The stories, people and projects behind the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund

In this episode we meet some of the recipients of The Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund - a European Regional Development Challenge Fund, managed by NatureScot.

The fund has supported projects that encourage visitors to experience a wider range of the unique nature and culture of the Highlands and Islands. The fund also aimed to benefit communities, with the projects it supports helping to retain local jobs and services.

We attended an event celebrating the fund and its projects where we met with representatives from five of the projects, as well as NatureScot staff involved with the fund.

More information:
The Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund
Full list of projects receiving funding through The Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund

Projects featured in the episode:
The Real Wild West - Archaeology Scotland and the West Ardnamurchan Community
Corrieshalloch Gorge Gateway to Nature - National Trust for Scotland 
Scotland's Wildlife Discovery Centre - Royal Zoological Society of Scotland
Wildlife Watch Abernethy - RSPB Scotland
Dundreggan Rewilding Centre - Trees for Life

 

Transcript

Kirstin:

Hi and welcome to Make Space For Nature from NatureScot, the podcast that celebrates Scotland's nature and landscapes. I'm Kirstin Guthrie and in each episode we'll help you connect with and take care of our amazing natural world. In this episode, Tim Hancox and I meet some of the recipients of the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund, a European Regional Development Challenge Fund managed by NatureScot. The fund has supported projects that encourage visitors to experience a wider range of the unique nature and culture of the Highlands and Islands. The fund also aimed to benefit communities with the projects it supports helping to retain local jobs and services. We attended an event celebrating the fund and its projects where we met with representatives from five of the projects, as well as Nature Scott staff involved with the fund.

Hi Eileen, welcome to the Make Space for Nature podcast. Thanks for joining us today. Can you introduce yourself? So tell us about the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund?

Eileen:

Hi, I’m Eileen Stuart and I’m NatureScot’s Deputy Director for Nature and Climate Change. The Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund is a fund of European money that we’ve been able to use to support projects across the Highlands and Islands. It’s the first time, as far as I know, that we’ve had a project with funding to particularly bring together the natural and cultural heritage assets and I think that’s been really innovative and interesting. Overall, we’ve got investment of £8.2 million and that’s drawn in additional money so overall the project is levering in £22 million in investment across the Highlands and Islands. It’s a really big investment if you think about some of the locations these projects are in. These projects are dispersed in places like Skye, really rural areas in Ardnamurchan where jobs are really hard to come by. So that’s been a really good outcome of the projects. And a lot of that investment has been used locally and all the projects were doing their best to find local suppliers to keep that investment in the local community.

Tim:

Eileen, that's such a boost to the local economy. Could you tell us other ways that the fund has impacted on the local people in the areas?

Eileen:

Overall, I think it’s been hugely successful. We were hearing about some of the projects just earlier. What it’s really done is enable us to direct some of the tourists to places that they might not discover. I think that’s been really exciting. We know Highlands and Islands are really well known for places like Loch Ness and Skye, the castles. Those are the places people tend to go to but what these projects have done is put investment in some of the lesser well known assets. So we’ve had people in Strathnaver, really important museum that we’ve been able to restore and upgrade and support the local community there to get a real asset that they’re proud of and want to share with people. That’s what’s been great. It’s sustainable and it’s bringing people to places that they might not otherwise discover and spread that impact across the season as well, that’s been a really important part of the work we’ve been able to achieve.

Kirstin:

Can you tell us about any specific ones you've particularly enjoyed seeing come to fruition?

Eileen:

They’re so diverse and that’s what’s really amazing. Some of the archaeological work has been really interesting cause with archaeology you don’t know what you’re going to find until you start that work. So seeing how communities got engaged in this work and found out more about their local place and their local environment. The work that’s been underway in Ardnamurchan has been really exciting because they’ve managed to connect a whole range of locally important sites and make an archaeological trail. That’s been great to see. I’ve been really lucky to go out and see Corrieshalloch, the National Trust’s new visitor centre which is just a really beautiful design and a fantastic location and really sensitively developed with trails and so on so you’re able to go and access Corrieshalloch, a really important natural environmental site but also to have it interpreted in a way that’s in keeping with the landscape and so on. There are almost too many to choose from but those have been highlights for me.

