SRUC joins the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest
Glencripesdale. Pic - Andy Robinson
We’re delighted to announce that the Scottish Rural College (SRUC) has officially joined the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, after working with ASR partners for over a year.
Dr Hannah Rudman, Reader and Co-director of the Thriving Natural Capital Challenge Centre, has been looking at new, innovative ways to raise finance for ASR’s landscape-scale projects. Hannah is also about to embark on a feasibility study with RSPB Scotland as part of the Saving Morvern’s Rainforest project, to pilot a new fundraising mechanism involving the digital collection of decision-grade data focussed on Glencripesdale nature reserve.
Hannah has also been playing a significant advisory role for the Alliance through her position as co-leader of the Scottish Nature Finance Pioneers. This is a network of over 250 organisations from farm to finance, looking at opportunities for the Saving Scotland’s Rainforest project with natural capital private finance initiatives.
Julie Stoneman, project manager for the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest said: “We are delighted to welcome SRUC on board. They bring with them important skills and expertise to the partnership: both to help us find ways to unlock new forms of finance to enable us to take that crucial step up to large-scale ecological restoration of Scotland’s rainforest; and developing ideas and projects to educate and train young people in order to provide longer-term social and economic opportunities within the rainforest zone.”
Dr Mary Thomson, SRUC’s Vice Principal of Skills and Life-long Learning said: “SRUC delivers accredited education, training, CPD and skills development from senior phase school through to degree and taught postgraduate including full and part-time courses, apprenticeships, community learning and a range of short courses. SRUC’s course portfolio fits the Just Transition and Green Rural Economy agendas that both the Scottish Government and the Alliance are interested in, and we look forward to contributing appropriate skills development and learning opportunities.”
You can find out more about the SRUC here: https://www.sruc.ac.uk/
