Over 700km2 of countryside and 60 individual projects are set to benefit from this major funding package. It includes the North Isles in Orkney, Callander’s Pass on the eastern edge of the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park and the River Garnock catchment in Ayrshire.  

The three areas awarded support

This HLF investment will help to conserve key habitats, save rare species and reconnect communities with the natural heritage on their doorstep. Here are the areas that are set to benefit:

1. North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme, Orkney: £2,829,200

One of the most remote landscapes in Britain, the North Isles Landscape Partnership covers 23 islands. The Landscape Partnership will protect this natural heritage and support fragile island communities, encouraging young people to stay and work on the islands.

2. Callander’s Landscape – Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park: £1,430,300

Set in an exquisite landscape including both the Lowlands and Highlands, Callander is a natural gateway to the National Park. This community-led project will transform Callander into the 'Outdoor Capital of the National Park', with a more accessible and conserved landscape for visitors and locals to enjoy.

3. Garnock Connections Landscape Partnership: £1,354,700

Ayrshire’s River Garnock runs through an area with some of Scotland’s highest levels of deprivation. Its influence is seen in the surrounding landscape, from the floodplain farmlands to the chemical plants and factories at the river’s mouth, including the now-derelict Alfred Nobel’s explosives factory. The project will conserve habitats across an area of 360km while creating a better understanding and stronger connections between local communities and the landscape.

Celebrating Scotland's natural heritage

Roseanna Cunningham, Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, said:  “The people of Scotland rightly take pride in our wonderful landscapes. The close relationship between the land and the people who live and work on it has helped to shape Scotland’s national identity over the centuries.

"Securing funding for these fantastic projects will further strengthen our understanding of that relationship and ensure these precious landscapes are preserved for generations to come.”

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, said: “What communities have often already started on a small scale, we are delighted to support and grow to bring real cohesion to the natural and built heritage of a region. People are reconnecting with, and appreciating the nature that makes Scotland so special.”