Kirstin:

So Eileen, thanks so much for giving us an oversight of the fund and the projects today.

So we've now been joined by some of the people involved with the projects and our first guest is Paul. Hi Paul, please tell us about your role and the project.

Paul:

I’m Dr Paul Murtagh from Archaeology Scotland. We delivered a project on Ardnamurchan called ‘The Real Wild West Adopt-a-Monument Ardnamurchan.’ Our project changed a lot over the course of the programme, especially because of things like the pandemic. Really, what Adpopt-a-Monument is is working with the community to look after the heritage that they’re interested in. That can be anything from a factory to a lighthouse. In this instance we adopted ten sites across Ardnamurchan peninsula. They’re sites all chosen by the community. We had an influence but we didn’t have control of that. The community come to us and say they’re interested in this site or that site for various different reasons, that could be because they had access issues to some of the sites, or it could be because it needs some extra funding to help preserve it. So our aim was to work with the community to enhance and look after these sites. But all of that was tied in with the West Ardnamurchan Community Development Plan so it was aligned with the wider community business and development plan. The idea that these ten sites would encourage people to visit them then spend some extra time in Ardnamurchan. Not just go to the lighthouse or go to Càrna but actually slow down and maybe go to the shop and the café and the pub to help economically as well. It’s using heritage and archaeology to increase or slow down tourism and help economically but also things like develop a sense of place, helping people learn new skills, bring the community together to have fun. A range of different aims and objectives but effectively community-led and community co-designed. Our favourite site is the Kilchoan Jetty, it was a jetty from the 1880s used for transporting cows and sheep but also latterly used as a centre for Kilchoan Regatta, so a big race that happens every year. So a real centre of the community. But it was falling apart. It was repaired a number of times over the years. In the early 2000s it was recognised that it wasn’t really fit for purpose. They had funding but the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund helped us support that fund and then help repair the jetty. So that was a really physically important infrastructure project but it was done by the community themselves, kind of like a men’s shed or the ‘jetty boys’ as they were known, would come together and do the work themselves so it was really good in terms of learning skills and development but also bringing people together, having fun, making friends, really helped things like social isolation, especially during the pandemic. It created a lot of positive feeling from the community. The legacy of that is a really great piece of heritage that’s able to be used and shared but then economically it’s good in terms of more people can sail and park there. The fishermen use it. Families use it to swim. It’s become a hub for the community. The project didn’t set out to achieve that. The outcomes emerged by doing it which is a bit different than a traditional archaeology project so that was really positive. We adopted ten sites so we helped with the refurbishment of the lighthouse, we improved access to a number of the Neolithic chambered tombs, and all that is connected with a heritage trail. Each site has new interpretation and people can go around the ten sites and see for them for themselves. A lot of people go to Ardnamurchan and they get off the ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan. They might drive to the lighthouse but they mainly drive to Mallaig and then get the ferry to Skye or go to Fort William. People just drive through and don’t stop or slow down. So not necessarily increasing people coming to Ardnamurchan but just slowing them down a wee bit.

Kirstin:

So how did the Fund actually contribute to the project?

