, carefully orchestrated and adhered to. Even a self-conducted tour along the "Malt Whisky Trail" of open-to-the-public distilleries becomes a series of footnotes concerning environmental action as well as an extolling of the product. Country house hotels as well as hostels admonish waste and wrap the soap in recycled paper. The parks, monuments and well-maintained historic properties seek to educate as well as please the visitor.

Touring handsome Crathes Castle (above) where a "horn of keys" given by Robert the Bruce in 1323 hangs proudly over the fireplace of the Great Hall, we hear tales of ghosts and romance. However, at the entrance to the garden is a sign of the present. We read: "Historic common yew hedges planted in 1702 are clipped once a year (takes 40 man days), clippings collected, dried and sent for processing to produce drugs used in treatment of cancer." For the eco-tourist it doesn't get much clearer than that.

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