Our Third Natural Capital Report - Building Natural Capital - outlines progress and plans across our three open air laboratories: Bunloit, Beldorney and Tayvallich, and gives an overview of the quickly developing natural capital landscape.

‘Unlocking Scotland’s Soil’ is the second of a series of short campaign films exploring our crowdfund to scale nature recovery in Scotland.

‘My Great Hope’ is the first of a series of short films we will release each week during our campaign to scale nature recovery in Scotland.

Our Second Natural Capital Report paints a picture of tremendous potential for increasing both carbon storage and biodiversity at Beldorney in Aberdeenshire

Theo Stanley is a researcher from the University of Oxford, currently undertaking fieldwork for his PhD in Environmental Geography. He is researching how the increased turn towards ‘nature-based solutions’ and land-based carbon sequestration is affecting land governance in the Scottish Highlands. Throughout 2022, he is interviewing a wide range of folk interested in ‘nature-based solutions’, including foresters, land owners, entrepreneurs, rewilders and carbon specialists. If you have any questions, comments or opinions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact him: theo.stanley@hertford.ox.ac.uk.

This article is a transcript of an interview between Theo and Bunloit’s Ben Hart.

After the release of our first Natural Capital Report, we were approached by estate managers interested in the baseline surveys we conducted and results that were found. Ben Hart - our Carbon and Biodiversity Accounting Consultant - presented a webinar and Q&A session, talking through the presentation that made a debut at our COP26 event in Glasgow.

A source of carbon emissions and lichen communities of international importance, our first natural capital report has uncovered some interesting and unexpected conclusions.

As part of our summer baseline surveys at Bunloit, we enlisted the help of Dan Puplett, a local ecologist, to develop a series of transects not only for large mammal surveys, but also for future public engagement. Here, he talks us through the work developed and his experience with our student volunteers.

Over the summer, Plantlife undertook a series of plant surveys at Bunloit, looking at all things flora. Little did we know what wonders would be discovered, unnoticed by many in favour of wildlife. Alistair Whyte, head of Plantlife Scotland, reflects on his time at the estate, highlighting the importance of plants.

In the latter half of 2020, Bunloit Rewilding was lucky enough to be involved with an exciting and innovative project led by the rewilding consultancy Ecosulis. Called CreditNature, the three-month feasibility study was funded through Innovate UK’s Sustainable Innovation Fund, and aimed to integrate a range of cutting edge technologies to create a platform underpinned by real world data, which would enable the development of carbon, biodiversity and rewilding (ecosystem recovery) credits.

Fifteen cameras, a variety of habitats and a whole load of wildlife! Bunloit has teamed up with NatureSpy, a non-profit organisation that aims to research and protect wildlife whilst engaging local communities.

Have you ever wanted to get an inside view into the wildlife on a Scottish Highland estate? We are excited to invite you to get involved in the Bunloit Rewilding project by helping us to identify the species that call Bunloit home.

Imagine a world without concrete barriers at sea, man-made drainage systems, roadsides held together by metal nets and rolling hills of monoculture plantations. Imagine nature thriving, biodiverse woodlands, meandering rivers, prospering sea life and improved well-being for everyone. This is what Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can provide.