Paul:

Well obviously a massive source of income and fund to help us deliver the work so they help support a number of jobs within the programme itself. We were able to employ a local Engagement Officer who lives there, Sam, who’s done an amazing job. We employed a field archaeologist to help us deliver the actual field archaeology. We were able to procure, that was one of the big issues procurement, a traditional skills specialist who is a local person who has helped us deliver some of our traditional skills projects within the programme. So that economic benefit in terms of employment has been really powerful. And then things like repairing the jetty and repairing the lighthouse, which is a really interesting old fishing station. These are buildings or sites that are not able to have funding any other way but this fund helped us do that so it’s really positive. We’re coming to an end now. All the projects are almost finished. The last wee bit is getting the interpretation installed and that’s taking a long time because Ardnamurchan is quite remote so trying to get people there to install these interpretation signs should happen in the next few weeks so we’re really excited about that. That will be launched, we’ll have an official launch party and there’s a website linked with that so you can go and visit it virtually. The community have really engaged with some of the sites in particular, so our Blackhouse Project at Achnaha, which is a traditional skills project, the community want to turn it into maybe a visitor centre or a wee museum and they’re really keen to do a much larger scale archaeological excavation to investigate it as well. So the community are already saying ‘what’s next? what can we do next?’ so that’s really exciting and we love working there so any more options would be great.

Kirstin:

It’s been so great to hear about this today, particularly as there are ten sites involved with the project, it’s pretty huge. Thanks so much for joining us today, Paul.

Paul:

Thanks very much.

Kirstin:

So we’ve now been joined by Tommy Junor from the National Trust for Scotland. Hi Tommy, could you introduce yourself and the project please?

Tommy:

