Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) - Our Transforming Nature Projects

This ambitious project, led by the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board in partnership with two key upland estates, aims to enhance the instream habitat for spawning and juvenile fish in key tributaries and mainstem reaches of the River Dee.

225 large instream wood structures, each comprising 3 – 5 trees with root plates attached, will be installed at Mar Lodge Estate and Abergeldie Estate, in the Geldie, Bynack and Girnock Burns, as well as a stretch of the upper mainstem Dee. 

Large wood structure installation is a nature-based technique, becoming increasingly recognised as an important management tool for accelerating the rehabilitation of degraded watercourses by:

• Providing habitat for fish – Large wood structures help provide shelter from high velocity flows, shade, feeding, spawning and nursery sites, as well as refuges from predators.

• Creating diverse habitats, by restoring historic channels we are adding complexity to the river system and helping add specific conditions for the creation of spawning and fry habitat.

• Supporting biodiversity, by trapping nutrients for key species groups such as mayflies, stoneflies and caddis species.   

In the upper Dee catchment, there are many tributaries with little or no tree cover, and hence a lack of potential for natural woody debris to accumulate. In the past 10 years the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board has facilitated the planting of over 300,000 native trees in the riparian zones of upland tributaries. As it will take time for these trees to mature and eventually contribute debris to the watercourse, the proposed measures aim to re-establish the complexity that will eventually be provided naturally by the newly planted trees.

For information - River Dee Success Stories

The Peffery Catchment Restoration Project aims to implement Natural Flood Management and Nature Restoration techniques on the River Peffery and its tributaries.  The River Peffery has been heavily modified over the past c.200 years causing regular flooding of housing and other infrastructure in the catchment, most notably in and around Dingwall.  This occasionally causes serious damage and disruption which will become increasingly frequent in the changing climate. Past modification has degraded the river’s biodiversity value as well as natural channel and floodplain processes and the project, led by Lockett Agri-Environmental, will aim to address these issues through a range of interventions.  These will include leaky dam installation on the headwaters, remeandering, wetland creation, overflow channels, riparian planting, creation of storage ponds and the restoration of Dingwall’s Pefferside Park pond. 

Further information - Lockett Agri-Environmental

Green Shores is an ongoing project protecting and restoring saltmarsh habitats in the Sites of Special Scientific Interest designated sites in the Tay and Eden Estuaries and the Dornoch Firth. Saltmarshes are coastal habitats valued for biodiversity, carbon stores and as natural coastal defences. Saltmarshes are under threat from shoreline degradation and climate change. Building on our award-winning restoration activities, this project aims to scale improvements to the ecological status and increase resilience of saltmarsh habitat. Green Shores will create 30,000 square metres of young actively developing saltmarsh, reconnecting fragments of natural saltmarsh, repairing and protecting physical damage to ensure the survival of this rare, specialist habitat. The project is also propagating saltmarsh plants in dedicated polytunnel spaces to reduce the pressure on saltmarsh donor sites. To find out more about the project and learn about volunteering opportunities see our website.

For information - Green Shores, University of St Andrews

Saving Morvern’s Rainforest is a collaborative landscape-scale project led by RSPB Scotland. The project aims to support local landowners, managers and the community to enhance and restore important areas of rainforest on the Morvern peninsula. Efforts will focus on eradicating invasive non-native Rhododendron ponticum, and working collaboratively to reduce and control grazing impacts, boosting natural rainforest regeneration and expansion. 

The approach taken is to create local jobs, traineeships and volunteering opportunities, eventually establishing viable community legacy businesses for future project sustainability, including a local tree nursery which is being set up to support native planting schemes.

For information – Saving Morven's Rainforest

This ambitious project sees catchment health in the round: from hilltop through glens, to tributaries and rivers into the deep waters of Loch Aline. Informed by the expertise and passion of the Morvern community, this project will promote climate resilience, biodiversity and habitat connectivity, for a nature-rich, ecologically connected catchment.

