Seed islands are usually a square of fencing, filled with all the tree species, you'd expect to find in the local local area. Our Native Habitat Starters also include smaller shrubs and forest understory you would expect to find in the local environment. These are kept safe from browsing, and will eventually produce seed for the surrounding area, doing wider tree planting, and habitat creation, free of charge. 

Native tree planting is popular across Scotland and we are slowly recovering our native woodlands which is great. Where this has been done, more often than not the trees aren't the only thing missing to begin with, we forget about the little guys- the ground species!

We assess woodlands, and translocate, or seed, the most appropriate species, which could include bluebells, wood anemone or marsh marigolds. This makes the most complete ecosystems and has the benefit of adding colour to the woodland, or newly planted area throughout the year.

Local provenance is a very important factor in restoration, as local plants are likely to react better to the terrain they know. Growing plants from seed is the best way to give our native areas a boost and guarantee the best chance of planting success. For most projects we will always try to source locally, growing on our plants from local crop and sowing the local seed directly. Additionally, we also supply native species nurseries with seed source from our areas. If you are after a certain species let us know!

Scotland's wild areas can be impacted by many forces. Before beginning any rewilding journey, its import to take the local environmental factors into consideration. Classifying habitats is almost always necessary, helping us identify what to expect in the area. Animal surveys can help gauge pressures influencing habitats, such as deer numbers, badger densities, and beaver presence. We can also help if you wish to find evidence of rarer species that might affect development or protected statuses. 

A Woodland Condition Assessment (WCA) is a great first port for anyone wishing to create a healthier landscape, or even simply understand their areas a little better. We will examine the woodland characteristics in order to build a picture of how the natural ecosystem is doing. From there it becomes easier to help parts of the cycle that might be struggling, such as low pollinator numbers. This is quite an accessible strategy that we are happy to teach.

Leaky dams are structures put in to rivers to replicate the work of beavers. When put in place these help slow the flow of water, store water, push the river to its floodplain and many more!

A few of the benefits of these can be lessening the severity of floods, raising the water table and keeping flows going during dry spells.

When we install these, we try to use as much natural material from site as possible, such as branches, turf, and rocks. If needed they can be made more robust with posts or anchors. 

Woody structures, sometimes called large woody structure, or coarse woody structures are put in where trees would be expected to fall into a river, but aren't. This can be hinging trees, or just putting a tree in a river, and anchoring it. 

These provide habitat for invertebrates and fish, and are usually lacking in our 'tidy' rivers. 

This can take many forms, but the way we see it, it is putting nature back onto the river banks and surrounding land, usually by planting the trees you'd expect to find there, such as willows, aspens and birches. This can give the river dappled shading, cooling it and give it room to breath.

We love beavers, but understand sometimes, there's a tree that you don't want taken down. While we don't want to fence every tree (they've got to eat something!) we can provide alternative food with other native species they enjoy eating more, and protect some selected trees that we would rather stay upright.