Hi, I’m Tommy and I’m the Visitor Services Manager at Corrieshalloch Gorge National Nature Reserve which is not far from Ullapool in the North West Highlands. The project I’ve been involved in since November, so not that long in terms of the whole scale of the project. But I’m now part of a team based at the site at Corrieshalloch where we have a fantastic new visitor services facility which includes a grab-and-go café. It’s all eco-friendly and we use Vegware in all our products, it’s all compostable products. A nice bit of seating and it overlooks the fabulous River Droma. We have improved car park facilities which was much needed in that area with it being a part of the very busy and successful North Coast 500 Route. So great car parking, we have electric car charging points. We always have a very valuable motor home service point which is really useful. You get them all over Europe but not so common in this part of the world so that’s your freshwater, chemical waste disposal, all those sorts of things. That’s been terrific and had rave reviews from our international visitors so far. We’ve also got brilliant, I would have to say best, toilet facilities in the North West Highlands. I often advise people to go into the toilets even if they don’t need the toilet just to check them out. One, because they’re brand new and because we have a fantastic image on both our toilet facilities showing a drone image of the Gorge in winter which looks spectacular when you’ve got all the icicles and snow on the embankments either side, it’s a pretty special visit to the toilets! The gorge itself is pretty unique in the UK, it’s what’s called a slot gorge. It essentially looks like a big Viking or Gaelic giant has taken a big knife, stabbed it into the earth and then just pulled it out again. It’s 60 metres deep the gouge and it was created back in the last Ice Age so it’s existed for thousands and thousands of years. Obviously, the weight of the ice crushed the rock and created these horizontal fractures and as the ice rotated and melted after the last great Ice Age, all the rocks washed away and it’s left behind these stepped, almost like Lego brick falls as well as the gorge itself. So it’s very dramatic. In time it’s created this unique natural habitat for various invertebrates, wee insects, mosses and lichens and ferns that are untypical to this area, that’s what gives it its SSSI status, which it’s had since the 70s, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest. It attracts all sorts of different people and specialists to the area because of this unique habitat and unique creatures and flora that are able to hang on and thrive there in this unique habitat. There are a couple of historic paths because the area was a Victorian estate for a number of years. But we’ve introduced a fantastic new accessible path which links the new visitor centre and the facilities to the old Victorian paths and the rather dramatic Victorian suspension bridge which spans the gorge. So the new path is some 800 metres, it’s an undulating path but really accessible to many folk and it introduced people to quite an immersive experience because you’ve got ancient upland birch woodlands surrounding you, especially around this time of year when everything’s exploded with colour and you’ve got the sound of the birds. We’ve got several water features which you pass on the way down to the gorge as well which have all been given Gaelic names to incorporate the rich tapestry in Gaelic history and heritage and culture of the area which I think is really important. You’ll get down to the gorge by the new path. As I mentioned before, we’ve got a Victorian era suspension bridge, which is actually 150 years old now, and that’s been maintained by the Trust since we acquired the land in the 1940s. So it’s quite an experience in itself the path but the bridge, mamma mia! We only allow 6 people on at a time as it is a small Victorian bridge and if there’s a wee bit of wind up, which we’re not shy of in the North West Highlands, it can fair get the bridge swinging, so it can! Of course, you look down through the slats in the bridge and it’s a sheer 60 metre drop down towards the rushing River Droma below. So even if you’re good with heights it has quite a dizzying effect on the mind because it’s not something humans typically experience on a daily basis. And also, just a bit further afield we have a cantilevered platform, which was installed in the early 2000s, which gives you a fantastic direct view looking straight up the sides of the gorge, up towards the Falls of Measach which are 45 metre waterfalls which again, in spate, is incredible, the acoustics, the rush of the water, the sound of the thunderous water and all the spray coming up the sides of the tight walls of the gorge itself, it almost looks tropical. It doesn’t feel tropical but just because of the spray and the mist and the greenery, it’s pretty incredible. The funding was key, couldn’t have done it without it obviously. The major funding for this particular project came from the European Regional Development Fund and NatureScot with its partners in the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund. Because we got that collateral from these funding partners, we were able to match it, the National Trust for Scotland were able to commit a large amount of funding to match that. I think the project itself was a £3.1 million project, so a large sum to commit. But it’s going to allow us not only to run these fantastic facilities for our visitors as well as locals, many have visited several times, but it means that there’s a team on site. We’ve got two full time permanent members of staff - myself and the ranger. As well as eight to ten seasonal members of staff employed locally many of them. That allows us to have humans on site to ensure that the nature reserve is protected and cared for and looked after responsibly. We’ve completed what would be phase one, which is putting in the base infrastructure. We’ve got the visitor centre open now, we’ve got the team, the path is open, the bridge is open, everything’s good to go and we’ve been open now for eight weeks and it’s been really successful so far. We’ve had positive feedback from our international visitors as well as locals, and of course you’re always going to get your handful of more constructive feedback as well and we’ll use that constructive feedback going into phase two which we’ll be going into next month which is only hours away, I think, we’re not far from June. We’ll be going into phase two and that will be improving the car parking, maybe further installation of things like car parking metres, new interpretation and signage, so more Gaelic interpretation and signage, we’ll have fold out maps with images and historic and cultural and environmental details for customers and visitors to be able to take away with them. So there’s lots and lots still to go on as we move into phase two, and even speaking to our regional manager and other people involved in the project, there’s lots of ideas going forward too so I think I’ll be kept on my toes.

Kirstin:

It was such a pleasure to meet you today, Tommy.

Tommy:

Pleasure.

Kirstin:

So we’ve now been joined by Celia Brady. Hi Celia, can you tell us what you do and which project you’re involved with?

Celia:

I work for the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and we’re based at the Highland Wildlife Park and creating Scotland’s Wildlife Discovery Centre with support from the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund. Our main aims were to enhance the visitor experience to Highland Wildlife Park, creating new facilities and creating a journey of discovery across the Park. In doing so we’ll be creating new jobs and we’re also able to have the facilities to deliver new products and services which will enable visitors, local communities, schools, young people to connect with nature and learn how to protect it.

Kirstin:
Fantastic. Can you tell us more about the Wildlife Discovery Centre, I think there’s three buildings?

Celia:

That’s right, it has three focal points. The first is a Discovery Centre which will welcome visitors as they arrive into the Wildlife Park and introduce themselves to the landscapes and natural habitats of the Cairngorms region. From there, we move over to the Learning Hub which is on a small rise, giving a fantastic view out across the Spey, Insh Marshes and across to Glen Feshie which is a beautiful backdrop for this lovely building which is a large space that can be divided into two classrooms and it’s set up for a team of educationalists who will be connecting children and young people with nature.

