Wild, free and coming back?
The return of key species to Scotland
...What? Where? How?
Hosted by the Wildland Network and Trees for Life
Findhorn, Forres, nr Inverness, 16 & 17 September 2008
This two day conference examined the action required to achieve further reintroductions of key species to Scotland. The
event featured presentations, workshops, a debate, photographic exhibition, story telling and was followed
by optional field trips to:
An exhibition of photographs by Tooth & Claw was present throughout the event.
See the full conference programme.
Proceedings
Proceedings, copied from the Wildlands Network site at http://www.wildland-network.org.uk/meetings/WFCB/WFCB.htm. Click the
links for PDF files of writeups.
16 September
Reintroductions – what do you want to have happened in 10 years'
time?
As participants arrived they jotted down what they wanted to see
happen in 10 years
Presentations & Discussion
Bird reintroductions in the British Isles - Lessons from
recent experience
Roy Dennis, Highland Foundation for Wildlife
Questions and discussion
Beaver reintroduction in Scotland - Progress and prospects
Iain Valentine, Head of Animals, Education and Conservation, The Royal Zoological Society of
Scotland
Presentation
Questions and discussion
Facing the predator – are we ready?
Peter Cairns, Tooth and Claw
Notes
Questions and discussion
Scotland’s missing mammals – Targets & visions for their return
Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life
Presentation
Questions and discussion
Workshops on species re-introductions
Participants discussed ‘What? Where? How?’ for:
- Beaver
- Lynx
- Wolf
- Herbivores
Workshops write up
17 September
Restoring whole ecosystems - What’s happening in Scotland?
Key issues from 3 examples:
- Alladale: Hugh Fullerton-Smith, Manager, Alladale Wilderness Reserve
- Carrifran: Philip Ashmole, Co-ordinator, and Hugh Chalmers, Project Officer, Carrifran Wildwood Project
- Glen Affric: Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life, and Liz Balharry, coordinator of wild boar grazing project
Questions and discussion
The lore of Fauna Celtica – old and new
Kenny Taylor
Discussion
Workshop Option A: Returning creatures – the new folklore
Workshop write up
Workshop Option B: Returning creatures – the politics
Workshop write up
Workshops on issues:
What have we learnt? - Final reflection from Peter Taylor
It's cool to be wild
- There is a
history we are a part of. In 1988 some of us were here for the Science and the
magic or surprise conference. In 1996 some of us went to Brittany to see beaver
re-introductions.
- In the North
American tradition, the beaver holds the power to lay foundations – and creates
habitat for the pond-loving elk
- Then the elk
provides prey for the wolf
- And further in
shamanic tradition - the bear is the keeper of the dream – which in Britain is symbolised by Arthur (celtic tribal – ‘bear-king’) – who sleeps and holds the
dream of Albion, a time when true consciousness re-awakens – meaning a
conscious relationship to the land and its divinity
- Trees for Life
have always been clear about the whole dream, reintroductions as well as trees
- The Wildland
Network networks experience and passion to feed the action, to support
developing vision into action
- Now we all need
to be bolder, to challenge the economist paradigm
- We need to
integrate left brain and right brain – the cultural and the scientific – to
create a whole approach
- And we need to recognise
we are healing our selves as well as healing the land.
- We need to
involve all, and have an opportunity, to avoid polarity (any ’us and them’) eg.
by providing incentives (positive funding) from the beginning
- And to provide
the right infrastructure to harvest gains and benefits.
- The urban
mentality has to be engaged. Working with primary school children is fine, but
secondary school age young people then lose it. It needs to be cool to be wild
– OK to be wild.
- Now we need to
use our many skills and breadth of experience to find our different ways to
this (wilding with reintroductions...)
- Lets speed up and
recognise the point made by Roy Dennis in response to Alan Watson
Featherstone’s proposals... that 2043 is a long way ahead. We need to change now.
Final comments
Setting up reintroductions working groups and other next steps – conference outcomes
Evening Debate
‘The return of the wolf – is Scotland’s psyche ready?’ write up
Pictures from the meeting and field visits are available here
Reports in the press
A number of newspapers printed articles on the conference. These can be read by following the links below:
Return to Missing Species of the Caledonian Forest.
Related Pages
Sites associated with this conference
Trees for Life is a registered charity Scottish charity No. SCO21303, and a company limited by guarantee No. 143304