Threat to new beaver family in the Highlands of Scotland

A family of beavers found living on a river in the Beauly area in the Scottish Highlands are to be trapped and put into captivity following a decision by Scottish Government Ministers. Trees for Life, the charity which discovered the group, says the family should either stay where they are or be relocated locally.

Film from camera traps set by the conservation experts from the charity in mid-June clearly show the presence of a mother and at least two

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

New project seeks first major boost in Scotland’s red squirrel numbers in decades

Red squirrel © Peter Cairns www.northshots.com

An innovative new project by conservation charities Trees for Life and the Highland Foundation for Wildlife aims to secure a major increase in the range of Scotland’s red squirrel populations for the first time in decades.

The Caledonian Forest Wildlife Project – which launches this summer – has the ambitious goal of establishing 10 new populations of the species in the Highlands over the next three years, with the long-term aim of boosting red squirrel numbers in Scotland by more than 10 per cent. It will also provide a unique opportunity for volunteers, including those from remote communities, to take an active

New eco-designed office in Findhorn for conservation charity Trees for Life

Alex Walker, Managing Director of Ekopia (left) with
Alan Watson Featherstone,
Executive Director of Trees for Life, at the new
eco-designed office in Findhorn

Conservation charity Trees for Life is this week moving into a new environmentally friendly office based at the Findhorn Community near Forres in Moray.

After more than 20 years at its current premises in Findhorn, on Friday 24 July the award-winning charity is moving to a brand new building that has been constructed to high ecological standards, thanks to financial assistance from the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund.

“This is a very important development for us. We are delighted to be moving into this new eco-friendly office, which will provide a warm, welcoming and modern space for our staff and volunteers to work in,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s

Filmmaker backs bid to transform derelict bothy into wilderness base

Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric

A leading wildlife filmmaker is backing a bid by Trees for Life to transform an iconic but derelict mountain bothy into an eco-friendly weather-tight base that will be used to launch a quarter century of forest restoration in one of Scotland’s great wildlife wildernesses.

Glasgow-based cameraman and filmmaker Gordon Buchanan – well known from television programmes such as Big Cat Diary and Springwatch – is supporting the conservation charity’s appeal to raise £30,000 to renovate Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric on the Forestry Commission Scotland managed

Funding hope for conservation of iconic Scottish glen and rare wildlife

Loch Affric - TFL

Hopes of protecting and restoring a magnificent Highland glen and its rare wildlife – including golden eagles, red squirrels and Scottish wildcats – have received a major boost after conservation charity Trees for Life was named as finalist for a major European funding project, with the winner to be chosen after an online public vote.

The charity’s Glen Affric Landscape Project is in the running to secure almost £20,000 in the European Outdoor Conservation Association’s ‘Outdoor’ funding scheme, with online voting taking place over two weeks until Monday 6 October. Trees for Life can be supported via www.treesforlife.org.uk/voteTFL.

The Trees for Life project will also create

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

Unique community purchase go-ahead for Highlands pinewood restoration project

Loch Arkaig

Plans for a major new pinewood restoration project in the Scottish Highlands have been given the go-ahead after Forestry Commission Scotland agreed to sell 1,086 hectares of woodland at Glen Mallie and South Loch Arkaig in Lochaber to a Highland community group in partnership with conservation charity Trees for Life – marking a major milestone in efforts to restore the ecologically important but rare native Caledonian Pinewood habitat.

 

The Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes (ABC) Group and Trees for Life now have 18 months to raise £500,000 to buy the land, following which they will begin a process of native woodland restoration and of restoring the links between the local community and the wild and remote country on the south side of Loch Arkaig in the West Highlands.

 

This is believed to be the first time that a conservation charity has partnered with a community group to purchase surplus Forestry Commission land under the National Forest Land Scheme. The scheme – administered by Forestry Commission Scotland – gives communities and non-governmental organisations the opportunity to acquire state-owned forest land which has

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

Trees for Life - Volunteer Support Appeal

Trees for Life have just launched their volunteer support appeal and as they state their case much more eloquently than I ever could I have just included their mailing below. 


Please join or donate to this worthwhile cause if you can. Their work is invaluable in helping to restore the indigenous forests and wildlife of the old Caledonian Wildwood.

You could even book yourself a working holiday and really get to appreciate the Scottish Highlands.

Please help us recruit more volunteers to plant trees! Dear Supporter, This month we've launched our ‘Volunteer Support Appeal’.  Ever since Trees for Life began practical work in 1989, volunteers have been an essential part of our project, carrying out crucial tasks such as planting trees, collecting seeds and helping in our tree nursery. As our volunteer programmes have grown over the years, so have their costs, and much of our fundraising is directed towards them. It’s vital for us to keep our programmes accessible to as many people as possible, through providing subsidised places on them, so I’m writing today to ask for your help in raising £15,000 for this. Volunteers make all the difference to our success. You can make a real difference too, by sending a donation today, and my heartfelt thanks to you for any contribution that you can make. Why not become a member? A great way to support our work is to join one of our membership packages for as little as £3/month... These come with many benefits and by completing a simple online Direct Debit sign up, your donations help us throughout the year. Please visit www.treesforlife.org.uk/membership to find out more. Thank you for your ongoing support, Alan Watson Featherstone Executive Director Trees for Life is an award winning conservation charity working to restore the Caledonian Forest and all its species to a large contiguous area in the Highlands of Scotland. Trees for Life is a registered charity Scottish charity No. SCO21303, and a company limited by guarantee No. 143304 with its registered offices at Forres, Scotland.