Kirstin:

And the Hilltop Hub, is that the other building? What’s that for?

Celia:
It’s a very special place, not only has it’s stunning views but it looks across to the Saving Wildcats Breeding for Release Centre which is a private, off-show area. It’s biosecure and there’s very little human contact. However, you get a good view of it from there and this site is being used to breed wildcats and these wildcats will be ultimately released into the Cairngorms Connect region. So all a visitor has to do is to turn around and take in the view across Glen Feshie and know that there are wildcats back in that environment again. They were declared functionally extinct in 2019 which is why we developed the project with the support of many partners, including NatureScot, Forestry Land Scotland, Cairngorms National Park, and together we’re working to create a new future for wildcats in Scotland.

Kirstin:
And what about some of the other species at the park? What other flora and fauna is there?

Celia:

The Highland Wildlife Park has an array of lovely natural habitats which support many rare and endangered species. We have an important breeding colony for the small scabious mining bee and visitors will be able to see the kinds of habitats these insects rely on and understand how more habitat protection can help to expand this species which is very endangered. We also have an incredible project to breed one of the iconic Caledonian forest species, the pine hoverfly. It hadn’t been in the wild for over 10 years and our keepers took them into a breeding programme and learned how to breed them which is incredibly difficult. It took them three years to perfect this programme but now they know what they’re doing, they can breed thousands of these insects every year and working with partners across the Cairngorms, we are now releasing these pine hoverfly. And having not been seen in the wild since ten years ago, last summer they actually saw adult pine hoverflies again.

Kirstin:

Wow, that is some success story! And I presume through the new education centre that you can share these stories with the younger generation, with school children?

Celia:

We have only been able to take a handful of children every year into the Highland Wildlife Park and offer education programmes. With the new facilities created through the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund, we’ll be taking thousands of them and they’ll be able to learn first-hand about these programmes and probably even be able to take part in some of the activities themselves, helping to put these species back into the wild.

Tim:

That’s really nice to hear positive stories, particularly when we hear about the twin nature and climate crises a lot on this podcast, it must be really rewarding to work in this area.

Celia:

It’s incredibly satisfying to work on these kinds of programmes. A lot of people have mixed views on zoos but we are where we are and there are a lot of species that now reach such critically low populations, it’s only the specialist skills that you’ll find in a zoo, where people understand how to care and breed and manage populations of animals and insects. So zoos have a vital role nowadays of trying to preserve and protect and restore these species. Once the project opens we will be delivering schools programmes for the local area and outreach across the Highlands and Islands, hoping to reach thousands of children and young people every year. We’ll also be able to offer citizen science training programmes, conservation talks, we’ll have all the facilities needed to connect more people with nature and also the people visiting the Highland Wildlife Park will have a much better experience, they’ll have everything they need to have a great day out. This will obviously benefit people locally, all the Scottish people who visit, but people from many countries around the world who love to come to the Highland Wildlife Park.

Kirstin:

Thanks so much Celia for joining us today.

Celia:

Pleasure.

Kirstin:

We’ve now been joined by Jess from the RSPB. So Jess, can you tell us more about your role and the project please?

