The River Spey, the second longest & fastest-flowing river in Scotland, is world-famous for its salmon & trout fishing, whisky distilleries & natural beauty.  Nevertheless, it is also an eco-system facing significant threats which the Spey Catchment Initiative & Spey Fisheries board are working hard to mitigate through co-ordinated conservation efforts.  Such is the strength of feeling for the river though, there is a strong appetite locally to do more & to boost current restoration work with new projects.  HIEF was approached to co-ordinate these projects & to collate donations from key individuals & local businesses to pay for them.  The aim is to create an alliance of everyone who loves/has an interest in the River Spey to enable them to work together to restore the river’s local ecosystem along its entire length.  This grant, which is to be match funded by Spey Soda, will provide funds for a scoping report to identify potential projects as well as initial grants to kick-start the programme.