‘Project Wolf’ helps restore Highland woodland

Pictured (L-R): Volunteer wolf pack
Dora Clouttick, James Robertson and Matt McMullen
at Dundreggan Conservation Estate

Project Wolf – a unique new conservation programme in which volunteers replicate the natural disturbance effects of Scotland’s extinct predators – has been launched in the Highlands near Loch Ness by Trees for Life.

Project Wolf is being trialled at the charity’s acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire, lying to the west of Loch Ness. It involves volunteers operating in teams of three ‘wolves’, regularly walking through the ancient woodlands during the night and at dusk and dawn, creating disturbance that will keep deer on the move.

“Grazing pressure on young trees by too many deer,

Beaver reintroduction a golden opportunity for Scotland

European beaver feeding © Laurie Campbell

Allowing beavers to be reintroduced to Scotland would be a golden opportunity offering wide-ranging environmental, social and economic benefits, said award-winning conservation charity Trees for Life today.

With the Scottish Government due to decide on whether Eurasian beavers will be allowed to live freely in Scotland after an absence of some 500 years, Trees for Life is urging ministers to fully recognise the beaver as a resident, native species.

It is nine months since Scottish Natural Heritage reported to the Scottish Government on the Scottish Beaver Trial – a five-year trial reintroduction of

Scotland’s only entry in major international competition aims to address biodiversity loss and deforestation

Pine marten © Laurie Campbell

Scotland’s only entry in a leading international conservation competition could this week secure funding to address biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Highlands.

Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands initiative will receive more than £20,000 from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) if it wins an online public vote, which is open to anyone until Tuesday 22 March.

The project – competing against three other shortlisted finalists in the bi-annual competition’s ‘Alpine’ category – will involve ambitious habitat creation to support endangered and rare wildlife, the

Voting urged for ambitious Rewilding the Highlands project

 Glen Affric © Laurie Campbell

An ambitious Highlands project aiming to establish one of the UK’s most inspiring examples of rewilding – with habitat creation for rare and endangered wildlife such as golden eagles and Scottish wildcats, the planting of 50,000 trees and a substantial boost for wildlife tourism – is to be launched if conservation charity Trees for Life wins an online vote to secure a major European funding award.

The charity’s Rewilding the Highlands project has been shortlisted to receive more than £20,000 in the European Outdoor Conservation Association’s (EOCA’s) funding scheme, with the outcome to be determined by online voting that will take place over

Rewilding the Highlands and return of lynx in spotlight in Exeter and Plymouth

Eurasian lynx © Peter Cairns

Rewilding the Highlands – from restored forests to the return of predators such as the lynx – will be in the spotlight in Exeter and Plymouth today (14 January) and tomorrow at topical lectures featuring acclaimed writer George Monbiot and leading conservationist Alan Watson Featherstone, Founder of award-winning charity Trees for Life.

The sold-out events at the University of Exeter today and the University of Plymouth tomorrow will highlight the benefits of rewilding – the restoration of damaged natural ecosystems, and

Trees for Life project creates conservation opportunities for young people

Phil Duffield from Scottish Power Foundation (centre)
meets Trees for Life volunteers (left-right) Sam Manning,
 Grace Burger, Emily Warner and Rebecca Schmidt
 at Dundreggan Conservation Estate

Award-winning conservation charity Trees for Life is running a new project to develop high-quality conservation volunteering opportunities for young people, thanks to a grant of £20,000 from the ScottishPower Foundation.

Those benefitting from the initiative include students from Peterborough Open Awards Centre, Aberdeen University, Glasgow University and Leicestershire’s Brooksby Melton College.

“This generous grant from ScottishPower Foundation is excellent news for the Caledonian Forest and its rare species, and for dozens of young people who will be able to study and carry out practical hands-on conservation work – including the establishment of native woodlands and managing land for wildlife,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s

25 years of conservation action celebrated at ‘lost world’ estate near Loch Ness

L-R Drew Hendry, Leader of Highland Council;  Trees for Life volunteer Tristran Dougan;
Vanessa Collingridge, Trees for Life Patron; Trees for Life volunteer Diana Sinclair;
Richard Lochhead MSP; Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director;
London cyclist Tim Judge.

