On Sunday 13th March 2023, Sophie Ramsay launched Bamff Wildland’s exciting and ambitious “Braes of Alyth, Wild Cores and Corridors” riparian restoration project.

A screening of the brilliantly informative and highly relevant documentary from Scotland, the Big Picture called “Riverwoods” also took place, followed by a q&a with the river restoration specialists Duncan and Maja Pepper, who are both carrying out surveys in relation to our project.

The project, funded from NatureScot’s Nature Restoration Fund, spans the two sub-catchments to the east and west of Bamff and we are carrying out surveys and consultations with the owners and managers of nine other landholdings in the project area.

We aim to connect wildlife rich areas via restored nature corridors along waterways. It transcends the limitations of boundaries and thus becomes a true landscape scale ecological transformation that can bring hope for the future of many species, the mitigation of flooding, of drought and numerous other benefits.

We had a great turnout (despite the snow and rugby) and many wonderful new connections were forged.

On Sunday 8th January Bamff Wildland featured in an episode of BBC’s Countryfile which explored estates around the UK and their attitudes towards shooting gamebirds for sport.

Bamff has ended the practice of breeding and releasing pheasants for shooting, partly as it is clear that the impact of this on other wildlife and their habitat is destructive, thus counterproductive to the process of rewilding.

The episode is available here to watch until the end of 2023.

After dealing with various potential issues regarding bottlenecks for free roaming stock, the remaining wildland gates are finally opened allowing the pigs and cattle access to the entire 450 acre wildland area at their leisure.

The world’s first hydrological model of beaver dams has been completed by Olly Van Biervliet at UCL in collaboration with the University of Stirling, based on studies of Bamff’s beaver wetlands.

The results, which will soon be published, are astounding, but perhaps to some extent slightly unsurprising, especially when looking at the landscape here which brims with an abundance of lifeforms at every level, even at a time of nationwide drought.

Details will be published on this site as soon as they are available.

Patrick Cook and Alan Law of Stirling University have begun new long term studies on Bamff Wildland that explore how rewilding here impacts biodiversity.

Patrick’s work focusses on invertebrates in areas where conservation grazing is occurring (through the presence of cattle, pigs and eventually ponies). Various insect traps have been installed and a series of moth trappings already revealed over 50 species in the wildland fields.

Meanwhile, Alan Law is exploring the range of various species of flora and fauna between ponds with and without beavers.

.

After a long delay in receiving their mandatory ear-tags, the four very happy Tamworth pigs are finally released from the enclosure where they have been living – allowing them to roam around much of the wildland area – snouting and rootling the ground for future biodiversity gains.

Some parts of the wildland currently remain temporarily shut whilst certain problematic bottlenecks are dealt with.

A herd of 20 free roaming cattle arrived at Bamff Wildland. Together with the tamworth pigs (and eventual forthcoming ponies) they will be free to roam around the Wildland area providing specific patterns of grazing and displacement that will benefit the proliferation of numerous plant species. The first breed to arrive are Aberdeen Angus Cross, but are to be replaced with Luing Cross cattle in a few months.

Ponds and wetland scrapes, major components of the planned crowdfunded interventions, have been created in multiple locations within the Wildland area. Their purpose is to dramatically accelerate the evolution of existing wetland areas, providing a massive boost for amphibians, insects and many other species of fauna and flora.

The first members of the Bamff Wildland livestock have arrived. Four female tamworth weaners, who will be initially kept in an enclosure for a number of weeks before being released into the whole wildland area, are essential for rootling and disturbing the ground in order to help to catalyse the spread of plant and animal species. They will be joined later in the year by cattle and ponies.

Four cattle grids are now installed along Bamff’s front and back drives. Funded by the Wildland crowdfunder, they form part of the Wildland boundary and are needed to prevent the forthcoming free roaming livestock from exiting the wildland area whilst also eliminating the hassle of opening and closing gates for all vehicles and pedestrians.

In a number of fields within the Bamff Wildland zone, twenty patches were prepared for the sowing of yellow rattle seeds. These patches, each one tenth of one hectare, have now been rotovated with the seeds, so that they are ready to emerge next spring.

The purpose of this is to reduce the grassy dominance in what previously was improved pasture designated for livestock grazing. This in turn will make way for much greater diversity, including expansive wildflower meadows that will be sown during 2022.

This intervention was made possible by the Nature Scot Restoration Fund.

Two osprey platforms and four barn owl nesting boxes have been installed at Bamff by Louis Pate,

These are joint funded by our crowdfunder and Northwoods, for which we are extremely grateful.