Grantee: Laikenbuie Ecology Trust

Duration: 10 months (June 2026 – April 2027)

 

This project will train Laikenbuie’s local community in heritage skills, restore rare habitats and species, and connect a greater diversity of people with nature.

Background

It is estimated that human connection to nature has declined by 60% since 1800. Meanwhile, heritage skills are in decline, with over 185 crafts listed on the Red List of Endangered crafts.

The revival of heritage skills presents a carbon-neutral solution to habitat management while also encouraging nature connectedness.

The Project

This project will harness the potential of heritage skills in conservation management, focussing on the restoration of rare fen (mineral-rich wetland) and drystone wall habitat at Laikenbuie, Nairnshire.

Volunteers will receive training in scything, enabling the rotational cutting of fen habitat. This will increase the occurrence of rare wetland plants at Laikenbuie, such as Lesser Butterfly-orchid, Ragged Robin and Globeflower. An increase in wetland flowers will lead to an increase in nectar-feeding insects like the declining Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly.

Separate training will focus on drystone wall repair and maintenance. The techniques and principles of dry stone dyking will be introduced to participants along with wider knowledge of different styles of wall, stones and dry stone dykes as a landscape feature. The restored drystone walls will provide corridors for species like Pine Marten, nesting and hibernating habitat for birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles, and microclimates for insects and reptiles. It will secure the Laikenbuie site boundary for livestock in an ecologically-rich way, opening more of the site up to rewilding.

A further workshop will focus on wildlife tracking, with a focus on species relevant to Laikenbuie, including Water Vole, Red Squirrel and Eurasian Otter.

Access to Laikenbuie’s rich habitats will also be improved through the installation of new bridal gates, enabling the Trust to offer site access and events to organisations who work with people with disabilities or impaired mobility.

Images courtesy of Laikenbuie Ecology Trust