Rewilding’s benefits for communities and landscapes in spotlight as nature minister visits Dundreggan

Doug Gilbert (left) Lorna Slater (centre) 
Steve Micklewright (right)
© Paul Campbell

Rewilding charity Trees for Life has showcased how large-scale nature restoration can create a wide range of environmental and economic benefits during a visit from Scotland’s minister for nature on 7 October.

Lorna Slater MSP, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity, visited the Trees for Life flagship rewilding estate at Dundreggan, west of Loch Ness, to learn more about the charity’s pioneering work and its ambitious plans for the future.

Together with Trees for Life Chief Executive Steve Micklewright, Ms Slater – the Green MSP for Lothian Region – visited the under-construction Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, which will open next March. The new centre will be the world’s

Scottish rewilding network grows to 50 sites in 18 months

 

A network of Scottish landholdings committed to rewilding has grown to 50 partners in its first 18 months, far outpacing expectations and revealing a strong appetite for nature restoration across the country.

 

The Northwoods Rewilding Network was launched in April 2021 by rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, with an initial goal of signing up 20 landholdings in the first two years. But the network expanded rapidly and has recently welcomed its 50^th partner: Glassie Farm in Aberfeldy, Perthshire.

 

Landholdings in the network range from farms and crofts to community woodlands and private estates, and the network’s partners are

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