100,000 trees and £1m economic boost in Northwoods Rewilding Network’s early years - SCOTLAND: The Big Picture
A growing network of Scottish landholdings committed to rewilding has recorded dramatic ecological and economic impacts in its first two years.
The Northwoods Rewilding Network, which has grown to 55 partners spanning the length and breadth of Scotland, has reported its first set of outcomes since it was established in April 2021 by rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture.
More than 108,000 native trees have been planted on partners’ landholdings, covering an area equivalent to 210 football pitches. More than 4,100 of the trees are along rivers, where they are particularly impactful, providing shade, shelter and nutrients to a food web that includes Scotland’s iconic Atlantic salmon.
Sixty-nine new ponds and ‘scrapes’ – shallow, seasonal pools – have been created, providing 15,000 square metres of wetland habitat, while the removal of field drains has created more than 8,000 square metres of additional seasonally flooded habitat.
A total of 60 hectares of degraded peatland has been restored – capturing carbon and reducing the impact of flooding and drought.
New hedgerows have been planted by more than a third of the network’s partners, amounting to nine kilometres, while the same length of redundant fencing has been removed – helping to open up wildlife highways.
Seventeen partners have created or restored grassland habitat, covering a total of 276 hectares, and a similar number are employing natural grazing using 128 semi-wild cattle.
The ecological interventions have brought substantial economic benefits. More than £1 million has been spent with local suppliers and services since the launch of Northwoods, which stretches from the Solway Firth to Sutherland, and from the East Neuk of Fife to the Ross of Mull. The network presently supports 71 full-time-equivalent jobs for people employed in nature-related enterprises.
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Posted On: 09/03/2023