Community Rewilding Guide
This page is part of the Community Rewilding Guide, a resource for local groups working to restore nature. Back to guide contents page.
Beyond the community, relationships with other organisations and individuals help to make rewilding projects happen. Sometimes the initiative even starts with an external partner. Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust was approached by the Yearn Stane Project which in turn was set up by a tree nursery social enterprise and an ecological consultancy, to restore a functioning ecosystem to the upland area of the Renfrewshire Heights. The Community Development Trust was inspired to take action to lease part of the area.
Others started with a small community group and went in search of alliances with influential partners, or organisations with access to important stakeholders such as landowners or fishermen. Several communities highlighted the value of support from Members of Parliament, Members of the Scottish Parliament, and councillors. Ury Riverside Park noted their positive experience of working with the local authority and of including councillors on their board.
The rewilding world includes a range of valuable support networks and organisations, such as the Coastal Communities Network (run by Fauna and Flora International), SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’s Northwoods Rewilding Network and Rewilding Britain’s Rewilding Network. The Global Rewilding Alliance connects groups with rewilding projects across the world. The Scottish Rewilding Alliance connects rewilding organisations, including community groups, to campaign on and advocate for rewilding in Scotland.
Working with public organisations can present communities with unexpected challenges. The rules that steer public bodies, conservation designations and regulating resource management, can all be blunt instruments for community management, and for the restoration of fully functioning ecosystems.
For example, parts of the Tarras Valley (owned by Langholm Initiative) are designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), and a Special Protection Area (SPA). The population of hen harriers is a key indicator for successful management, in official eyes. Guidance suggests the removal of natural woodland regeneration and keeping the area as ‘open ground’, but from experience a great deal of the statutory legislation can be interpreted differently, depending on the individual.
Similarly, Seawilding found that regulations poorly implemented by commercial organisations were applied rigorously to their small-scale activities. These obstacles can feel disproportionate and require patience.
Local Place Plans and Community Action Plans
These two types of plans offer ways for communities to define their needs and communicate them to others. They are often prepared by community councils or community development trusts, working in participation with the wider community. It can be helpful for community groups to include their intended or actual rewilding sites, in one or both types of plan, to ensure wider recognition and support. Find out more here.
Community Action Plans (CAPs) in Scotland are strategic documents created by local communities to address their specific needs, problems and potential.
These plans are developed through a participatory process that involves community members working together to identify priorities and outline actions to improve their local area. Read more here.
Bright Green Nature is a charity which offers micro-grants and advice, working with schools, families, and village groups across the Scottish Borders to bring nature back to spaces that they own and live in.
We provide a unique microgrant to participants in our ‘Wild Your Space’ programme – we are usually oversubscribed. The spaces we work with range from micro scale (small gardens) to several-hectare community areas. There will always be a need to manage these spaces, as there are limitations on where natural processes can take over. Even in a small garden we see wildflower patches or ponds increasing structural diversity and improving the health of that area, or communities leaving dead wood in woodlands instead of clearing it up.
Schools often lack training and, especially, time to maintain these areas, so our Nature Restoration Officer spends a lot of time training people up. Sometimes we receive a stellar application from a family or school that really stands out in terms of what they are doing and the level of engagement with the local community. This inspired us to start an ‘Ambassador’ programme – empowering people within the community to spread the word.
At first, it was just the funding – families who had no extra funds to bring nature back to their spaces. What really makes a difference, however, is the level of engagement and training that we can provide, usually 1:1, which is resource-intensive but worth it for the empowerment. We have recently started developing resources on topics such as ponds, wildflowers, and hedgerows. Often people don’t know where to look online, so these guides are useful. We also run a tool library for schools and provide pond plants and peat-free compost. We are looking to expand into providing seeds and trees through partnerships.
We have one part-time employee (Nature Restoration Officer) and a part-time volunteer. The microgrant administration also involves the founder (one day per month) and our Trustees in the decision-making process.
“Our project has been moved along more quickly because of the funding we received for pond plants. The pond is already proving a draw to native wildlife and we were enchanted by the different species of dragonflies that visited last year.”
“When the Newstead community raised funds to buy our Village Green, residents expressed a clear wish to encourage biodiversity and wildlife habitats while providing an outdoor social space. With the microgrant we were able to seed a wildflower area to help attract pollinators along with bluebells and primroses in the woodland. We have also very much appreciated the helpful advice and support which Bright Green Nature have offered us.”
Read more on their website.
How do we work with others?
Connect with us:
Get in touch: info@rewild.scot
We are grateful to SCOTLAND: The Big Picture for the images on this website.