An Ancient Wilderness

Historically, much of Scotland was covered in forest. The Romans even gave it the name Caledonia, meaning 'wooded heights'. Swathes of Scots pine, birch, rowan, aspen and juniper covered the landscape and gave life to the vast Caledonian woodlands.

The Celtic rainforest on the west coast was home to spectacular oak and birch trees that grew from a rich green carpet of mosses, ferns and lichens. Lush meadows, thriving wetlands, peat bogs, and vibrant dunes and coastal habitats flourished.

Scotland's most iconic and rare wildlife, like the capercaillie and wildcat, were widespread and they lived alongside a diversity of species no longer found here. Lynx, wolves and wild boar once roamed this wild landscape. Since then, a combination of deforestation, overgrazing, persecution and climate change has transformed Scotland into a shadow of its former self. It has lost huge expanses of forest and many species have disappeared altogether.  Today Scotland only has 4% native forest cover.

Restoring Ecosystems & Reintroducing Species

Today, things are beginning to change once again, this time for the better. Baby Scots pine are recolonizing bare landscapes, red squirrels and pine martens are moving back into lost territory, and rare wildflowers and blaeberry are growing strong in patches of relict pinewood. These changes are being brought about by pioneering rewilding projects across Scotland. See Who's rewilding Scotland? to learn more.

Habitat restoration is a huge part of the rewilding Scotland movement, but it's not all. Considerable efforts are being made to conserve existing populations of wildcats, pine martens and other rare species. Through reintroductions, previously absent species, like the sea eagle, are making a comeback.

The idea of returning apex predators, like lynx and wolves, has also entered the rewilding narrative, sparking both excitement and fierce debate. Ecologically speaking, with a full complement of keystone species, like apex predators and ecosystem engineers, we could give nature the tools to thrive once again in a re-wild Scotland.

2. Reversing Climate Breakdown

With warming temperatures and extreme weather events more common than ever, Scotland offers an important opportunity to help combat the breakdown of the planet's climate. By planting trees and restoring forests, we can keep carbon stored in trees and out of our atmosphere.

Peatland ecosystems are also a hugely efficient carbon sink. Though many peatlands have been actively dried out for exploitation, for example to plant commercial conifer plantations, re-wetting this important ecosystem will help recapture huge amounts of carbon. Peatlands are another ecosystem degraded by Scotland’s high deer population, with deer browsing and trampling vegetation and exposing the carbon rich peat to the atmosphere.

4. A Refuge for Wildlife 

Scotland is a refuge for species that are absent from England, Wales and Ireland and a stronghold for otherwise rare species. Capercaillie and wildcats have been entirely lost from the rest of the United Kingdom, but can still be found in small populations in Scotland.

Rare species like the pine marten and red squirrel are beginning to recover in the Caledonian pinewoods that carpet Scottish glens. These forests are also home to the Scottish crossbill, the UK's only endemic bird species.

Restoring these vital habitats is crucial to bring these species back from the brink and safeguard the future of the UK's iconic wildlife.

Lynx to Scotland

For now, proponents of rewilding have turned their attention to the Eurasian lynx, the most likely candidate for reintroduction.

A consortium of conservationists, led by Scotland: The Big Picture, conducted a social feasibility study for ‘Lynx to Scotland’ in Cairngorms National Park and Argyll. The findings revealed 5 distinct opinions from key stakeholders. Of these 5 opinions, 2 are in favour, 1 against and the other 2 feel it is too soon for lynx although want to evaluate the idea further. In the parks’ current state, the respondents felt there isn’t the habitat for such species, but views are optimistic this will improve within time with more restoration.

A key takeaway from this study is that the subject is not black and white. A variety of opinions and concerns show the nuance involved but also illustrate the desire for stakeholders to engage in the conversation to improve the state of nature in Scotland.

The Green Lairds

Land ownership has pivotally shaped Scotland’s landscape for centuries. Those who held the control of land, held the power. In the few hands this power has laid, decisions have all too often been made to advance personal interests over the public’s. 

Today, a new narrative appears to be emerging with a wave of landowners attempting to revolutionise how land is managed on their estates. These so-called ‘green lairds’ are shifting from traditional land uses to see what a wilder Scotland could look like. Driven by the backdrop of the climate crisis, rewilding is the tool green lairds are using to fix Scotland’s wrecked landscapes. The jury is out, however, as the control of vast amounts of Scottish land is still in the hands of a few, with claims that land is purchased to offset emissions from elsewhere.

To name a few of the estates where multi-millionaire owners are running large-scale restoration projects: Kildrummy estate, owned by American property developers Christopher and Camille Bently, and Scotland’s largest private landowners Anders and Anne Holch Povlsen who own over 80,000 hectares across Sutherland and the Grampian mountains.

Cairngorms Connect

Restoring habitats, species and ecological processes across 600 sq km (230 sq miles) of land in the Cairngorms National Park makes this project the largest of its kind in the UK. Funded through the Endangered Landscape Programme (ELP), via Arcadia, a charitable fund.

Their 200-year plan sets out to achieve a multitude of enhancements to Scottish nature through interventions such as: 

• Rewilding watercourses and allowing natural floodplains to reestablish;
• Restoring native woodlands, blanket and woodland bogs;
• Managing deer populations to facilitate the recovery of degraded habitats;
• Restoring high altitude woodlands and montane scrub;
• Monitoring predator-prey interactions

The park already is home to over 5,000 species including wildcats, eagles, hen harriers and red squirrels, of which 20% are rare or scarce.

Affric Highlands

Rewilding Europe, Trees for Life and a host of other local stakeholders have set out on a 30-year journey to rewild vast tracts of the Scottish Highlands. The area of 500,000 acres covers land that joins Loch Ness to the West coast. 

Falling to a similar fate to most of Scotland’s forests, this region has also been stripped of new trees by overgrazing. The focus of this exciting rewilding initiative includes the following:

• Restoring the ancient Caledonian pinewood and reestablish natural wooded corridors along rivers and mountain ridges;
• Wetlands will also be restored to create habitats and sequester carbon;
• Large herbivores will be present for grazing at natural levels to create conditions where soil disturbances can enhance plant diversity;
• This project is also attempting to tackle one of the biggest challenges of achieving landscape-scale rewilding: to ensure nature, people and business mutually benefit.

With the involvement of a diverse group of 20 landowners and over 50 other local stakeholders, this project is putting the power in people to revive nature and local economies simultaneously. In its inspiring vision, the project aims to foster nature-based tourism, wild food, regenerative grazing and agroforestry, field sports and developing a circular economy.