Land

The Scottish Government’s £65 million Nature Restoration Fund has already awarded around £17.5 million to 125 projects across the country since it opened in July 2021. Managed by NatureScot, the fund supports projects to take practical steps to tackle the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss and to restore Scotland’s natural environment.

An extended boardwalk has opened at NatureScot’s Blawhorn National Nature Reserve (NNR), giving visitors even more opportunities to explore this fascinating natural area.

The 280m extension was funded by NatureScot and Drumduff Wind Farm, a joint venture by GreenPower and Thrive Renewables.

The Scottish Government has published the main findings of research investigating debates around the term ‘rewilding’, its relevance in a Scottish context, and a working definition of the term suitable for use by the public sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Rural Network will be supporting Scottish Government Just Transition policy colleagues to engage directly with rural and island communities this summer.

A series of community workshops will be undertaken in July and August to engage directly with rural and island communities across Scotland, which will help shape and inform our approach to the Land Use and Agriculture Just Transition.

In recent weeks monitoring by NatureScot and partners, including the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), RSPB Scotland and the National Trust for Scotland, has revealed worrying signs that more seabirds may be succumbing to the virus.

In particular there has been a rise in reports of dead kittiwakes, black-headed gulls, herring gulls, terns and guillemots being washed up on the east coast of Scotland, stretching from Wick in Caithness to St Abbs in Berwickshire.