Highlands Rewilding is scaling the work of the Bunloit Rewilding Project, as a new mass ownership company. Read more about the change in company and branding, and how it all works together to help rewild the Highlands of Scotland, at scale.

Theo Stanley is a researcher from the University of Oxford, currently undertaking fieldwork for his PhD in Environmental Geography. He is researching how the increased turn towards ‘nature-based solutions’ and land-based carbon sequestration is affecting land governance in the Scottish Highlands. Throughout 2022, he is interviewing a wide range of folk interested in ‘nature-based solutions’, including foresters, land owners, entrepreneurs, rewilders and carbon specialists. If you have any questions, comments or opinions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact him: theo.stanley@hertford.ox.ac.uk.

This article is a transcript of an interview between Theo and Bunloit’s Ben Hart.

Maggie started working for Bunloit as a research assistant, back in the Spring of 2021. Having spent much of her childhood on the Bunloit hill, she reflects on what it means to be able return home and find work on a local rewilding project.

Winter is the harshest season, where wildlife seems to disappear into hiding and the weather unleashes its full force. Despite this, there is still a lot of activity to witness during the coldest months, as Nicola, one of our rangers, explores at Bunloit.

The pastime of storytelling can be a powerful tool to amplify the voice for conservation. In this weeks blog, our Visual Media Manager looks at how photography can help fight against climate and biodiversity meltdown by connecting the audience with crucial conservation messages.

After the release of our first Natural Capital Report, we were approached by estate managers interested in the baseline surveys we conducted and results that were found. Ben Hart - our Carbon and Biodiversity Accounting Consultant - presented a webinar and Q&A session, talking through the presentation that made a debut at our COP26 event in Glasgow.

One of our Rangers, Daniel Holm, has been working on his own food forest for the past 4 years, creating a resilient and biodiverse food source that could provide a solution for many of the problems we are facing today. Now implementing this strategy at Bunloit, Daniel talks us through this relatively unknown way of food production.

Ruaridh Philips is currently undertaking a forestry placement at Bunloit estate, learning and working alongside our Head of Woodlands and Ranger team. Here he explores the wooded landscape of Bunloit and how he hopes the future of forestry changes with a more holistic approach in mind.

Finn Upton - our PR and Social Media Assistant - reflects on his time at the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, questioning whether rewilding the event could have led to better results for communities, wildlife and the planet.

A source of carbon emissions and lichen communities of international importance, our first natural capital report has uncovered some interesting and unexpected conclusions.

As part of our summer baseline surveys at Bunloit, we enlisted the help of Dan Puplett, a local ecologist, to develop a series of transects not only for large mammal surveys, but also for future public engagement. Here, he talks us through the work developed and his experience with our student volunteers.

Wild boar are a controversial species. Hunted to extinction in the UK, they now roam free once more, under vastly different circumstances. Here, Scott Hendry, our Senior Ranger, talks about his experience with this creature and how we will work alongside them on the estate.

Over the summer, Plantlife undertook a series of plant surveys at Bunloit, looking at all things flora. Little did we know what wonders would be discovered, unnoticed by many in favour of wildlife. Alistair Whyte, head of Plantlife Scotland, reflects on his time at the estate, highlighting the importance of plants.

Jeremy Leggett, founder of Highlands Rewilding Ltd, explains how the idea for a new mass-ownership company will work, with the purpose of nature recovery and community prosperity through rewilding taken to scale in the Highlands of Scotland.

In the latter half of 2020, Bunloit Rewilding was lucky enough to be involved with an exciting and innovative project led by the rewilding consultancy Ecosulis. Called CreditNature, the three-month feasibility study was funded through Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund, and aimed to integrate a range of cutting edge technologies to create a platform underpinned by real world data, which would enable the development of carbon, biodiversity and rewilding (ecosystem recovery) credits.

My first view of Bunloit was from the village, looking up to the clear-fell site of Borlum Wood, it was a bit of an eyesore, but that’s what all clear-fell sites look like after the forwarders and harvesters have been in. All the stumps left bare, a few single trees standing vulnerable in their isolation, the ground floor suddenly exposed to the power of the sun and the rest of the elements. The mis-management of our forests lead us to crisis point in the early 1900’s and again post WWII, when all but 5% of native tree cover was left. This led to a surge in Sitka Spruce plantations on good and bad sites.

One of our student volunteers reflects on his time at Bunloit, surveying and monitoring the wildlife that call the estate home. Finn Upton spent four weeks on Bunloit alongside three other volunteers. Here’s what he has to say…

Bunloit Estate is home to a number of non-native conifer plantations that sit atop peat bog and are nestled amongst native broadleaf woodland. The big question for the past year has been; when is cutting down trees the right thing to do? Helge Hansen - our Woodlands Manager – has outlined the decision making process below.

Fifteen cameras, a variety of habitats and a whole load of wildlife! Bunloit has teamed up with NatureSpy, a non-profit organisation that aims to research and protect wildlife whilst engaging local communities.

A paper on the Bunloit Model and its investment implications. Presented at the IoD Scotland’s H&I Innovation and Investment Forum June 8th, 2021.