Autumn 2021 newsletter

Growing our impact….
thanks to you!

In our first 11 months, we’ve supported 15 projects with direct grants of just over £160,000 and raised another £40,000 of linked funding meaning we’ve succeeded in boosting funding for community-led environmental projects by just over £200,000.

On behalf of everyone at HIEF, and all our inspiring project partners, thank you; we are very grateful for your support.

Another £85,500 grants awarded
Grants of between £5,000 and £15,000 are helping the following projects:

  • in-shore marine pledge – to help secure better enforcement of current legislation to protect Scotland’s fragile and often beleaguered in-shore marine habitat.
  • Knapdale water vole project – piloting a new approach to water vole reintroduction (in areas with successful beaver reintroduction programmes)
  • Loch Hourn fact-finding mission – developing detailed models of the loch to show sea lice densities and dispersal over time providing a cumulative picture to inform local decision-making
  • Cairngorm cranes – examining the possible reintroduction of cranes to the Cairngorms
  • Blue Hope Alliance project officer – a capacity building grant supporting a coalition of organisations around the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area (MPA)
  • Coastal ranger service extension – supporting a further 6 months of the beach ranger post in Durness
  • Mapping & modelling resource – collating information from a variety of sources so coastal communities can produce an easy to interpret visual map of likely sea lice distribution and density
  • Wester Ross native oyster restoration – helping establish a native oyster nursery at the head of Loch Broom to cultivate 100,000 native oysters a year for 3 years to regenerate the depleted oyster beds in Loch Broom, Little Loch Broom and Old Dornie, Achiltibuie.

The need for grants that restore nature in the Scottish highlands and islands greatly outweighs the funding we currently have, so please do support us if you can.

If you are keen to get involved, you can make a donation here or get in touch if you’d like to support us in other ways.

If you know of a project that could benefit from a grant from HIEF, our application form is here.

Many thanks for your invaluable support.