Our vision for Affric Highlands is to create a rewilding landscape with a long-term difference. In order to bring about lasting change, we need to involve people. This is why we are working to form a broad coalition of partners - from landowners and entrepreneurs right through to students and community members. We want to use the common interests of people in Affric Highlands as the basis for a progressive and shared agenda. An agenda that not only enhances nature but strengthens local economies and enriches lives too.
Our efforts for nature are focused on woodland, peatland and riparian restoration. The team is currently working with the area’s landowners to identify opportunities for habitat restoration. Much of this work involves identifying wild trees already in the landscape - fragments of ancient Caledonian forest that are incredibly valuable. Our focus is to ensure those trees survive and to protect them against overgrazing by deer so that natural regeneration can take place.
Supporting forest regeneration in the Scottish Highlands typically means putting up fences. It may also mean controlling deer numbers. Every landowner is different, which means discussions about rewilding are a very bespoke process. Our approach is to speak about the future. Do people want to continue with the status quo, which is not creating tangible benefits for nature or local communities? Or can landowners and managers visualise moving towards a healthier, naturally regenerating landscape with lower numbers of healthier deer - where venison feeds local people, and biodiversity is more abundant?
Traditional ways of managing land are embedded here, so for some people making the decision to do things differently can be difficult. But we want to show landowners new options - options that will add socio-economic as well as ecological value to their land and the surrounding landscape.
This idea of generating sustainable community wealth, using the recovery of nature to create economic and social value for the broadest spectrum of people living in the landscape, also feeds into our Change Makers youth engagement initiative.
Young people are the future of rewilding, which means engaging them and harnessing their energy, ideas, skills and passion is incredibly important. They often feel the need for change more urgently too, especially in shrinking rural communities, where affordable housing is often in short supply and job opportunities limited. Change Makers is giving 16 - 30 years olds the opportunity to develop their own nature and community-based businesses and livelihoods. The programme is all about supporting young people to take ownership of the future. It's about giving them responsibility for a valuable project, and equipping them with skills, confidence and experience to carry it forward.
Already, the Rewilding Centre has created a significant boost for employment in the area, with many of the 18 people working there under the age of 30. Dundreggan will also provide a base for our very first Change Makers residential weekend taking place later this month - an exciting first step in forming a network of engaged young people to join us on the Affric Highlands journey.
We also are in the early stages of creating a network of nature-based businesses in the Affric Highlands. This will bring together the many fantastic existing businesses in the area to help them become more nature positive and generate more nature-based income. We hope that Affric Highlands will in time become a recognised and respected brand in itself - adding value to local products and services.
With nature, people and enterprise the pillars of rewilding in Affric Highlands, it’s exciting to be laying the critical foundations for all three - with the involvement and support of those who will make this long-term initiative a true success.
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Affric Highlands is a Trees for Life initiative being delivered in partnership with Rewilding Europe. It is generously funded by the British Science Association, the FedEx Foundation, Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, Rewilding Europe, Support In Mind Scotland, Scottish Power Foundation and Soirbheas.