Jess:

Hi, my name’s Jess Tomes and I’m one of the Site Managers at RSPB Scotland’s Abernethy Reserve in the Cairngorms. Part of Abernethy Reserve is Loch Garten. Lots of people might be familiar with the name ‘Loch Garten’ and the fact that for over 60 years now it’s been synonymous with ospreys. We had the Loch Garten Osprey Centre there, the first incarnation of that was in 1959 when the only breeding pair of ospreys in the whole of the UK was opened up to public viewing in what we like to say is the first case of ecotourism in the UK, possibly even in the world, who knows. But for over 60 years we’ve been showing people breeding ospreys. Meantime, all around us is this amazing Caledonian Pine Forest but the story we always focussed on was Ospreys. The ospreys are doing really well now. They’re not the conservation story anymore. You can see ospreys all over the UK pretty much. The really important conservation story for us at Abernethy was and is the Caledonian Pine Forest and our work to restore it to its natural altitudinal range. So that really is why we have rebranded as the ‘Loch Garten Nature Centre’ and the ERDF money helped us to do that. The Caledonian Pine Forest used to cover much of the Highlands. Now it’s just down to very, very small parts. Some people say only 1% is left. So we’ve lost a lot of what we once had and what we do have is in small remnants, so it’s little bits dotted all around the Highlands. RSPB Abernethy Reserve actually has the largest remnant and it’s a really incredible habitat. When I first laid eyes on Caledonian pine forest in the mid-90s, I was totally blown away, I couldn’t believe I was in the UK. It’s incredibly rich and lush. It’s not what most people would understand as being a pine forest. It’s quite an open canopy with lots of light getting into the floor. There’s an enormous variety of ground flora. It’s not just pine’s either, there’s broad-leaved trees through there as well and it’s incredibly important for lots of special species. So we have a 200 year vision, which we share with our partners on the Cairngorms Connect partnership within the Cairngorms National Park, to expand and restore the forest back to its natural range where it should be and that is the story, essentially, that we now tell in the Loch Garten Nature Centre. We still have ospreys nesting there so this year we’re hoping for a hatch any day now. We’ve got three eggs in the nest and the Centre looks out onto the nest so people can still get their osprey fix and learn a little about the Caledonian Pine Forest at the same time.

Tim:

200 years is obviously a very long-term project but what about in the short term? Could you tell us about some of the goals you have and are you on track?

Jess:

We’re actually 25 years in already so you could technically say it’s a 175 year project. We’re already seeing the forest is expanding. So a big part of forest management and forest expansion is to keep a check on deer numbers. Obviously. red deer and roe deer have a place in our ecosystem and in the forest habitat, that’s where they belong but we don’t have any big predators of them anymore. We did away with wolves, we did away with lynx, so now humans have to get rid of the excess population of red deer to make sure that the forest can expand cause young forests, young trees are very susceptible to nibbling by deer.  So that’s a big part. We have a big presence in the forest of deer stalkers. The venison then enters the local food chain and we actually sell it at the Loch Garten Nature Centre. We want it to be an accessible, affordable meat product. Everybody should be able to afford venison. We now sell it at Loch Garten Nature Centre and it’s a by-product of our forest management. We’ve also been doing some replanting, not of Scots pine, Scots pine are re-establishing really well on their own, but the broad-leaved trees I mentioned earlier, they haven’t been re-establishing quite so easily. So on the edges of the forest we are planting locally sourced seed which has been grown into saplings to create seed source for the future forest. So we’re not just blanket planting a forest, we’re planting on carefully selected sites and locations, small pockets of broad-leaved trees such as willow, aspen, birch, and these trees will grow and become the future seed bearers and allow the forest to expand naturally, up to its altitudinal range. The Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund have funded the refurbishment of the Loch Garten Nature Centre and it’s there that we tell the story of forest restoration work. We had our first proper season last year. The season before, I lose track of years, but the season before we had to really limit numbers coming in because of Covid. So last year was the first real test and we got great visitor numbers, everybody loved it. It’s a very, very different experience to what it used to be. It’s essentially the same building but we ripped out every single internal wall, we ripped out two of the external walls and replaced them with glazing. It’s a nice big open plan space now, it’s light, it’s airy. Earlier on it was essentially a very nice architect designed bird hide. It was dark, small viewing slots, that was the only natural light that came in. And now it’s a really lovely space. In fact, I always forget it’s the same building because it’s so different. But it’s not just the visitors who have benefitted either, the staff have really benefitted as well because behind the scenes we’ve got a lovely proper dedicated office, a lovely staff room, we used to have a cupboard for a staff room with no natural light and you could only fit two people in it. So now we’ve got a proper dedicated staff room, a separate stock room, the stock room used to be part of the office. There was no heating, no insulation. The ERDF project has made a huge difference to our visitors but also to staff as well which is so important and because of that we can now open eight months of the year rather than five and we can work at the centre, in the office all year round because it’s heated and insulated. People come to the reserve all year round so we can still engage with people, even if the centre isn’t actually open, we can see visitors through the glass doors and nip out and have a word and engage with them. So it’s revolutionised working there, it really has. It’s been brilliant.

