REWILD in Mongabay, June 2021

A new long-read and photographic series commissioned by U.S. environmental site Mongabay. Rewilding in Scotland reconsiders land use in light of global ecological concerns. Debate rages between groups over the heart of the concept, and what is deemed to be man-made and natural.

Kieran Dodds REWILD in Mongabay, June 2021 ** This is a composite image stitched from multiple files. Carrifran Wildwood began life in the mid 1990s when a group of 40 individuals united to rewild one single catchment to create the 1500 acre (607 ha) forest. The idea was so singular and appealing that it was funded by donations from around 600 supporters buying the land on the first day of the new millennium. Neighbouring land was is recently clear-felled commercial forestry, the majority of the forests in Scotland. Only 4% of the land cover is native woodland with 15% used for commercial plantations. The UK rewilding movement draws together diverse groups with a long term vision for wilder cities and landscapes. Scotland’s forests cover 19% of it land surface, the highest of the four nations that comprise the United Kingdom, but as a whole the U.K. is one of the least forested in Europe at 13% compared to an average of 38% across the E.U. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has called for the Scottish Government to declare the world’s first Rewilding Nation before the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November 2021 with the aim to set aside 30% of land for rewilding by 2030. Credit: Kieran Dodds
Kieran Dodds REWILD in Mongabay, June 2021 Marks of muirburn on a moorland near Colquhar in the Scottish Borders. The annual removal of heather by fire is a technique used in Scotland to stimulate growth of shoots to feed grouse populations for shooting. The UK rewilding movement draws together diverse groups with a long term vision for wilder cities and landscapes. Scotland’s forests cover 19% of it land surface, the highest of the four nations that comprise the United Kingdom, but as a whole the U.K. is one of the least forested in Europe at 13% compared to an average of 38% across the E.U. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has called for the Scottish Government to declare the world’s first Rewilding Nation before the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November 2021 with the aim to set aside 30% of land for rewilding by 2030. Credit: Kieran Dodds
Kieran Dodds REWILD in Mongabay, June 2021 Glen Feshie in the Scottish Highlands, is flag ship site for rewilding after deer numbers were reduced from 45 to 2 deer/km2 to allow natural regeneration of trees on the bare moorland. The ‘granny’ Scots Pine trees, some over 260 years old, were assumed to be unable to form viable seeds but have confounded expectations. The UK rewilding movement draws together diverse groups with a long term vision for wilder cities and landscapes. Scotland’s forests cover 19% of it land surface, the highest of the four nations that comprise the United Kingdom, but as a whole the U.K. is one of the least forested in Europe at 13% compared to an average of 38% across the E.U. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has called for the Scottish Government to declare the world’s first Rewilding Nation before the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November 2021 with the aim to set aside 30% of land for rewilding by 2030. Credit: Kieran Dodds
Kieran Dodds REWILD in Mongabay, June 2021 Carrifran Wildwood began life in the mid 1990s when a group of 40 individuals united to rewild one single catchment to create the 1500 acre (607 ha) forest. The idea was so singular and appealing that it was funded by donations from around 600 supporters buying the land on the first day of the new millennium.  The UK rewilding movement draws together diverse groups with a long term vision for wilder cities and landscapes. Scotland’s forests cover 19% of it land surface, the highest of the four nations that comprise the United Kingdom, but as a whole the U.K. is one of the least forested in Europe at 13% compared to an average of 38% across the E.U. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance has called for the Scottish Government to declare the world’s first Rewilding Nation before the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November 2021 with the aim to set aside 30% of land for rewilding by 2030. Credit: Kieran Dodds