How rewilding is offering hope and creating jobs

By Richard Bunting, Scottish Rewilding Alliance

Rewilding – the large-scale restoration of ecosystems until nature can take care of itself – has grown rapidly over recent years.

In Scotland, there are now nearly 200 rewilding projects across the country, led by communities, charities, farmers, landowners, public bodies and others. Rewilding is now underway across 2.5% of the country’s land, with more than 195,615 hectares rewilding.

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance – a partnership of more than 20 organisations – supports such projects and is bringing people together to help nature recover and thrive.

By restoring habitats, boosting biodiversity, and soaking up and storing carbon dioxide, rewilding is offering much-needed hope for tackling the nature and climate emergencies, says the Alliance.

At the same time, rewilding is about people. The Alliance aims to create healthy, self-sustaining nature-based economies that support wildlife and provide lasting benefits, including new and diverse employment opportunities.

And when it comes to job creation thanks to rewilding, the results have already been remarkable. Research by Rewilding Britain across 13 major rewilding sites in Scotland – members of the Rewilding Britain-managed Rewilding Network – has shown an increase in jobs of more than 400% since rewilding began.

This research has also revealed an increase in the variety of jobs at these sites – including nature-based hospitality and tourism, estate management, ecology, environmental monitoring, interventions to restore nature, recreation and education.

Many of these roles involve plenty of time outdoors. Estate managers and rangers, for example, often split their time between activities like site maintenance, co-ordinating volunteers, and delivering events and education projects.

Many sites employ ecologists, who will often spend much of their time out and about, conducting surveys and other research. Many also increasingly need employees and volunteers to help people to access and enjoy the benefits of eco-tourism and engage with wild nature.

Trees for Life

One member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance illustrates how successful rewilding can be when it comes to creating new jobs.

Dundreggan is a 4,000-hectare rewilding estate owned by rewilding charity Trees for Life in Glenmoriston, near Loch Ness. This flagship site, where Trees for Life is restoring the Caledonian forest and its wildlife, is home to more than 4,000 species of plants and animals, including many rare species.

In 2023, the world’s first Rewilding Centre opened at Dundreggan – showcasing how rewilding can offer people inspiring experiences and bring benefits to rural communities including through job creation.

Today Trees for Life employs 56 people, of which 27 – plus seasonal workers – are based at Dundreggan. When the charity purchased this former deer stalking estate in 2008, jobs stood at just one deer stalker. Now the varied jobs include roles at the Rewilding Centre, staff managing the estate, a team working the specialised tree nursery and others coordinating volunteers in the collection of native tree seeds.

“The key to rewilding’s success is people. Just as biodiversity enhances ecosystems, diverse people enrich our sector and help us take bolder, more impactful action for nature,” says Karen Sinclair, people manager at Trees for Life.

“Our employees have different backgrounds and experience, and we look for candidates that are passionate about restoring nature. We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team, and we know that skills and experience come in many forms.”

The Trees for Life team includes qualified ecologists and similar experts, covering different aspects of work – from restoring habitats such as the Caledonian pinewoods, through to species reintroductions.

“For those working on-site in ecology and nature restoration, we look for candidates with ecological credentials with significant experience in field surveys, methodology development, undertaking research and communicating technical information to diverse audiences,” says Karen.

“But the right mindset, attitude, and ability to develop skills are just as important to us as ticking every box. If people are excited about the role, meet most of the core criteria and feel they can make a meaningful contribution, we encourage them to apply.”

Volunteering at a rewilding site can allow people to gain valuable skills and experience, while boosting health and wellbeing.

At Dundreggan, volunteer numbers have risen from zero to 100. Opportunities range from working in Trees for Life’s specialised tree nursery – raising rare, native trees from seed – to tree planting in remote, wild landscapes where the Caledonian forest needs a helping hand to regenerate.

Tarras Valley Nature Reserve

At the community-owned Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in Dumfries and Galloway, seven jobs have already been created since the historic community buyout of 4,250 hectares on Langholm Moor between 2020-2022.

The reserve supports community regeneration, addresses climate breakdown and restores nature. Emerging opportunities include conservation grazing, regenerative farming, and restoration of peatlands and native woodlands, as well as eco-tourism.

“Large-scale ecological restoration, a sustainable nature-based economic model and community engagement are central to everything we’re doing here,” says Jenny Barlow, Tarras Valley Nature Reserve estate manager.

Jenny’s role is to oversee land-based activities and operations on the reserve. This includes everything from restoring damaged peatlands, preserving ancient woodlands and planting new native trees, to repairs of tracks and infrastructure.

The most recently created job at Tarras Valley is a 12-month placement designed specifically for a graduate seeking a career in conservation or rewilding.

Rewilding Nation

Despite growing praise for its rewilding progress, Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.

The Scottish Rewilding Alliance wants to turn this around. It is calling for the Scottish Government to declare Scotland the world’s first Rewilding Nation.

This includes a commitment to rewilding 30% of Scotland’s land and sea – which can be achieved by restoring habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas, with no loss of productive farmland.

A Rewilding Nation would support community wealth-building and repeopling, including through more jobs and volunteering opportunities, and go hand-in-hand with sustainable, nature-led industries like farming, fishing and forestry, the Alliance says.

Thousands of people have already signed the Rewilding Nation Charter, calling on the Scottish Government to act. The campaign has been by actors Brian Cox and Alan Cumming, musician Nathan Evans, Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio, and activists Laura Young (Less Waste Laura) and Somhairle.

“The remarkable job creation figures show how rewilding can turbocharge social and economic benefits for people, while offering hope for reversing biodiversity loss and tackling climate breakdown,” said Kevin Cumming, Rewilding Britain’s rewilding director and deputy convenor of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.

“This is another powerful illustration of why the Scottish Government should declare Scotland a Rewilding Nation. The choice and the opportunity for the country is huge – for jobs and local economies, and for better health, food production, re-peopling, and access to fresh water and clean air.”

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