Huge appetite among Scottish young people to work in rewilding

Trainee Callum Fraser carrying out a
Herbivore Impact Assessment
at Dundreggan estate
Credit: Paul Greaves

Rewilding charity Trees for Life has finished a landmark three-year skills development project to help 15 people from diverse backgrounds pursue a career in rewilding. 

 

With more than 1,000 people registering their interest to take part in the ‘Skills for Rewilding’ programme across its three-year run, the pioneering project has revealed a significant demand among Scots to find practical ways to help nature and the climate. 

 

Skills for Rewilding welcomed five people each year to the Trees for Life Dundreggan rewilding estate in Glenmoriston, west of Loch Ness, where they

Boost for Scotland’s international reputation for wilderness and wildlife

Glen Affric © Ron Bury

Scotland’s international reputation as a key destination for experiencing world-class wild landscapes and outstanding wildlife is to be boosted by Trees for Life joining a prestigious and growing European association of rewilding projects.

The conservation charity was invited to become a member of the European Rewilding Network – placing its restoration of the globally unique Caledonian Forest in the Highlands, especially in Glen Affric and Glenmoriston, firmly on the European map.

A key focus of the network is to show how rewilding – the restoration of damaged natural ecosystems – can benefit economic development, including through

Rewilding creates jobs and training at Loch Ness conservation estate

Pictured left-right: Alan Watson Featherstone,
Emma Beckinsale and Doug Gilbert from Trees for Life
at the charity’s Native Tree Nursery, Dundreggan

An acclaimed forest restoration project near Loch Ness is demonstrating how conservation can create employment opportunities in the Highlands, says award-winning charity Trees for Life.

 

This week Trees for Life introduced two new seasonal staff roles at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, bringing the number of employees at the biodiversity hotspot to six – a substantial increase on the single employee under the site’s previous ownership, when it was managed as a traditional sporting estate.

 

With concerns about employment in much of the country, and across the Highlands in particular, Trees for Life says that the steady growth in

‘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