Affric Highlands | Rewilding Europe

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

Peter Cairns

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

Mark Hamblin

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

James Shooter

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

James Roddie/scotlandbigpicture.com

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

James Shooter

Scotland’s wild east-west corridor

Magnificent glens and montane woodland meet ancient pinewoods and meandering rivers in the central Highlands of Scotland.

Nestled within remote, mountainous terrain lies a landscape-scale partnership of landowners committed to reinvigorating the wildlife and communities of the region. It is an area where nature is bouncing back after many years of decline.

Already home to some of Scotland’s best examples of ancient Caledonian pinewood, a patchwork of woodland, peatland, scrub, sub-alpine grassland and wetland will be restored. Rivers will be given more space to flow naturally and interact with the land.

A 30-year vision driven by natural processes will transform the Affric Highlands into a wild refuge for many iconic species, enriching the local economy with nature-based initiatives that form more resilient ecosystems and communities. It is a partnership that will demonstrate the interdependence of nature, people and business.

Rewilding vision

For each rewilding landscape we developed an inspiring vision that shows our ambition for the next ten years. Together with our local partners we work to make this vision a reality.

Natural processes are evolving at scale, reconnecting pockets of habitat across the rewilding area – providing more corridors for wildlife movement across the whole landscape. A more complex grassland and scrub ecology is emerging, aided by the grazing of large herbivores. With grazing pressures from deer considerably reduced, natural regeneration is taking place over extensive areas, with more vegetation attracting pollinating insects and songbirds.
Rewetted peatlands are becoming a haven for invertebrates and rare flora, while soaking up enormous amounts of carbon. A more functional landscape will emerge, where natural processes are the driving force, shaping a promising new setting for nature and people. The expansion of nature is strengthening existing land-based livelihoods and presenting new economic opportunities. A local economy built around nature and wildlife tourism, connected with the unique local culture, has become firmly established within communities.
Communities are enthused and deeply connected to the landscape and the wildlife around them. They are growing in size, developing new nature-based skills and Affric Highlands has become a hub for sustainably harvested natural materials that add value to local businesses. Carbon capture has become a viable income for landowners, with a proportion of the revenue reinvested in the local communities, in turn providing new incentives for further rewilding actions.
Rivers have become more wooded, with branches providing more shade for species such as salmon, and debris from the trees is making its way into the water – boosting nutrient levels. More meanders have been introduced to slow the flow and give rivers the space to carve out more riparian habitat. Beavers are an increasingly common sight. Their dam-building and felling of trees is helping to retain more water upstream and lessen the impacts of flooding events.
Deeper, cooler pools are forming that benefit juvenile fish and provide a vital source of water during the summer months. And the waterlogged woodland they create is speeding up the process of decay – providing much needed nesting holes for a variety of birds. The largest dams are integrating themselves into the landscape, and becoming crossing points for many other mammal species. The debris they bring into the rivers is also helping to trap harmful sediments and improve the water quality.

What are we doing here?

Recovery of a natural landscape

In the Affric Highlands rewilding landscape Rewilding Europe is working with local partners to transform bare hillsides into forests once again, after centuries of felling and overgrazing by deer and sheep, and restore the ancient Caledonian pinewood. Natural corridors like rivers and mountain ridges will become more wooded. Wild forests and scrublands, connected by naturally regenerating tree cover, will be creating increasingly rich areas of biodiversity. Plantations will be selectively replaced with native forest.

Drained and damaged peatlands are being mapped and rewetted so they become carbon sinks once more, and provide a new source of wetland habitat. A revived peatland landscape will also act as a vast store of water, holding it upstream and contributing to flood and drought mitigation.

Where there is no longer a local seed source, we are planting native trees to join up the fragments of forest that exist in these glens, aided by natural regeneration. Montane tree species are being grown from seed and returned to mountain areas where natural regeneration is not possible.

Natural grazing by carefully selected large herbivores is playing a crucial role in accelerating plant diversity and soil disturbance.

In the absence of large carnivores, we are influencing the deer population dynamics to allow vegetation to regenerate. Culling the deer also provides a steady supply of carrion to benefit myriad species throughout the seasons. By developing and using population modelling software, a more sophisticated and targeted approach is being formulated to assess potential deer impacts on an ecological scale.

Creating a coexistence corridor, for wildlife and people

From coast to coast, we are building more habitat connectivity into the landscape to facilitate wildlife movement and enable viable populations to interact, ensuring their long-term survival and health. Fences are being removed and a contiguous wild landscape is being established in collaboration with various landowners.

Educational initiatives are ongoing to promote human-wildlife coexistence, reduce areas of conflict, and highlight the benefits of a more ecologically rich landscape. Riparian woodlands and buffer zones are also being restored through the removal of aquatic barriers, natural regeneration and communication with stakeholders; encouraging coexistence with species such as beaver.

