Knoydart
Woodland management on the remote peninsula of Knoydart is an excellent example of community-led, landscape-scale rainforest restoration and expansion, with community benefit at its heart. Work to restore and expand these rainforest remnants has been underway since 1999 after the community buy-out of the 7,000ha Knoydart Estate, and continues to this day.
The Knoydart Foundation owns the estate, and the woodland resource is managed by the Knoydart Forest Trust, which also works in partnership with neighbouring landowners. The long-term aim is to link up the woodland habitat from Loch Nevis to Loch Hourn, to increase the benefits to the environment, local community and wider public.
Aims
To enhance biodiversity and habitat resilience, and mitigate against climate change, through woodland creation and appropriate management.
To promote, develop and sustain local employment and economic activity.
To manage the forest by enhancing and expanding the native woodland and restructuring and diversifying the non-native woodland.
To create a locally useful timber resource.
To encourage public access and enjoyment of the woodlands.
Woodland management
The Trust manage the woodlands of Knoydart in many ways. The conifer plantation behind the main village is being restructured with phased harvesting, and replanted with species that will be useful for timber in the future, as well as native species. Since 1999, more than 700,000 trees have been planted, creating more than 550 hectares of new woodland. Existing ancient woodlands are being restored by enabling natural regeneration and deadwood management.
Like many areas of rainforest along the west coast of Scotland, Rhododendron ponticum had invaded Knoydart’s woodlands. The community has almost completely eradicated this plant, and now carries out occasional sweeps of the whole peninsula to remove regrowth and any new seedlings. They also have a citizen science initiative supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund to enable people to report any rhododendron they spot. This is one of the best examples of successful landscape-scale rhododendron control in the rainforest zone.
Current projects
In partnership with the Knoydart Foundation, KFT is now working on the 3,000 hectare Black Hills Habitat Regeneration Project. This will link up existing deer fences to enable deer to be managed separately from the wider peninsula, thanks to a NatureScot’s Nature Restoration Fund. This landscape-scale ecological restoration includes elements of woodland creation and peatland restoration, increasing biodiversity and the resilience of a full range of habitats, sequestering carbon, enhancing and diversifying the landscape, and supporting local livelihoods and the local economy.
Knoydart Foundation and Knoydart Forest Trust are embarking on a new projected funded through FIRNS (Facility for Investment Ready Nature Scotland) to develop a place-based natural and social capital credit on Knoydart. This credit will enable direct investment in the restoration of Knoydart’s natural habitats and the regeneration of the community, and the intention is that the model could be shared with and/or replicated by other communities.
Community benefit
Community benefit is at the heart of everything that happens on Knoydart Estate, and woodland management has provided opportunities for local enterprise. For example, the community has its own sawmill and firewood processing enterprise to provide high quality timber and firewood for sale within the community and further afield. Wood Knoydart (KFT’s trading subsidiary) produces a range of beautiful small wood products, hand crafted from home grown timber by local makers, and Knoydart Tree Nursery CIC has been developed to collect seed and grow trees that will be planted as part of the regeneration of the woodland on Knoydart. Knoydart Wild Venison has been set up by Knoydart Trading (a trading subsidiary of the Knoydart Foundation) to process and sell venison from the deer culling operation. Profits from these enterprises are reinvested back into the community, creating jobs, affordable housing and other community services.
Find out more: https://www.knoydartforesttrust.org/
