{"id":25367,"date":"2021-04-22T05:13:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-22T05:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/?p=25367"},"modified":"2021-04-21T20:17:16","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T20:17:16","slug":"chain-of-rewilding-stepping-stones-to-tackle-scotlands-nature-and-climate-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/chain-of-rewilding-stepping-stones-to-tackle-scotlands-nature-and-climate-crises\/","title":{"rendered":"Chain of rewilding \u2018stepping stones\u2019 to tackle Scotland\u2019s nature and climate crises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A chain of nature-rich hotspots bringing together a diverse group of estates, farms, crofts and community-owned land is to be created across Scotland with a new rewilding network launched by charity SCOTLAND: The\u00a0Big\u00a0Picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Northwoods Rewilding Network will allow more of Scotland\u2019s many smaller landholdings of 50 to 1,000 acres to play a&nbsp;bigger&nbsp;role in&nbsp;restoring and connecting rich habitats full of life to boost declining species, tackle climate breakdown, and create new opportunities for rural communities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"534\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_-800x534.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-25368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_-800x533.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_-320x213.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_-200x133.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/Native-woodlands-scotlandbigpicture.com_.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><figcaption>Scotland is one of the least wooded countries in Europe, so native woodland regeneration is a priority across many Northwoods sites.\u00a0\u00a9\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/scotlandbigpicture.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">scotlandbigpicture.com<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Northwoods will complement Scotland\u2019s major landscape-scale rewilding sites by filling in the gaps in local areas and joining together a tapestry of smaller nature recovery sites and wildlife corridors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 12 initial land partners include farms, crofts, small estates and a community woodland covering 3,500 acres between them. The project hopes to expand to at least 10,000 acres within two years.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith Scotland\u2019s nature in crisis, we want to harness the potential of smaller landholdings to come together. We need to scale-up nature restoration while highlighting the economic and social opportunities that rewilding brings for people,\u201d said James Nairne, Northwoods\u2019 Project Manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cDespite their beauty and drama, many of Scotland\u2019s landscapes have been in ecological decline for a very long time, with many species extinct and others once prolific now teetering on the edge. Northwoods will help turn this around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Research in 2016 estimated that only 28 countries out of 218 have lost more biodiversity than the UK, with Scotland faring only slightly better than the UK average.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rewilding \u2013&nbsp;the large-scale restoration of nature \u2013 goes beyond&nbsp;protecting the fragments of nature now left. It restores vibrant living systems across&nbsp;woodlands, peatlands, wetlands, rivers, and at sea.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Land partners joining Northwoods will work to an agreed set of principles covering issues such as establishing native woodlands, restoring wetlands, and creating habitat for missing native species.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As well as enabling ecological change on the ground, Northwoods will develop sustainable nature-based business models, focusing on opportunities for local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe want to see vibrant, prosperous communities within nature-rich landscapes, as increasingly enjoyed across Europe,\u201d&nbsp;said&nbsp;Peter Cairns, SCOTLAND: The&nbsp;Big&nbsp;Picture\u2019s Executive Director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">SCOTLAND: The&nbsp;Big&nbsp;Picture&nbsp;has launched an appeal to raise \u00a320,000 to help Northwoods develop over its first two years, with match-funding platform The&nbsp;Big&nbsp;Give to double every donation. The appeal can be supported at&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/bit.ly\/NorthwoodsAppeal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bit.ly\/NorthwoodsAppeal<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A chain of nature-rich hotspots bringing together a diverse group of estates, farms, crofts and community-owned land is to be created across Scotland with a new rewilding network launched by charity SCOTLAND: The\u00a0Big\u00a0Picture. The Northwoods Rewilding Network will allow more of Scotland\u2019s many smaller landholdings of 50 to 1,000 acres to play a&nbsp;bigger&nbsp;role in&nbsp;restoring and connecting rich habitats full of life to boost declining species, tackle climate breakdown, and create new opportunities for rural communities.&nbsp; Northwoods will complement Scotland\u2019s major landscape-scale rewilding sites by filling in the gaps in local areas and joining together a tapestry of smaller nature recovery<span class=\"ellipsis\">&hellip;<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/chain-of-rewilding-stepping-stones-to-tackle-scotlands-nature-and-climate-crises\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-more\">Read more &#8250;<\/div>\n<p><!-- end of .read-more --><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine","category-conservation","category-walking-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25367","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\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25369,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25367\/revisions\/25369"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walkhighlands.co.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}