There are many ways to influence how areas of land are managed, from working with those already in control right through to taking control yourself and buying land as a community. 

Existing landowners who are part of a community of place can work together to enable landscape scale change. Bright Green Nature approaches this through working with garden owners. Others aim to work through existing large-scale landowners. The River Ericht Catchment Restoration Initiative highlights the challenges of ‘cold-calling’ landowners as a community group without owning any land itself, and where some landowners are ‘absentee owners’ - not living locally. The Nevis Landscape Partnership adopted a new constitution in 2021, to become a community-led organisation dedicated to delivering the Nevis Strategy. This says that ‘the community will be involved in decision making processes regarding the management of the Nevis landscape and visitor impact.’ 

The Glenmidge Burn Project started without land, by focusing on studying the biodiversity of the Glenmidge catchment, and while it now owns land, it sees this as part of a wider objective of enhancing the environment of the burn as a whole. 

And there are communities, particularly urban groups, who see ownership as an unnecessary burden. Midlothian Wildflowers, for example, works closely with the local authority to restore meadows in the area, and collaborates with Midlothian Climate Action Network members to support the development of a Midlothian wildlife corridor, as well as a local food growing network.

Becoming a community landowner

Many people see ownership as the route to community empowerment for rewilding. As landowners, the community can make and implement its own decisions about routes to rewilding. 

Land reform laws and the Community Empowerment Act provide mechanisms to help communities acquire land. Many communities find other routes to owning land, through negotiated sales with landowners, crowdfunding or community benefit arrangements with investors. 

Advice on moving towards community ownership is available from both government and non-government sources. 

Community Land Scotland is a membership organisation, established to provide a collective voice for community landowners in Scotland. It has over 130 member organisations across Scotland, ranging from community landowners of major crofting estates in the Western Isles to inner-city community hubs in diverse communities. It provides a roadmap to community ownership here.

The Scottish Land Commission is a public body that was set up to drive a “programme of land reform spanning both urban and rural land, to create a Scotland where land is owned and used in ways that are fair, responsible and productive.” It provides guidance on community engagement and ownership, based on evidence. 

The Community Ownership Support Service (COSS) is funded by the Scottish Government and provides advice and support to communities throughout the process of taking ownership of land and buildings. This includes help with feasibility studies, business planning, and navigating legal requirements. Find out more here.

Communities have the right to make requests to all local authorities, Scottish Ministers and a range of public bodies for any land or buildings they feel they could make better use of. They can request ownership, lease or other rights as they wish. The Scottish Government has made resources available to support communities in acquiring land. It provides a summary guide to asset transfer. 

Vacant and derelict land could provide opportunities for community rewilding. There is an official register of vacant and derelict land. The map can be accessed here. Vacant and Derelict Land can be challenging, because it can be contaminated or unsafe. The Glasgow and Clyde Valley Community Ownership Hub has summarised community experiences with this kind of asset.  

 

Further resource
The Lifescape Project aims to catalyse the creation, restoration and protection of wild landscapes by pursuing projects which utilise skills including science, technology,
law, economic and communications. Rewilding Britain commissioned a set of legal guidance notes for Scotland on developing and managing rewilding projects. Read the notes here.