![\"Athnamulloch](\"\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/AthnamullochBothy.jpg\")
<\/a>Athnamulloch Bothy<\/p><\/div>
\nThe initiatives will involve the planting of 20,000 trees, opportunities for hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds to gain health benefits and conservation training, and the creation of an eco-friendly wilderness base at a remote mountain bothy.<\/p>\n
Shona Robison, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport, announced on Thursday 9 October that Trees for Life will receive \u00a360,000 from the Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund towards the renovation of the Athnamulloch Bothy, which lies to the west of Loch Affric on the National Forest Estate.<\/p>\n
The news came just three days after Trees for Life\u2019s Glen Affric Landscape Project secured almost \u00a320,000 from the prestigious European Outdoor Conservation Association, following an online public vote in which more than 4,200 people voted for the conservation charity.<\/p>\n
\u201cSecuring two major funding awards within a week for our conservation initiatives is fantastic news for the ancient Caledonian Forest and its rare species, many of which are staring extinction in the face \u2013 and for the hundreds of people who will directly benefit from these reforestation projects,\u201d said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life\u2019s Executive Director.<\/p>\n
In partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, Trees for Life\u2019s Athnamulloch Bothy Renovation Project aims to renovate this derelict mountain bothy, creating a warm, weather-tight and eco-friendly wilderness base. Trees for Life has secured a 25-year lease of the building \u2013 located far from normal services \u2013 which will be completely refurbished and equipped with ecologically-sound solutions for the on-site provision of water supply, energy and sewerage.<\/p>\n
The Legacy 2014 Active Places Fund grant \u2013 part of the Scottish Government\u2019s Commonwealth Games Legacy 2014 programme and administered by sportScotland \u2013 will cover almost half of the bothy renovation costs. Trees for Life plans to raise funds for the remaining costs through a public appeal and further grants.<\/p>\n
Following its success in the European Outdoor Conservation Association awards, Trees for Life\u2019s Glen Affric Landscape Project will see the charity working in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland \u2013 which manages the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve \u2013 to enhance and extend the glen\u2019s native Caledonian pinewood and conserve its rare forest-dependent wildlife through activities including the planting of 20,000 trees, removal of non-native trees and plants, and restoration of habitats.<\/p>\n
The Caledonian Forest in Glen Affric supports over 1,000 animal species. The pinewoods in the glen\u2019s eastern reaches are one of the largest surviving core areas of native pinewood continuing to benefit from conservation management, but more action is needed for this native woodland to expand westwards.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur sincere thanks go to everyone who voted for us in the European Outdoor Conservation Association awards, and to Northshots Photography for nominating us. The award is wonderful news for one of Scotland\u2019s finest wilderness forests, and it will ensure further practical action takes place to reverse centuries of forest loss in the Highlands,\u201d said Alan Watson Featherstone.<\/p>\n
These new projects are key elements in an expansion of Trees for Life\u2019s work of rewilding and will create opportunities for hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds \u2013 including those from deprived situations or facing challenges to their health, as well as outdoors enthusiasts, local people and community groups \u2013 to take part in green exercise and physically active recreation.<\/p>\n
Trees for Life is restoring the Caledonian Forest, which once covered much of the Scottish Highlands but has been reduced to a fraction of its former range by centuries of deforestation. Many forest remnants consist of old and dying trees, with grazing pressure by red deer preventing the growth of young trees. Remaining forests, such as in Glen Affric, are amongst our most fragile and endangered habitats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Plans to protect and restore one of Scotland’s most iconic and beautiful glens, alongside wildlife such as golden eagles, Scottish wildcats and red squirrels, received a double boost last week when charity Trees for Life won funding of almost \u00a380,000 for new forest conservation projects in Glen Affric near Loch Ness. The initiatives will involve the planting of 20,000 trees, opportunities for hundreds of people from diverse backgrounds to gain health benefits and conservation training, and the creation of an eco-friendly wilderness base at a remote mountain bothy. Shona Robison, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Commonwealth Games and Sport, announced…<\/span> <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11699"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11701,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11699\/revisions\/11701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}