Biodiversity Challenge Fund - Round 1 Project Summaries

Organisation

Project

Project summary

Tweed Forum

Tweed Invasives Project

To tackle the problem of INNS along the Scottish sections of the river Tweed and its Scottish tributaries:

1. Controlling INNS through spot spraying with herbicide through a combination of seasonal project officers, specialist contractors and trained volunteers.

2. Re-establishment of native flora and fauna in areas where invasive plants have been removed from the riverside and associated wetland and woodland habitat.

3. Rust fungus control of Himalayan balsam.

4. Biosecurity measures to ensure no new species enter the catchment and rapid response protocols.

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Edinburgh Shoreline – The Wild Line

To restore habitats along 27km of Edinburgh’s shoreline by:

1. removal of invasive plant species currently affecting seabird habitat and population resilience across the Forth estuary,

2. applying proof-of-concept research in biodiverse coastal infrastructure to achieve industry-scale implementation on sea defences at eight locations,

3. creating an extensive, habitat-rich, coastal park.

Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust

Little France Park

To restore and improve the biodiversity value of Little France Park in Edinburgh by enhancing the quality of existing habitats (hedges, scrub), reinstating degraded habitats (grassland) and creating a network of new, high-value habitats targeted at butterflies (northern brown argus, common blue, small copper), thus creating a key link in a green corridor from Edinburgh city centre to Midlothian.

The Froglife Trust

Come Forth for Wildlife

To improve the biodiversity of 12 sites in Falkirk for the benefit of amphibians and reptiles through the creation of ponds and scrapes, restoration of wetland areas and improvement of terrestrial habitats including creation of wildflower meadows.

To enhance habitat connectivity in 4 neighbourhoods in Falkirk through community-led creation and restoration of ponds, and creation of wildlife features such as hibernacula, in urban greenspaces.

Borders Forest Trust

Restoring Montane Scrub and Bearberry in the Wildheart of Southern Scotland

The restoration of 50ha of montane scrub at Corehead, Carrifran Wildwood and Talla and Gameshope in the central Southern Uplands of Scotland.  And, the pioneering restoration of the upland heath dwarf shrub Bearberry Arctostaphylos uva-ursi to the Carrifran Wildwood, which forms part of the Moffat Hill SSSI and SAC.

Trees for Life

Carn na Caorach Montane Woodland Enclosure

The purpose of this grant is to make provision for an enclosure to allow woodland generation and to plant 14ha of native woodlands.  The aim is to use volunteers to bring trees on in the nursery and plant them in the enclosure to complete the woodland cover (approximately a further 250 ha) over the following 10 years.

Dee District Salmon Fishery Board

Dee Riparian Habitat Project

To implement practical measures to create, restore and enhance riparian habitats throughout the catchment of the River Dee to include native tree planting, introduction of wooded structures and enhancement of wooded buffer strips.

Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust

Partnership working to enhance three key freshwater pearl mussel populations in the north, south and west of Scotland

To improve c 14.8km of riparian and 2.9km of instream habitat to support freshwater pearl mussels and salmonids at three sites in Scotland.

Buglife Scotland

Central Scotland B-lines

The purpose of the ‘Central Scotland B-Lines’ project is to create a network for nature by increasing the area of wildflower-rich grasslands and restoring habitat connectivity within East Dunbartonshire, South Lanarkshire, Falkirk and Edinburgh.

Scottish Canals

Greening Pinkston Basin

Establishment of wetland refuge habitat within the Pinkston basin area using a Floating Wetland system and involving the planting of over 3,600 native aquatic plants to form an aquatic and terrestrial habitat suitable for fish, insects, amphibians, birds and mammals.

Glasgow City Council (on behalf of the Seven Lochs Partnership)

Seven Lochs and Cumbernauld SpRiNT (Species Rich Networks Team)

To deliver 21 habitat creation and enhancement projects in parks, amenity greenspaces and green corridors across the Seven Lochs and Cumbernauld Living Landscape project areas – focusing on increasing species richness (especially pollinator species, and at Seven Lochs also water vole), and bringing sites into positive conservation management.

RSPB Scotland

Curlews in Crisis Scotland

The purpose of the grant is to work in partnership within specific areas of Caithness and Ayrshire to increase suitable breeding habitat for curlew through targeted management and to conduct studies of success against control sites.  The project will advocate curlew friendly proposals that could be applied elsewhere.

St Andrews Botanic Garden

St Andrews Green Corridors

To develop, enhance and link two key habitat corridors across the town of St Andrews in Fife in order to reduce habitat loss, establish and implement a sustainable management plan for invasive species and reduce ecological fragmentation of the space resulting from years of development and lack of management for biodiversity.

National Trust For Scotland

Invasive non-native species (INNS) control in North West Scotland

Invasive non-native plant control at Balmacara, Corrieshalloch, Torridon and Inverewe.

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Fetlar Red-Necked Phalarope Habitat Management

To undertake management works to restore and significantly improve two key breeding sites for the rare red necked phalarope at the Mires of Funzie and nearby second site and install three data loggers.

Cairngorms National Park Authority

Cairngorms Nature Action Plan

Action for Aspen – fencing and stock removal to allow natural regeneration of aspen suckers, planting up 3ha. of aspen to improve connectivity between existing sites.  Male or female trees will be added to single sex stands to increase reproduction and genetic diversity.  

Rare Invertebrates in the Cairngorms - making the area more favourable for pine hoverfly and other pollinator species by captive rearing of pine hoverfly for release, creation of stumps for larval development and providing young rowan with protective tubing.

Angus Council

River South Esk Catchment – 2020 Source to Sea Challenge

To undertake various works and associated monitoring on and around the River South Esk in Angus – montane enclosure for woolly willow, riparian planting of native broad leaved trees, riverbank restoration and introduction of large woody debris and de-culverting and wetland creation on the Den Burn in Brechin.

RSPB Scotland

East Scotland Corn Bunting Project

The purpose of this grant is to provide advice to land managers to benefit at-risk farmland birds particularly corn bunting, within eastern Scotland. The grant supports staff costs to provide the advice and also ensure delivery of the specific land management targets defined in the application.

ScotFWAG

The Birds and Bees Project

The purpose of the grant is to allow ScotFWAG to facilitate the restoration and expansion of extensively managed species-diverse grassland to help reconnect farmland habitats. This will be achieved through their use of their suite of Farmland advisors throughout Scotland working in partnership with 55-60 farmers to create up to 0.5ha of habitat on each farm.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS)

Improving conditions around protected areas to increase connectivity around and within freshwater pearl mussel SACs

To remove impediments to fish movement on three key tributaries of the River Borgie SAC, and increase broadleaf riparian woodland on the River Oykel SAC and tributaries of the River Evelix and River Borgie SAC.

Dee Catchment Partnership

Easter Beltie Restoration Project

To establish a new area of river corridor and floodplain through the creation of a new meandering channel, connected to its floodplain and re-connected to the downstream river corridor, enriched by riparian native tree planting, woodland and open wet ground.