More than 1,000 hectares of 'globally rare' peatland to be restored near Loch Ness

More than 1,000 hectares of degraded peatland near Loch Ness are to be restored in one of the first and largest restoration projects of its kind in Scotland.

The 1,024-hectare scheme will repair a connected area of blanket bog – a globally rare habitat – across three neighbouring landholdings: Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate, Guisachan and Corrimony Farm.

It is being coordinated by Rewilding Affric Highlands, which is working to restore nature across a wider landscape from Loch Ness to Kintail.

Caledonian Climate is providing technical support, with monitoring carried out under the IUCN’s Peatland Code to independently verify long‑term climate and biodiversity benefits.

“This is about restoring a whole ecosystem at landscape scale, with a shared commitment to tackling the nature and climate emergencies and benefitting local communities,” said Stephanie Kiel, Rewilding Affric Highlands executive director.

Peatlands are one of the most effective natural carbon stores, regulating water movement and supporting wildlife. But around 80% of Scotland’s have been damaged by drainage, extraction, overgrazing and wildfire. When degraded, they release carbon rather than absorb it.

White-faced darter is among the species of dragonflies found in the peatland Adobe Stock via Rewilding Affric Highlands

Scotland contains around 13% of the world’s blanket bog, found in only a few regions with cool, wet climates. The Affric Highlands peatland project includes 464 hectares at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate in Glenmoriston, 315 hectares at Corrimony Farm and 245 hectares at Guisachan.

The landscape supports moorland and wetland birds including dunlin, golden plover and black‑throated divers, alongside otters, water voles and rare dragonflies such as the white‑faced darter.

Restoration of dragonfly breeding pools is backed by a British Dragonfly Society project supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.

Work is also under way to restore peatland vegetation including sphagnum moss, which can hold up to 20 times its weight in water and is vital to peat formation.

David Girvan of Corrimony Farm, an upland working farm with about 150 suckler cows and 180 breeding ewes, said: “We’re showing that farming can work well with peatland restoration, which makes a real difference for keeping carbon locked up. It’s good to see such a big area across different estates being restored together.”

Restoration techniques include blocking drains, reprofiling eroded peat hags and rewetting bogs to halt erosion and encourage natural regeneration.

“This cross-boundary project should be beneficial to a wide range of species. Several years of careful planning and organisation should create long-term biodiversity benefit,” said Alex Grigg, at Guisachan.

“Peatlands are amazing, wild places that are being lost worldwide. With our neighbours, we want this initiative to be a beacon of hope and inspiration for restoring blanket bog across Scotland,” said Gwen Raes, Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate manager.

The project is being supported by specialist peatland consultancy Caledonian Climate, with monitoring carried out under the IUCN’s Peatland Code to independently verify long‑term climate and biodiversity benefits.

Affric Highlands – Britain’s largest rewilding landscape, and a member of Rewilding Europe’s family of major European-wide flagship rewilding landscapes – brings together a coalition of landowners, local people, charities, businesses and others to boost biodiversity, tackle climate change, and create social and economic opportunities.

It aims to restore nature across more than 200,000 hectares of the central Highlands, through a linked network of landholdings from Loch Ness to Kintail. See affrichighlands.org.