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Scotland’s landscapes to benefit from £9million HLF investment

Scotland’s landscapes to benefit from £9million HLF investment

A Golden Eagle
A golden eagle Laurie Campbell

This investment of National Lottery funding will see landscapes ranging from the lochs of North Lanarkshire and the coastline and uplands of Coigach and Assynt to the breeding grounds of the golden eagle in southern Scotland conserved and made more accessible, giving people the opportunity to experience the health, learning and social benefits of the great outdoors.

The awards made today bring HLF’s total support to Scotland’s natural heritage to over £100million.

Lucy Casot, Head of HLF Scotland, said: “As the summer weather encourages people outside to explore, we’re delighted to be able to help these projects conserve precious places while making them more available for people to enjoy. We know from ecological surveys that our natural heritage is being lost yet it is crucial for our survival.

"Thanks to players of the National Lottery, Scotland’s natural heritage has benefited from over £100m of HLF investment. From helping save tiny pollinating insects to encouraging new partnerships to managing huge landscape-scale projects, we are proud of what has been achieved in the effort to both preserve and share Scotland’s incredible natural environment."

Seven Lochs (Seven Lochs Partnership)
£4,461,800

Scotland’s largest urban nature park is to be created spanning the Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire boundary. Taking its name from the lochs in the area, the Seven Lochs Wetland Park is a ground-breaking project which will bring together built heritage, such as Provan Hall in Easterhouse, Drumpellier Country Park in Coatbridge, various archaeological sites and five nature reserves to create a national visitor destination encouraging people to explore the ‘hidden’ heritage within its boundaries.

Improved visitor facilities are planned to create gateways to the park as well as the restoration of Provan Hall - one of Glasgow’s oldest buildings. Walking and cycling routes will link the gateway sites and a range of activities introduced for people to enjoy and learn about the area’s heritage.

Coighach & Assynt Living Landscapes Partnership (Scottish Wildlife Trust)
£2,900,000

With some of the most rugged and spectacular of Scotland’s scenery, Coigach-Assynt is perhaps best known for its striking, steep-sided peaks including the iconic Suilven. Its mountains, moorlands, lochs and coastline provide habitats for species such as golden eagles, otters, black-throated divers and freshwater pearl mussels.

Covering an area of 606km², the Landscape Partnership project, part of a wider 40-year vision, has been developed by a partnership led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The five-year project will restore parts of the landscape, including regenerating and reconnecting the remaining native woodland; introduce a major education project working with local schools; and repair and improve pathways. The internationally significant Iron Age settlement at Clachtoll Broch, a local centre of power in 300BC, will be excavated and preserved. Local people and visitors will be encouraged to take part through volunteering and a cultural learning programme which will increase understanding of this vast area’s complex heritage.

RiverLife: Almond & Avon (River Forth Fisheries Trust)
£1,658,700

Covering 190km and flowing through West Lothian, Falkirk and the City of Edinburgh Council areas, the Almond and Avon Rivers were at the forefront of the industrial revolution, stimulating the rise of mills, mining and agriculture and shaping the communities along their banks.

The project will encourage people living nearby to reconnect with, and take stewardship of, the rivers through a number of projects and initiatives designed to improve the natural heritage for both wildlife and community use. Local communities will be involved in essential conservation work to restore and protect the rivers for aquatic wildlife. Paths will be improved to create better access and interpretation produced in conjunction with local heritage trusts.

There will also be awareness-raising events, skills training with accredited qualifications and volunteer events to promote and enhance the natural heritage and complement the physical improvements made.

South of Scotland Golden Eagle project (The Langholm Initiative)
First round pass of £1,150,500 including a development grant of £50,900

Once widespread, the population of golden eagles in the south of Scotland is now tiny and fragmented making it vulnerable to losses.

This five-year project brings together landowners, conservation organisations and statutory bodies in a bid to increase the population of Scotland’s most iconic bird of prey through introducing young eaglets from elsewhere in Scotland to the area.

Local communities across the region will be encouraged to support the species with public events, presentations, schools activities and guided walks. Around 50 volunteers will be recruited to run events as well as recording and reporting sightings. 

Further information

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