As part of our 1% for the Planet membership, we are always looking out for new ways to make a difference. The John Muir Trust Scotland is an organisation whose values and mission spoke to us, especially as most of our team members are based in Scotland. The Trust’s vision is a world where wild places are valued for present and future generations. All of us at ELE are passionate about giving back, and passionate about the environment, enjoying long dog walks out in the wild, and hoping that these spaces are still here for many years to come.
The John Muir Trust is a leading voice for the UK’s wild places, caring for 60,500 acres of land. Working alongside communities, they conserve, protect and restore wild places for the benefit of everyone and have done so for the last 40 years.
“The world is not given by our parents, but borrowed from our children. We aim to be good stewards – to conserve and to restore.”
What do the John Muir Trust do?
The Trust’s conservation efforts ensure that the qualities of wildernesses are maintained and they employ landscape restoration, where needed, so that a place and its inhabitants are sustainable. These efforts are not an attempt to turn the clock back, rather to prepare for future environmental challenges.
A large focus for the land the Trust stewards is expanding woodland, particularly in Skye, Knoydart, Schiehallion and Glenlude where they are working to restore native woodlands with the ultimate goal of establishing self-seeing mature trees and allowing ecosystems to thrive. The other side of this essential work is advocating for policies at government level that will protect and restore native woodland habitat as part of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, Scottish Environment LINK and Wildlife and Countryside Link.
The Trust is also responsible for red deer management, maintaining over 120km of footpath (including the final approach to Ben Nevis) managing crofts and protecting peatland. The latter included a 35-hectare peatland restoration project at Faoilean on Skye, in conjunction with governmental environment body NatureScot.
Working in partnership for the environment
The Trust has a long history of working with like minded organisations and partners, such as being a member of the Nevis Landscape Partnership since 2002, which has included 19 successful conservation projects in the Lochaber area, all part of a £3.9m Heritage National Lottery grant. In 2010, the Trust assisted in the creation of the Coigach and Assynt Living Landscape Partnership. The 635km² project area is the largest environmental restoration project in Europe. Finally, since 2017, they have worked with the Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership near the Trust’s East Schiehallion property, this was cited as an example of best practice partnership working by the Scottish Government.
As you can see, the Trust’s impact speaks for itself, and we are proud to be supporting their mission as part of 1% for the Planet. Find out more about the Trust and how you can support them here.
