THE University of Edinburgh has announced plans to partner with a community landowner to rewild the Kinloch Woodlands in Wester Ross.
The partnership is thought to be the first of its kind in Scotland – where an educational institute is delivering natural capital benefits to a community landowner.
Kinloch Woodlands is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) and is known for its scenic views over Loch Torridon and towards the islands of Rona and Skye.
The restoration hopes to increase native wildlife populations, combat climate change, and plant more than two million trees.
As explained by Community Land Scotland, a community land ownership “allows democratically governed community bodies to take ownership of land and buildings to address their needs in the public interest”.
The Kinloch Woodlands border an ancient Celtic rainforest and are partnered with the Northwoods Rewilding Network operated by the rewilding charity, Scotland: The Big Picture.
Dave Gorman, director of social responsibility and sustainability at the University of Edinburgh, states: “We are really excited to be working with Kinloch Woodlands and Scotland: The Big Picture on this rewilding project.
“Investing in restoration projects such as this supports our critical ecosystems and by partnering with a community landowner, we are broadening the impact of our work to create real, long-lasting benefits for our communities.”
The charity aims to encourage Scotland’s rainforest ecosystem to restore itself through natural processes, and champions rewilding projects across the country.
Only 2.5% of the UK is covered in ancient woodland, and these are areas with some of the richest and most complex terrestrial habitats, and are home to more threatened species than any other woodlands.
Rewilding using native flora will help transform the land into what it once was, and can conserve wildlife populations such as the red squirrels which were introduced to the area in 2016.
Richard Munday, convenor of the Kinloch Woodlands SCIO, says: “The community has owned the land at Kinloch since 2001, and working together, we have made significant progress in helping the native woodland recover and develop into a valuable local amenity.
“The partnership with the University of Edinburgh allows us to advance to the next level, securing the long-term future of the woodlands for the Shieldaig community and the wider public, and creating new research opportunities whose benefit will be felt across Scotland.”
The University of Edinburgh pledges to be carbon neutral by 2040, an effort which will be aided by planting over two million trees in the area, and regenerating approximately 5,600 hectares of land.
In the 1990s around 500,000 trees were planted in the Kinloch Woodlands, to accelerate the process of woodland restoration, and the mix of Scots pine, downy birch and rowan is projected to develop into an open lattice woodland which will fit naturally into the wider landscape.
The University of Edinburgh hopes to continue and further these efforts, making sure that the Kinloch Woodlands and Scotland: The Big Picture receive financing to help with the costs required and to fund projects at other Northwoods partner sites.
James Nairne, Northwoods Rewilding Network Lead at Scotland: The Big Picture, commented: “We are delighted to have brought together, for their mutual benefit, a leading Scottish educational institution focused on sustainability and a local group that is an exemplar of community-based native woodland recovery.
“Creating more native woodland and driving community benefit are principles that are central to the Northwoods Rewilding Network’s mission.”
