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| Eurasian lynx © Peter Cairns www.northshots.com |
Visions of a rewilded Scotland – from restored forests to the return of predators such as the lynx and wolf – was in the spotlight on Monday 6th October at a topical lecture featuring acclaimed writer George Monbiot and award-winning conservationist Alan Watson Featherstone of Trees for Life, at the University of Edinburgh’s George Square Lecture Theatre.
With enthusiasm for rewilding – the large-scale restoration of damaged natural ecosystems – spreading quickly in the UK, the Rewilding the World event highlighted the significant benefits that this could bring to Scotland, together with a discussion on its global and ethical implications.
George Monbiot said: “Rewilding offers us a big chance to reverse destruction of the natural world. Letting trees return to bare and barren uplands, allowing the seabed to recover from trawling, and bringing back missing species would help hundreds of species that might otherwise struggle to survive – while rekindling wonder and enchantment that often seems missing in modern-day Britain.”
Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said: “Rewilding offers an exciting vision of hope, through the positive and practical work of renewing and revitalising ecosystems. In the Highlands we
