One of the reasons I love working for Trees for Life and being involved in rewilding is that it is a wholly positive endeavour, bringing light and hope in increasingly dark times. I hope this edition of Caledonia Wild helps to share some of that positivity with you.
It is a very exciting time for Trees for Life with the new Dundreggan Rewilding Centre close to completion and on schedule to open next spring. The purpose of the centre is very much to share the possibilities of rewilding with as many people as possible and we very much hope you will consider visiting us next year. The articles by Lynsey, Emma and Doug give a taster of what to expect.
This edition also focuses on our efforts to return red squirrels and beavers to their natural Highland home. What is striking about this work is how important people are in making it happen. We have teams of volunteers who help with the squirrel project, while it is the community that holds the key to whether beavers can be successfully reintroduced to Glen Affric.
So while people are vital in enabling rewilding to happen, Trees for Life knows that rewilding is vital in enabling humans to thrive. Our Affric Highlands team is beginning to develop the initiative so that nature restoration in that landscape will not only make a major contribution to tackling the biodiversity and climate crises, but also enable people and the community to thrive by bringing new investment to the area and creating nature-based livelihoods.
One place in Glen Affric where people can reconnect with nature and be directly involved in rewilding is the Athnamulloch bothy. This wonderful and isolated building has been a place where our Conservation Week volunteers have stayed for many years. We restored it in 2016, but it needs some more work to make it suitable for volunteers again. I know these are difficult times for many of us, but if you can support the ‘rescue appeal’ it will mean many, many volunteers will be able to have life-changing experiences there next year when we start our Conservation Weeks again after the two year break caused by Covid.