Kirstin:

Thank you so much for joining us today.

Jess:
Thank you.

Kirstin:

So we’ve now been joined by Laurelin Cummins-Fraser. Hello Laurelin. Can you tell us about your role and the project please?

Laurelin:

Yeah, absolutely. So I work with Trees for Life and we have just opened the Rewilding Centre at Dundreggan, that’s our 10,000 acre conservation estate found in Glenmoriston. So just 7 miles from Loch Ness we own this beautiful area of land that’s been our conservation hub since 2008. This project came about when we were looking at the long-term strategy of the charity and how do we involve more people in what we do, in other rewilding initiatives, how do we give more access to more people because being out in nature has great benefits to everyone, and how do we as a charity become more involved in the communities in which we work? Out of asking ourselves those questions, the idea of the Rewilding Centre began to form about 5 to 6 years ago. Since then it’s been lots of planning, business planning, fundraising, a lot of fundraising, and then the construction period, and that all just ended and we opened to the public on 15^th April which is really exciting.

Kirstin:

So when people actually get to the site, what’s actually there? What can we see?

Laurelin:

So they can see a working estate. Our tree nursery is still based there. We have a small and mighty nursery staff that grows between 80-100,000 trees a year. We have our volunteer weeks that stay in the lodge. But now when you come you see this beautiful new building, the Rewilding Centre, which is what we have called since the beginning a ‘gateway to the landscape’ and so it’s a place where you can gather, you can learn more through the interpretation there, but then get out into that landscape and really immerse yourself in it. And it’s the physical landscape as well as the cultural landscape, which is really rich in Gaelic.

Kirstin:

How did the Fund help the work happen?

Laurelin:

It really launched it because when we got the business consultation back and it said this is a really viable business idea, where’s the money going to come from? The NCHF was the first application that we did in 2019. When we got the word back that it was successful, it was just that moment where this is going forward, now we can get match funding and so it really has enabled the project from the beginning.

Tim:

And as far as what visitors can see, you mentioned nursery staff, what are the key species you’ve got growing there?

Laurelin:

Willow, aspen, we do a lot of montane species so those are the smaller ones that you’ll see in higher elevations because, as we know, the terrain here in Scotland can be a little more rugged in places where certain trees won’t survive. So we do a lot of rare and hard to propagate species and our staff is so knowledgeable in those because it’s what we do.

Tim:
And so what are the plans for the future?

Laurelin:

The project part it is done. The project was the building capital works and so that was done when the building was handed over and we opened the doors to the public in April. It’s funny, a lot of people will say to myself or a couple of other managers at the Rewilding Centre, “oh, the project is almost over.” It’s like, yeah, but our jobs are only starting as the operational managers of the facility. So that phase is done and now we’re into full on operations and right now that’s offering a really quality visitor experience for a wide range of audiences. There’s a lot of self-led interpretation activities but there’s also guided activities which our staff, who are very knowledgeable, can lead for you. We plan to build on that year after year. So this year is about simple, doing a few things really, really well, getting our feet under us, seeing what our guests are responding to and then adjusting and adding to that visitor experience year after year. I think people can expect if they visit from year to year, there’ll always be something new and different going on.

