The Bunloit Rewilding Project and Highlands Rewilding Ltd – Scaling Up

If you’ve been following Bunloit Rewilding, you’ll know that a new company emerged from the project last year, Highlands Rewilding Ltd. This company launched to scale work that of our rewilding projects, and has the same founder and acting CEO, Jeremy Leggett. 

The Bunloit Rewilding Project set out to tackle climate meltdown and biodiversity collapse through innovative research and nature-based solutions, in a way that:

·       Creates green, new jobs

·       Engages and involves local communities

·       Generates ethical profits

·       Demonstrates a replicable, nature based and economically viable land management model

·       Addresses the social inequalities of land ownership in Scotland

Since the project began in 2020, we’ve been working towards these goals. This has included conferring widely with ecology, rewilding, forestry and carbon experts, relevant government organisations, members of the Scottish Parliament, conservation charities and local community groups; liaising and consulting with local communities; hiring 17 full time and part time staff (mostly local or from the Highlands); acquiring a 2nd estate, Beldorney in Aberdeenshire; and carrying out surveys and research in collaboration with a range of experts to measure the biodiversity and carbon inventory of Bunloit. These results, presented in our Natural Capital Report, are now informing our land management decisions. We’ve also explored avenues of community engagement and begun a strong relationship with Glen Urquhart High School. We held a block of outdoor education classes at Bunloit estate, which we are soon to host again, and took on a work experience pupil who has been assisting our Wildlife Management ranger. 

The purpose of Highlands Rewilding is to build on this foundation of experience and knowledge, to enable nature recovery and community prosperity through rewilding at scale, as a mass ownership company. This mass ownership of Highlands Rewilding has now begun! The initial “founding funders” round has just closed, with 50 shareholders investing a total of £7.5 million. Highlands Rewilding has now purchased 852 acres of Beldorney estate (97%) and 830 acres (65.7%, the northern sector) of Bunloit estate from Solarsanctuary Ltd, the initial company under the Bunloit Rewilding Project used for land/property acquisition. Highlands Rewilding is now the company operating on this land and on the remainder of Bunloit estate, which it leases from Solarsanctuary. Highlands Rewilding also now employs all staff who have been hired under the Bunloit Rewilding Project.

In later investment rounds, we will broaden the shareholder base of Highlands Rewilding through crowdfunding with as low a minimum investment as possible. The aim is to contribute to tackling the issues of land ownership inequality in Scotland by enabling local and regional communities and individuals to co-own rewilding land and make a return on their investment.

Behind the scenes of all this excitement, our Visual Media Manager has been working hard on developing our branding to align with this evolution of the Bunloit Rewilding Project to Highlands Rewilding Ltd. We’re delighted to reveal a brand-new website and will be changing the names of our social media channels. Highlands Rewilding is ready to go!

Kirsty Mackay