Highlands Rewilding

Overview

Highlands Rewilding was created to test whether nature recovery at scale can pay for itself and benefit the people who live nearby, rather than being a hobby for wealthy landowners. It rewilds and, in its own phrase, re-peoples the Scottish Highlands.

Its ambition is to increase carbon sequestration and biodiversity, create green jobs and generate profit for purpose from the land it owns and leases.

The Estates

Bunloit rises from the western shore of Loch Ness near Drumnadrochit, 513 hectares of native woodland, peatland and grassland with pine marten, red squirrel, badger and fox. The northern 336 hectares of the holding has since been sold.

Beldorney, in Aberdeenshire, was the second estate and drew attention from NatureScot as a test of what nature-led land management can deliver in the north east. It was sold in June 2025, the castle and part of the grounds to a private buyer and the remainder to the newly formed charity Deveron Wildland, both committed to continuing the restoration.

Tayvallich, in mid-Argyll, was the largest step. Its species-rich fen, juniper heath and fragments of Atlantic temperate rainforest sit inside the Knapdale National Scenic Area, close to Scotland's first modern beaver reintroduction. Over 625 hectares at Barrahormid has since passed to the charitable Barrahormid Trust, and Highlands Rewilding now manages more than 800 hectares there on the trust's behalf.

The Ownership Model

Rather than a single proprietor, Highlands Rewilding is owned by a large number of shareholders, from institutions to individuals buying small stakes. The intention is that Highland land ends up in many hands instead of a few.

Community involvement is formalised where possible. At Tayvallich the company signed a first-of-its-kind memorandum of understanding with the Tayvallich Initiative, a community body exploring community land purchase, to align local, ecological and shareholder interests.

Measuring Recovery

Each estate is run as a natural capital laboratory. Drone survey, environmental DNA sampling, soil coring and field ecology produce baselines and repeat measurements, so carbon and biodiversity claims can be checked. That data is also the product: verifiable credits depend on evidence, not enthusiasm.

How to Get Involved

You can buy shares, apply for jobs and traineeships, join volunteering and citizen science, or visit the estates. Details are at highlandsrewilding.co.uk. As with any investment, shares carry risk and returns are not guaranteed.

Related Grange Project Content

Read our guides to rewilding in Scotland and peatland restoration, or return to the rewilding organisations hub.