Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape Partnership

Rugged landscape at sunset including mountains and jagged rocks in the Scottish uplands
On Sgorr Tuath in Assynt in the far north west of Scotland.

Landscape Partnerships

Date awarded
Location
North, West and Central Sutherland
Local Authority
Highland
Applicant
Scottish Wildlife Trust
Award Given
£3000000
The project, part of an ambitious 40-year vision, restored parts of the rugged landscape in the far north-west of Scotland, including pathways, blanket bog and heath moor.

With some of the most dramatic and spectacular of Scotland’s scenery, the Coigach and Assynt regions are well known for their striking, steep-sided peaks including the iconic Suilven.

Their mountains, moorlands, lochs and coastline provide habitats for species such as golden eagles, otters, black-throated divers and freshwater pearl mussels.

The five-year project, supported by a grant of £3million, was ran by a partnership led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, covering an area of 606km².

A volunteering and cultural learning programme helped to engage local people and visitors to increase understanding of this vast area’s complex heritage.

As one of the remotest places in Europe, the area is home to a small, close-knit community which gives it a strong sense of identity.

Working with landowners and local people, the partnership regenerated and reconnected some of the remaining native woodland, introduced a major education project working with local schools and repaired pathways to improve access to nature.

The project is part of a wider decades long vision to bring woodland connectivity, species-rich flora and fauna, and economic growth back to the Scottish uplands.

Find out more about how the Landscape Partnership brought communities together for nature.

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