For information – Aline Catchment Restoration

The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative is an exciting and ambitious partnership project delivering an innovative community-based strategic approach to the management of invasive non-native species on a landscape-scale along rivers in northern Scotland. The Initiative engages with local communities, landowners and volunteers to systematically tackle invasive species across 43 river catchments working with a network of local fishery board/trust partners and the University of Aberdeen. Control is coordinated over an area of 29,500km² – over a third of mainland Scotland – making this the largest invasive species control project in Great Britain. We control a portfolio of invasive non-native plant species (giant hogweed, Japanese knotweed, Himalayan balsam, American skunk cabbage) and the American mink – we believe we are the only invasive species control project in Great Britain to bring together invasive plant and animal control to make our activities efficient and better coordinated.

By actively engaging communities with local freshwater environments, we protect and restore Scotland’s waterways, landscapes and biodiversity for us all.

For information – Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI)

Social media - 

• SISI Facebook
• SISI Twitter
• SISI Instagram

This collaborative project will translocate ten, top priority Scottish plant species to new sites, preventing extinction and providing wider ecological benefits in the landscape. The species include five habitat-building upland trees and five iconic ground flora species, and include pollinator favourites. All are threatened by a combination of land-use change, overgrazing, disease, genetic constraints and climate change. The project will facilitate natural population growth by building genetically diverse, resilient and adaptable ex-situ collections, and translocating these into protected sites with strong potential for natural regeneration. Released from constraining factors, the new populations have the potential to expand rapidly with landscape-scale ecological impacts.

For information – RBGE Translocation and Restoration

This ambitious bid seeks to increase the biodiversity, climate resilience and ecological coherence of the River South Esk Catchment. It will sustainably deliver long lasting, transformational change at pace, in response to the ecological and climate crises. 

The Partnership’s vision is for habitat restoration and creation on the River South Esk and its catchment. It envisions a nature-rich, ecologically connected, working upland landscape, from hilltop to riverbed. The partnership project will be an exemplar of landscape scale change; increasing climate resilience and biodiversity in this upland landscape.

The project will deliver:  

• 30ha of wetland habitat
• Re-meandering 250m of March Burn
• Improving instream habitats in the River South Esk in Glen Clova
• 8.7ha of riparian woodland along 17.5km of currently open watercourse
• 6.5ha of native treeline woodland creation
• 155ha of native woodland via natural regeneration 
• Semi-natural grass and heathland habitat restoration

Further information to be provided. 

Abernethy Forest is part of the Cairngorms Connect partnership and is one of the UK’s largest and most intact natural forests, however it has suffered historically from a range of human impacts including removal of broadleaved trees, eradication of large native herbivores like aurochs and moose, overgrazing of montane scrub by sheep and deer and clear felling of large areas of ancient forest, replaced by even aged plantation. This project will help to undo some of these impacts and restore more natural characteristics by re-naturalising plantation areas, planting broadleaved trees and restoring lost montane scrub. A package of research and monitoring will inform this and future work. Work will be done by RSPB staff, volunteers and local contractors and we will work closely with Cairngorms Connect to deliver the work.

For information – 

• RSPB Loch Garten
• Cairngorms Connect

The Loch Arkaig catchment, in Lochaber, west Highlands, is home to important remnants of ancient Caledonian pinewood, which in this setting is even more special, as it’s also a part of Scotland’s rainforest.

Through the Nature Restoration Fund project, three neighbouring landowners are committed to sharing knowledge, experience, and resources towards restoring and reconnecting these ancient woodlands. The Woodland Trust Scotland, Achnacarry Estate and Arkaig Community Forest will be supported by three delivery partners: Trees for Life, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the James Hutton Institute.

This ambitious project aims to undertake the following:

•Create over 200 hectares of rare transitional mountain woodland

• Restore over 100 hectares of peatland edge woodland, through removal of non-native plantations including use of innovative low impact and low emissions freshwater barging 

• Increase species diversity across almost 80 hectares through use of enrichment planting and direct seeding

•Translocate specialist ancient woodland species, such as small cow-wheat and wood ants

•Restore ancient woodland in the riparian zone alongside the River Mallie

•Remove and manage invasive species such as Rhododendron ponticum and Gaultheria shallon across over 400 hectares

•Develop cross-boundary deer management and fencing strategies to manage herbivore impacts across over 1,000 hectares

For information – Loch Arkaig Pine Forest, Woodland Trust

At Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust Caerlaverock in Dumfries and Galloway we will restore natural habitat transition creating conditions for natural processes to develop a more sympathetic, resilient coastline, reversion to saltmarsh and creating adjacent resilient freshwater systems, allowing nature to respond to sea-level rises and coastal squeeze. Linking river and estuary to saltmarsh, then freshwater wetlands and raised bog beyond. Allowing key species and habitats to adapt to climate change, helping lock up carbon and mitigating a changing climate. 

