Seawilding loch project gets grant

A seawilding project at a loch near Ardfern has been awarded a share of almost £5 million to safeguard natural habitats and tackle climate change.

 

A grant of £200,946 will be used to expand seagrass meadows in Loch Craignish, leading to improvements in biodiversity, fish stocks, carbon storage, and coastal erosion prevention.

 

The project is one of 46 schemes to benefit from The Scottish Government’s annual Nature Restoration Fund.

 

Managed by NatureScot, the fund supports projects that help Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas, as well as improving the health and wellbeing of local communities.

 

These projects will take practical steps to help against the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, as well as help restore Scotland’s natural environment.

 

It is the second year of the project. Last year, 54 projects were awarded funding. The Scottish Government announced an expansion to the Nature Restoration Fund in 2021, committing at least a further £55m over the next four years, with at least £12.5m annually.

 

Biodiversity Minister Lorna Slater said: 'We know that transformative change is needed in order to protect and restore terrestrial, freshwater and marine biodiversity in Scotland. That’s why we established the £65 million Nature Restoration Fund for projects that help Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas.

 

'These diverse, innovative projects are already bringing benefits across the country - not only to the environment, but also to the health and wellbeing of local communities.

 

'The Nature Restoration Fund is just one of the ways we are demonstrating our commitment to tackling biodiversity loss and restoring nature for future generations. Later this year we will publish an ambitious new biodiversity strategy which aims to halt biodiversity loss by 2030 and reverse it by 2045.'

 

And NatureScot chief executive Francesca Osowska added: 'We are all now more aware than ever before of the urgency of the climate change emergency. But there is hope. By restoring nature, protecting and enhancing habitats and safeguarding marine life, we can secure a better future for nature and for ourselves.

 

'Scotland is taking action now to meet the huge challenges and pressures that nature is facing; it is individual projects like the ones funded today that will make the difference and set us on the road to recovery.

 

'Climate change needs nature-based solutions, not only to help us reach net zero by 2045 but also to create a healthier, more resilient Scotland.'

 

Other projects included on the awards list were a project to re-wild a former airfield at South Kilminning, between Crail and Fife, by turning tarmac into a wet wildflower meadow and also to install 80 to 100 large woody structures to create cooler refuge areas  in the River Spey, helping aquatic life cope better with the threat of rising water temperatures.