Kirstin:

Thanks so much for joining us today.

Laurelin:

Thank you for having me.

Kirstin:

So we’ve now been joined by Robyn Ireland, NatureScot’s Gaelic Communications Officer. Hi Robyn. Can you tell us how important Gaelic has been in all these projects please?

Robyn:

Hello. From the very outset of the fund and through the application process, Gaelic’s been recognised as an integral part of our country’s identity and culture. Projects have really been encouraged to use Gaelic as an asset that further enhances the visitor experience. That doesn’t necessarily mean focussing on translations between languages, but really going under the surface and making the most of the stories that Gaelic carries and embracing opportunities for an authentic tourist experience. I think locals in the area have benefitted from the investment as well. The use of the language solidifies their local knowledge and indeed, a sense of place for them as well.

Tim:

We’ve heard how Gaelic has been used in some of the projects. Can you give us more detail or some examples?

Robyn:

Certainly, Tim. There’s great examples across the breadth of the projects. At the Trees for Life Rewilding Centre at Dundreggan, Gaelic really plays a crucial part in promoting and explaining the strong links between our language and natural environment. It’s creatively woven into the workings of the Centre with text, audio, animation and the staff are given the opportunity to be able to learn the language and therefore further bolster what the Centre is able to offer going forwards. Another example would be Uist Unearthed where Gaelic runs through the entire project. The content is all bilingual and Gaelic audio features reflections on folklore, stories and songs that are associated with each of the archaeological sites.

Kirstin:

It is so good to hear how Gaelic has been woven into the projects. Thanks so much for joining us today Robyn.

Lastly, we’ve been joined by Arthur Keller, Head of Structural Funds at NatureScot. Hi Arthur. Can you tell us about your involvement in the fund please?

Arthur:

Hi Kirstin. Thanks very much. NatureScot runs two European funding programmes in Scotland, this one and the Green Infrastructure Fund. And my role is to make sure that those funds are invested and the outputs are achieved as we’d hoped. For the Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund that would have been challenging enough in normal times. Delivering capital projects in remote and rural areas of the Highlands and Islands is always challenging. Getting materials to far away places or getting contractors in to sites that are difficult for them to serve. But the period of time we’ve had to deliver this programme, it’s been very challenging of course. We’ve had lockdowns, we’ve had remote workings as a result of that, we’ve had labour shortages, inflation, and not to mention Brexit. So there’s been an awful lot we’ve had to do to help everyone get through that, to the point at which we’ve got to now where all of these projects have been completed.

Tim:

Arthur, we’ve heard from so many of the fantastic projects today, all helped along by the fund. Can you tell us, what now? What’s the legacy of these projects?

Arthur:

I think what we have is a very front of house type of programme for the Highlands and Islands. People who come to the Highlands and Islands will come into these projects, people who go to those local areas, those will be the main projects in that area. So together they very much enrich the experience of visitors right across the Highlands and Islands. And that will help people visiting connect to the natural and cultural heritage. Not only visitors but people who live in those areas too of course. And that we hope will help to promote sustainable development in the remote and rural areas which have unique economic pressures upon themselves. It will help to develop sustainable tourism. All these projects are exemplars of what that means. For example, we have a Visitor Centre at Dundreggan which is entirely sourced by renewable energy, it’s mostly used locally sourced building materials. We have the Nature Reserve at Hermaness which used a new form of recycled material in its board walk. And we have the very innovative way in which the Uist project has enhanced the Hebridean Way for cyclists and walkers that use that route.

Kirstin:

It’s been so great to hear all about the Fund, the projects and, of course, the people involved. Thank you so much for joining us today Arthur.

Arthur:

Thank you very much.

Kirstin:

Thanks for listening. If you’re enjoying Make Space For Nature, please follow it on your podcast app and leave a review or rating. We’d also love you to tell more people about the series. For more ways to connect with and help protect Scotland’s natural world go to nature.scot.