Promoting a nature-based economy

We are supporting new, innovative businesses and reinvigorating existing enterprises with wildlife tourism and sustainably harvested natural products presenting new opportunities for local business growth, in tune with the rhythms of nature. The world’s first ‘Rewilding Centre’ at Dundreggan will inform and educate people about the growing rewilding movement in Scotland – and crucially – support 15 jobs initially.

Work is underway with a wide range of stakeholders and members of the local communities to create highly marketable products and services based on the land and increase local involvement in the long-term objectives of Affric Highlands. Building on the success of Trees for Life’s Skills for Rewilding training programme, further nature-based employment initiatives are being devised to construct a long-term structure for wildlife tourism in the region.

The Affric Highlands will be a pioneering landscape for selling nature-based carbon at a premium price from the rewilding work carried out. We are exploring the potential to sell accredited carbon with positive outcomes for communities as well as for nature, and develop so called ‘rewilding credits’ which will directly benefit private landowners and the community. We envisage that carbon capture will become a key feature of the landscape’s business model, with an increasing amount of carbon stored year-on-year from habitat restoration work.

“The essence of the nature, culture and communities of Scotland”

Stephanie Kiel
Affric Highlands Executive Director

How would you characterise your rewilding landscape?
Affric Highlands has been a vibrant landscape roamed by people and wildlife for thousands of years. From the depths of Loch Ness, over some of the highest mountains in Scotland, through long glens that cut all the way to our West coast, this is a really diverse landscape that still holds rich remnants of Caledonian pinewood, mountain woodland and peatland are home to iconic species like Golden eagles, black grouse and red deer. The people here are famed for their Highland hospitality and their knowledge of the land from centuries of hunting and fishing in these hills, it’s an ideal place to get to know the essence of the nature, culture and communities of Scotland.

What would you like to see achieved in your rewilding landscape in the next five years?
I very much hope to see the first steps being taken to restore forests and peatlands at scale in ways that people here will benefit from through new revenue streams for community businesses and landowners. Restoring eroded peatland and planting new woodlands, especially around our rivers will start to address climate change and create the conditions for species like salmon, otters and ospreys to start to thrive again. We are also hoping to bring the Scottish wildcat back to this landscape for the long term.

Stories from the landscape

Rewilding efforts support woodland regeneration in the Affric Highlands

September 27, 2024

Rewilding boosts black grouse numbers in the Affric Highlands

August 30, 2024

Natural regeneration of precious pinewoods takes a step forward in the Affric Highlands

December 12, 2023

New partnership exemplifies rewilding’s broad coalition in the Affric Highlands

September 19, 2023

Change Makers: empowering Generation Rewilding in the Affric Highlands of Scotland

December 14, 2022

Affric Highlands: wilder rivers to boost climate change resilience

November 15, 2022

Image gallery

Autumn reflections on Loch Beinn a Mheadhain, Glen Affric.

Glen Affric contains some of the largest fragments of Caledonian pine forest remaining in Scotland.

Deer can provide a steady supply of carrion to benefit myriad species throughout the seasons.

The local economy stands to benefit from a sharper focus on integrating the annual cycles of nature into the annual tourism business model.

Autumn woodland alongside rushing burn, Glen Affric.

Leking behaviour of the black grouse, an iconic Highland species.

Scots pines silhouetted at sunset.

The three tributaries of the River Affric. Allt Gleann Gniomhaidh, Allt Cam-ban and Allt a' chomhlain meet at the base of Ciste Dhubh.

Crested tit framed by branches on scots pine tree.

Pine and birch woodland in autumn at Glen Affric.

Autumn reflections in Loch Beinn a Mheadhoin, Glen Affric.

Pine marten in flowering heather.

Red deer stag silhouetted at sunset.

Red Squirrel adult in snow.

Team members

Partners

In Affric Highlands, Rewilding Europe works with Trees for Life as the preferential partner. Both organisations signed a partnership agreement for the years ahead, including a strategy to recover the natural landscape, create a co-existence corridor and promote a nature-based economy.

Other local partners are:

Contact

Explore other landscapes

Rewilding vision

What are we doing here?

Recovery of a natural landscape

Creating a coexistence corridor, for wildlife and people

Promoting a nature-based economy

“The essence of the nature, culture and communities of Scotland”

Stories from the landscape

Rewilding efforts support woodland regeneration in the Affric Highlands

Rewilding boosts black grouse numbers in the Affric Highlands

Natural regeneration of precious pinewoods takes a step forward in the Affric Highlands

New partnership exemplifies rewilding’s broad coalition in the Affric Highlands

Change Makers: empowering Generation Rewilding in the Affric Highlands of Scotland

Affric Highlands: wilder rivers to boost climate change resilience

Image gallery

Team members

Stephanie Kiel

Nicola Williamson

Paul Greaves

Siân Addison

Mollie Saunders

Partners

Contact