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Initiatives

The Trust is involved with a number of initiatives, whether in development, in consultation or out to tender. Here are the initiatives we're currently working on with first points of contact for each one.

If you'd like to discuss the potential for a new development project, please contact Kevin Lelland, the Trust's director of development and communications.

CivTech

We've partnered with three other conservation and community development organisations in the south of Scotland to launch a challenge to companies to find an innovative technological solution to tackling climate change through land use, by helping landowners better understand the potential for carbon storage on their land. 

The successful company has been developing an exciting product RethinkCarbon which is being piloted and tested and due to hit the marked in 2023. We hope this will help drive sustainable land use change across Scotland and beyond. 

Read more.

Contact: Mike Daniels

Glenridding Common

The Trust took on management of Glenridding Common in 2017 via a lease agreement with the Lake District National Park Authority, following a positive consultation with local and national stakeholders. In that time, we have been working to protect and enhance the ecosystem while respecting the area’s cultural traditions - including farming practices – and recognising this as a key aspect of the Lake District World Heritage Site status.

Find out more

We are currently exploring a variety of ongoing ownership and management models for Glenridding Common in order to facilitate our work to protect and restore this important landscape in the future.

Contact: Kevin Cumming

Strathaird including Kilmarie Hatchery, Skye

The John Muir Trust have started work to develop the site it owns at Strathaird. We are looking to deliver a collaborative project that seeks to understand the needs of local residents and businesses, while supporting the Trust to deliver its objectives as a wild places charity.

More information on this project can be found here.

Contact: Kevin Lelland

John Muir Way

The Trust is conducting a feasibility study into its potential role in the future management of the John Muir Way, the long distance path that transects central Scotland from Helensburgh to Dunbar.

For more info, contact Kevin Cumming

Schiehallion

The Trust has recently completed a scoping exercise, consulting with local people and partners on the potential future of this location as a hub for local land management activity as well as a space for recreation, engagement, education and economic activity. 

We have a number of ideas that we may explore in a feasibility study following stakeholder engagement and consultation. A key objective is that a carbon credible approach is taken and that time is taken to consult widely on any plans. 

Contact: Kevin Cumming

NorthWest 2045

The Trust is playing a leading role in the development of a community-led vision for the future of the North West Highlands for the year 2045.

Over the past year, NorthWest 2045 has brought together community groups, community land owning trusts, private landowners and eNGO landowners from the Achiltibuie to Bettyhill area, along with government agencies, bodies and the Highland Council.

Consultation took the form of online workshops, online surveys and in-depth interviews with local people and organisations. The aim was to reach beyond the ‘usual voices’ and gain a deeper understanding of the challenges people face and their aspirations for the future. The consultation process managed to engage with over 10 per cent of the local area’s population of 3,000.

Six key themes emerged, from which actions have been developed to try and make the aspirations cited a reality. Housing and broadband provision were unsurprisingly high up the list, as was trying to address the democratic deficit that many feel when decisions about the area’s future are made in Inverness and Edinburgh, with little direct input from those living locally. Ambitions also included a more sustainable approach to land use with greater opportunity for community involvement in decision making and active land management.

On the back of this work, the area has been selected as one of the Scottish Government’s five Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) Pilot Projects and it is envisaged that the work involved in shaping this pilot will allow for many of these ambitious to be realised in the context of working towards Scotland’s carbon reduction and biodiversity targets for 2030.

Find out more:  www.northwest2045.scot

Contact: Rich Williams

Sligachan Gateway

We're recently appointed a contractor to undertake a comprehensive scoping study to consider options for the development of facilities and infrastructure at Sligachan Gateway, on the Isle of Skye, for the benefit and use of both the local community and visitors to the site.

Contact: Rich Williams

Thirlmere

In a move that complements the Trust's existing efforts at Glenridding Common, the Trust has begun a new partnership with Cumbria Wildlife Trust and United Utilities at nearby Thirlmere in the Lake District.

This sees the Trust initially undertake survey work, with a view to long-term peatland and woodland regeneration and the restoration of natural processes.

This project builds on the Trust’s previous work replanting rare alpine species on the upper slopes of Helvellyn, with the help of local volunteers in Glenridding, and Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s peatland expertise.

Read more.

Contact: Kevin Cumming

Yearn Stane

The Yearn Stane Project is an early stages partnership project between two local organisations Starling Learning and Eadha plus The Woodland Trust, Rewilding Britain and John Muir Trust.

The aim is to bring together a diverse group of people from the local area and support them in working towards a common goal which will benefit everyone and the wild landscape.

Read more.

Contact: Kevin Cumming

Stepping up deer management for climate and nature

The Trust will be increasing its deer culls and exploring options for developing long term community hunting models, in order to maximise natural carbon capture on the land, with the active involvement of local people. 

Find out more, read our FAQ