Scotland’s only entry in a leading global conservation competition has won funding of more than £20,000 to help address biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Highlands
Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands initiative won in the Alpine category of the 2016 European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Conservation Vote, a competition that has been supported by The Great Outdoors magazine for a number of years.
The project secured more than 7,000 votes in a tightly contested international online vote that was held between 8-22 March.
The success will allow the charity to support wildlife including pine marten, red squirrel, golden eagle and Scottish wildcat, the planting of 50,000 native trees, and also the annual growing of 10,000 rare montane tree species, at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness.
Runners up in the competition for funding included a project to conserve Coniston’s Old Man, and a Rwandan initiative seeking to protect mountain gorillas.
You can see the full list of shortlisted projects here.
The EOCA Online Conservation Vote attracts huge interest internationally with national media, politicians, presidents and celebrities getting involved.