A quarter century of pioneering conservation action was marked by Trees for Life on Sunday 25 May 2014, with a celebration open day held at the award-winning charity’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire.

 

Dozens of local people and Trees for Life supporters gathered at the acclaimed biodiversity hotspot near Loch Ness for a day of activities and to celebrate Trees for Life’s first 25 years of restoring the ancient but endangered Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

 

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet

‘Lost world’ open day near Loch Ness to celebrate 25 years of conservation action

Wild boar at Dundreggan. Photo: Alan Watson Featherstone

Moray-based conservation charity Trees for Life is celebrating its 25^th anniversary with a special celebration open day at its acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness, Inverness-shire on Sunday 25 May 2014, from 10.30 am - 5.00 pm.

 

Members of the public are warmly invited to attend the free event and to join BBC presenter and Trees for Life Patron Vanessa Collingridge for a day of activities at this renowned biodiversity hotspot, as the award-winning charity marks a quarter

Tim’s 5,000-mile cycle challenge for Trees for Life’s 25th Anniversary

Tim Judge with his bike ‘Issy’

London cyclist Timothy Judge has set himself the arduous challenge of cycling 5,000 miles in 2014 to raise funds for conservation charity Trees for Life and its restoration of the ancient Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

As part of Tim’s epic bid, on Tuesday 20 May he will set out to cycle from London to Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston near Loch Ness. He aims to complete the 600-mile journey in six days – arriving at Dundreggan for Trees for Life’s 25^th anniversary celebration open day on Sunday 25 May.

The event at Dundreggan – Trees for Life’s flagship project and a 10,000-acre biodiversity hotspot – will include guided walks to explore ancient woodlands and spot wildlife, opportunities to meet and feed wild boar and learn about their role in restoring the forest, the exclusive launch of Trees for Life’s 'Forests of the

TV VOTE SUCCESS FOR CALEDONIAN FOREST TRAINING PROJECT

Conservation charity Trees for Life is celebrating today following the announcement that it has won £50,000 of Lottery funding for a pioneering project to help restore Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest and protect its rare wildlife from extinction, while benefiting hundreds of disadvantaged people from the Inverness region.

 

The conservation charity’s plan to create a new volunteer training programme at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness was

TELEVISED VOTE FOR PIONEERING CONSERVATION PROJECT

Trees for Life is urging people to help it win £50,000 of Lottery funding in a televised public vote on Thursday 28 November, to help restore Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest and protect its rare wildlife from extinction, while benefiting hundreds of disadvantaged people.

 

The conservation charity is a finalist in the People’s Millions – a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV, in which the public decide which local community projects will receive Lottery funding – for its plan to establish a pioneering volunteer training

Double boost for conservation charity offers hope for Caledonian Forest

Alan Watson Featherstone (centre) with Stuart Housden, Director,
 RSPB Scotland (left), and Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary
 for Rural Affairs and the Environment (right) after his receipt of the
'Outstanding Contribution to Nature' Award at the RSPB
Nature of Scotland Awards in Edinburgh on 30th October

Trees for Life received a double boost on Wednesday 30 October, when the conservation charity was announced as a finalist for the People’s Millions televised vote to win up to £50,000 of Lottery funding, and its founder won the Outstanding Contribution to Nature category at the RSPB’s Nature of Scotland Awards 2013.

The People’s Millions is a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV, in which the public decide which local community projects will each receive up to £50,000 of Lottery funding.

Trees for Life has been chosen as a finalist for its plan to establish its acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate – a 10,000-acre forest regeneration site and biodiversity hotspot to the west of Loch Ness – as a leading conservation volunteer training centre. 

The public vote will take place by phone all day on 27 November, and STV North will broadcast a televised feature that evening.

Trees for Life’s project aims to specifically benefit people from diverse backgrounds – including