Scotland Conference Pre-Event - The Importance of Small to Landscape Scale Nature Restoration

Summary

As a prelude for the CIEEM Scotland Conference on Reshaping Scotland: Nature Restoration in Action at this online event we will hear from speakers that will highlight the importance of small-scale restoration for nature and people as well as multi-habitat landscape scale nature restoration.

Description

This event is hosted by the Scotland Member Network and the Ecological Restoration SIG.

Scaling up ambition - Restoring the River South Esk – A Nature Rich & Climate Resilient Catchment – Kelly Ann Dempsey MCIEEM, Project Coordinator, River South Esk Catchment Partnership and David Hunt, RSPB Scotland.

The River South Esk Catchment Partnership members and catchment landowners have worked together to restore natural processes on the River South Esk in the Angus uplands for over a decade. Following on from the restoration of the Rottal Burn in 2012, the successful partnership is now two years into an ambitious £1.7 million five-year multihabitat project encompassing river restoration, large-scale wetland creation, upland and riparian planting and hedgerow creation. The project is taking place across four neighbouring estates.

The project scales up action in this area of Northeast Scotland from a single restoration focus to restoring ecosystem health across the upper catchment from Cairngorm Munros to rolling floodplain farmland. A shared ambition and diverse expertise within the small delivery group has shaped a project that truly considers the function and interaction of multiple habitats and species. The multihabitat approach supports climate change adaptation and addresses the climate and biodiversity crises.

This talk will cover how the project will deliver: 30ha of wetland habitat, Re-meandering 250m of March Burn, Installation of up to 104 large woody structure over 10 miles of river, 8.7ha of riparian woodland along 17.5km of currently open watercourse, 6.5 ha of native treeline woodland creation, 155 ha of native woodland via natural regeneration and semi-natural grass and heathland habitat restoration.

 

Leadloch: A Nature Restoration Project in the Central Belt - Lindsay Mackinlay MCIEEM, Head of Ecology at The Future Forest Company Ltd

Leadloch sits between Shotts and Fauldhouse in North Lanarkshire. Until October 2021, it was a mixed livestock farm covering 155ha of marginal land. The Future Forest Company Ltd (FFC) took over the management of the land on behalf of investors with the aim of addressing the joint current climate and nature crises. Since that date, FFC have planted 51ha of primarily native woodland, carried out restoration works on 58ha of degraded peatland, via the Peatland Action Fund, and commenced a wildflower meadow project, with associated wetland scrapes, covering 3.5ha. Planning permission has also been obtained for the creation of up to 20 new ponds on the site in the future. Local people now help with collecting baseline data for the site whilst the site is also used by University of Stirling for peatland research. This talk will introduce the work of FFC at Leadloch and demonstrate that the contribution of smaller sites in central Scotland towards wider nature restoration objectives should not be overlooked.

This event is part of the #NatureRestorationScotland series of events hosted by the Scotland Committee to tie in with the 2024 Scotland conference.

Knowledge Level

Suitable for all

Prior Knowledge

None required

Tickets