Learning conservation restoration in the Scottish Highlands
September 05, 2025Each year, our Diploma cohort embarks on a field trip to experience the diverse activities organisations and individuals are undertaking to make a difference for wildlife. The experience provides opportunity to see conservation practices in action and understand some of the challenges involved in implementing these activities.
The Scottish Highlands offer a diversity of habitats and wildlife quite different to those our students hail from, and are particularly valuable due to the many projects aiming to restore or rewild the landscape. The Panthers (as our students are affectionally referred to) first visited Mar Lodge Estate to observe a flagship restoration project managed by the National Trust for Scotland. Spanning 290km2 within the Cairngorms National Park, the estate undertakes strategic deer culling to assist with the regeneration of Caledonian pine forest. While at the estate, the students contributed to rewilding efforts by adding a bamboo screen to newly erected fences that protect an aspen stand from deer, with the aim of preventing grouse from flying into the fence.
A visit to the Scottish wildcat reintroduction project at the Highlands Wildlife Park offered the chance to discuss a conservation initiative with practitioners. The project implements conservation breeding for release, using CCTV monitoring, GPS collars, and genetic testing to track behaviour, diet, and parentage, plus population viability analysis to guide their efforts. The Panthers were pleased to learn that the wild cats had recently reproduced in the wild, bringing hope they will soon grow into a self-sustaining population. Discussions also covered the challenges faced by red squirrels due to competition with grey squirrels and disease, the complexities of habitat use, species interactions, and the controversy surrounding the reintroduction of large carnivores (such as lynx and wolves) to Scotland.
In between the conservation project visits, there was time to appreciate the local wildlife, including spotting a pod of common dolphins off the coast at Cromarty, and observing Slavonian grebes in breeding plumage at RSPB Loch Ruthven. The trip was not without its cultural highlights too, with a hike up Arthur’s seat in Edinburgh, playing games, and sharing international music tastes to create a memorable bonding experience for these early career conservationists during their time at WildCRU.
