Our Living Landscape: Communities Leading Change
Wednesday 18 August 2021
Based in the far north west of Scotland, the Coigach & Assynt Living Landscape initiative covers the largest area of any such partnership in the country. At its heart is a group of community, charity and private landowners and charities working together to improve both the environmental and economic prospects of this very remote part of Scotland.
Over the past five years we have been delivering a programme of over 30 projects, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and supported though the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Projects have included upgrading and creating almost 13km of paths, including routes over the iconic mountains of Quinag and Suilven; nearly 600ha of native woodlands planted and managed; innovative training programmes for deer management and crofters; and an outdoor woodland learning project that has worked with every school in the area.
As the current programme comes to an end this free, online conference:
- showcased what has been achieved
- shared our experience and knowledge
- gave participants the opportunity to discuss all aspects of the partnership with the staff team, partners and project leads
- gave participants the opportunity to network with other practitioners in the field of landscape-scale conservation
Overview conference schedule
10:00 – 10:15 – Welcome and introductory video
10:15 – 11:45 – Land management, paths and access
11:45 – 12:45 – Lunch
12:45 – 14:30 – People, wildlife and heritage
14:30 – 14:45 – Break
14:45 – 16:15 – Learnings and legacy
16:15 – 16:30 – Thank you and close
Even if you didn’t get chance to register for the conference, you can still watch the presentations – they are available to stream and share below:
Welcome and introductory video: Our Living Landscape – communities leading positive change
Coigach and Assynt: where have all the trees gone? – Elaine MacAskill, The Woodland Trust
Access improvements in Coigach & Assynt – Rich Williams, John Muir Trust
Access improvements on the Postie’s Path – Michelle Henley, Scottish Wildlife Trust
Supporting crofting in Coigach and Assynt – Anne Campbell, CALLP
High Value Open Habitat Survey – Sam Black, NatureScot
A Sense of Place – Laura Hamlet, North West Highlands Geopark
Stories from our Community Grants Scheme – Boyd Alexander, CALLP Scheme Manager
The Coigach & Assynt story – Boyd Alexander, CALLP Scheme Manager
Looking to the future – Sarah Robinson, Director of Conservation, Scottish Wildlife Trust
Contact the team with queries on coigach-assyntconference@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter @coigachassynt