Bruce Adamson has been named as the commissioner for children and young people in Scotland. Adamson, currently the legal officer at the Scottish Human Rights Commission, will replace Tam Baillie who has served the office for the maximum term of six years. A lawyer who originally hails from New Zealand, Adamson has over 20 years of experience working in children’s rights. In 2013 he was the United Nations representative for the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, representing institutions from over 100 countries to improve human rights in Scotland and across the world.

Prominent journalist, blogger and countryside ranger Ben Dolphin has been named as the new president of Ramblers Scotland, the representative body for Scottish walkers. In the role, he follows in the footsteps of the late conservationist Dick Balharry, award-winning broadcaster Cameron McNeish and most recently Dr Andrew Murray. Ben is a West Lothian Council ranger and he is well known in the Scottish outdoor scene for writing for the Walkhighlands website and Outdoor Enthusiast magazine, as well as for his blogs, photos and videos on his own Benvironment website.

The John Muir Trust has a new chief executive. Andrew Bachell takes over from Stuart Brooks, who left after eight years at the helm to take up a senior role at the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). For the past 15 years, Bachell has been director of operations and latterly director of policy and advice at Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). In total he has 35 years of experience working on environmental and conservation issues having previously worked for NTS as its director of countryside, and at the Woodland Trust as its director in Scotland.