• restore 200ha wetland habitat

• enable ecosystem sensitive grazing 

• connect coastal and freshwaters

• encourage natural coastal processes 

• create habitats for rare species 

• increase water retention by blocking land drains and creating scrapes and pools

For information – Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

Scotland’s islands hold internationally important populations of breeding seabirds that face pressure from climate change, fisheries and offshore developments. The latest seabird census results show declines in 14 of the 20 species that breed here, including a 32% decline in the Atlantic puffin. Invasive non-native mammalian predators (such as rats, cats and mustelids) which are not naturally found on these islands will predate seabird chicks and eggs and can have a devastating impact. Invasive mammalian predators are the greatest terrestrial threat to seabirds and have led to loss of colonies the world over, including on Scottish islands. Biosecurity for Scotland is working with island managers, communities, businesses and many more to safeguard 38 islands or island groups with important seabird populations. Building on the legacy of Biosecurity for Life, working in partnership with RSPB Scotland, NatureScot and National Trust for Scotland and supported by Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, the project has a focus on reducing the risk of predator incursions on islands and working with island staff and other stakeholders to make biosecurity business as usual for seabird islands. 

For information – Biosecurity for Scotland

‘Wild Strathfillan – From Lochside to Mountain Top’ is an ambitious new nature restoration project working across 50,000 hectares of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs Countryside Trust is working in partnership with over 30 land managers, community groups, non-governmental organisations, local businesses, and statutory bodies to deliver a long-term programme of nature restoration. Wild Strathfillan’s ambition is to achieve a resilient, dynamic, and connected landscape, where people and nature thrive together.

For information - Wild Strathfillan Project, LL&T Countryside Trust

The project will undertake clearance of Rhododendron ponticum in the Tayvallich area of North Knapdale, Argyll and Bute, at a landscape scale. We are working with 11 landowners in the local area to complete clearance operations through staff effort and contract delivery to restore native woodland in this Rainforest Zone. In addition, the landscape scale approach will safeguard a large area of defendable, high-quality native woodland.  This project builds on the development phase project of 2023.

For information – Saving Argyll's Rainforest Secures NRF Funding

Scotland’s iconic red squirrels are under threat from the spread of invasive non-native grey squirrels. Introduced from North America by the Victorians, greys outcompete reds for food and living space and can carry the squirrel pox virus which doesn’t harm them but is deadly to reds. Since introduction they have displaced red squirrels in most of England and Wales, with more than 75% of the UK’s remaining population residing in Scotland today. Since 2009 Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has been protecting red squirrels via successfully demonstrable strategically targeted and co-ordinated landscape-scale grey squirrel control. Over the next two years the Nature Restoration Fund grant will enable the project to deliver further conservation work on the ground and develop new and innovative techniques to halt red squirrel declines, reinforce protections for the core red only populations of the Highlands, and progress long-term aims for population expansion in the north east and central lowlands of Scotland. 

The project is working at a landscape-scale across the country-wide Highland Boundary Fault Line and in Aberdeen City. 

For information – Saving Scotland's red squirrels

This project aims to safeguard the unique and internationally important native wildlife of Orkney by addressing the threat posed by invasive, non-native stoats.  It will carry out a key phase in the eradication of stoats from Orkney by delivering a second phase of knockdown to reduce the stoat population to low enough levels to move into a final phase of the eradication, a mop up phase. This phase will rely on a network of around 8,000 trap boxes and proactive trapping in response to detection of stoats in hotspot areas, using cameras, people and conservation detection dogs to find these animals. The project is being conducted across the Orkney islands with the eradication being delivered across the Orkney mainland and linked southern isles of South Ronaldsay, Burray, Lamb Holm and Glimps Holm. In the meantime, biosecurity measures will be delivered across the remaining islands to prevent the spread of stoats to the currently stoat-free islands within swimming distance. The project will then set up and roll out the methodology to prepare to deliver the mop up phase which will remove all remaining stoats.

For information – Orkney Native Wildlife Project