Reviving the Wild Heart

Our project partners and volunteers are dedicated to the care and restoration of our natural landscape, enhancing habitats and biodiversity, leaving a living legacy for generations to come.

Led by Borders Forest Trust, Reviving the Wild Heart of Southern Scotland is one of the Destination Tweed partnership projects. It is a landscape scale ecological restoration initiative that will restore a mosaic of natural habitats including native woodland, montane scrub, wetland, hay meadows and ancient woodland.

Reviving the Wild Heart is led by Borders Forest Trust.

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Reviving the Wild Heart
Primary school visit to Gameshope. Credit: C. Patience.

Ecological restoration revitalises our landscapes, rebuilding natural habitats and healthy ecosystems to benefit both wildlife and people. Since 1996, Borders Forest Trust has been restoring native woodland habitats in Southern Scotland, an area with one of the lowest percentage of native woodlands in mainland Scotland.

The Reviving the Wild Heart project includes Borders Forest Trust’s sites Talla & Gameshope, and Corehead & Ericstane. Ecological recovery is well under way at the Trust’s Carrifran Wildwood, and as such it is not included in this project. Together these sites cover a combined area of 3,250ha.

Through Destination Tweed, 52,500 trees and shrubs will be planted in the Wild Heart by volunteers to create 80ha of upland native woodland and montane scrub. This project will also provide improved facilities for volunteers, as well as access and interpretation for visitors and the wider community.

High Camp volunteers on Carlavin hill after a weekend of planting. Credit: Borders Forest Trust.

Involving volunteers, local people and visitors in landscape restoration is a key part of the project with many already invited to take part in traditional skills workshops, educational activities and events.

Through the project volunteers have the opportunity to learn a range of skills including willow weaving, scything, drystane dyking, hedge laying, green woodworking, and ecological field skills, fostering a sense of woodland culture and promoting environmentally sensitive land management techniques. With visits from local schools, opportunities to survey ancient woodland and attend cultural events, Reviving the Wild Heart seeks to bring people and land together, to promote healthy ecosystems and restore natural habitats.

After a weekend of montane planting at one of BFT’s High Camps volunteers Andrew and William said ‘you made us feel very welcome and it was a truly memorable experience.’

Are you interested in volunteering opportunities to help restore the Wild Heart? For more information email volunteer@bordersforesttrust.org.

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More information at the Borders Forest Trust website.

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