MAKING REWILDING HAPPEN
2025
As a charity, we’ve now been making rewilding happen for over five years, and our impact is growing fast.
New milestones in our rewilding journey
The ability to adapt and thrive through change is essential for any charity – especially one on the frontline of the nature and climate emergencies. 2025 was a year of major transitions and significant milestones for SCOTLAND: The Big Picture (SBP), and I’m delighted to share this impact report illustrating our progress and achievements.
In 2025, our charity founder, Peter Cairns, left SBP. We’re hugely grateful to Pete for his vision, drive and creativity. He saw what was needed to kickstart rewilding across Scotland, and led the way – founding a nationwide rewilding movement and giving it a voice. We’re proud to take forward and evolve his vision, and thankful for his continued efforts to push the boundaries for rewilding outside SBP.
I was honoured to join SBP in May 2025 to lead the next stage of our rewilding journey. Our team is an incredible well of talent, creativity and commitment, and we have a bright future ahead. As a charity, we’ve now been making rewilding happen for over five years, and our impact is growing fast.
Our storytelling, filmmaking and training expertise continued to play a central role in driving support for rewilding. In 2025, we released 11 new films, ranging from a sensitive exploration of the complexities of deer management to the remarkable transformation of a WW2 decoy airfield into a watery wildlife haven. We also expanded our portfolio of rewilding training and immersive experiences, consistently receiving outstanding feedback from participants.
Their children and grandchildren will see beavers as normal and something that’s always been in Scotland. That thought still gives me goosebumps.
This year our landscape-scale nature restoration partnership in the West Highlands, Loch Abar Mòr, moved successfully from planning to delivery. From tree planting at Torlundy to adding whole tree trunks into the River Ossian at Corrour, it was hugely rewarding to see the partnership’s 50-year vision taking shape.
Our Northwoods Rewilding Network continued to support a growing band of crofters, farmers and community landowners across Scotland. The signing of our 100th partner in December marked a major milestone in our mission to make rewilding accessible and viable for smaller-scale landholders. We’re proud and grateful to work with every one of them, and to share their stories far and wide.
With our help, one Northwoods partner secured a licence to release 15 beavers at their community-owned wetland and woodland site. I was privileged to attend and share in the huge joy of the local people who had made it happen.
At SBP, we talk a lot about ‘shifting baselines’ – the idea that we’ve lost our wildlife so gradually over decades and centuries, and that each new human generation assumes the conditions they grow up with are normal, rather than the result of devastating losses. The beaver release struck me as a powerful and hopeful reminder of how we can shift the baselines back, in the right direction. The children in that community will be amongst the first Scottish children in 400 years to grow up alongside beavers – and their children and grandchildren will see beavers as normal and something that’s always been. That thought still gives me goosebumps.
Thank you for your support and partnership throughout 2025. We couldn’t do it without you, and look forward to working together to surpass many more milestones for nature in 2026 and beyond.
Lisa Chilton CEO
OUR VISION
A vast network of rewilded land and water across Scotland, where wildlife flourishes and people thrive.
For us, rewilding is an evolving process of nature recovery that leads to restored ecosystem health, function and completeness. WHAT IS REWILDING?
Our view of rewilding is built around these principles:
Providing the space and conditions for dynamic natural processes to shape and govern Scotland’s land and seas.
Recognising the critical role of all species –including missing native species – in sustaining functioning food webs and other ecological interactions.
Nurturing nature recovery at different scales and accepting that approaches to rewilding can look and feel quite different, and still offer valuable benefits.
Improving connectivity across fragmented habitats to give species more freedom to roam, supporting biodiversity recovery and climate resilience.
Helping communities to prosper in a diverse, nature-based economy that works in tandem with ecological recovery.
OUR MISSION
To make rewilding happen across Scotland, as a solution to the climate and biodiversity crises.
To achieve this, we work across two focus areas:
DRIVING SUPPORT FOR REWILDING
Using impactful communications and advocacy, we seek to push the boundaries for nature recovery.
COMMITTING LAND AND WATER TO REWILDING
We collaborate with partners across different scales and settings to restore ecosystems and recover wildlife.
DRIVING SUPPORT FOR REWILDING
236 people attended residential training, study tours, learning days and rewilding journeys.
2,978 people attended 63 independent screenings of our feature-length documentary Why Not Scotland?
Over 200 people attended Big Picture Live events in Banchory and Edinburgh
94% said they were more likely to support rewilding after Big Picture Live events.
8,809 people engaged with partner community events.
24,339 people watched Why Not Scotland? online.
19 meetings held to build trust and understanding with groups historically wary of or in conflict with rewilding.
2025 Highlights
18 editorial features published.
953 positive or neutral mentions in national and international media.
11 short films produced to drive support for rewilding.
1,411 people attended 19 presentations by the SBP team.
9 countries broadcasting our feature-length documentary Riverwoods.
829 new subscribers to our Big Picture community.
190,444 views of our films on YouTube and Vimeo.
8 MSPs lobbied face-to-face, via the Scottish Rewilding Alliance.
THE FIADH PROJECT
Wild deer in a new era
Deer numbers are being carefully reduced, rare montane woodlands are returning to once bare hillsides and biodiversity is increasing – changes that are only possible thanks to the dedicated work of deer stalkers.
Deer management is one of the most divisive land-use issues in Scotland. Conflict over how many deer our landscapes should support often sees rewilding pitched against traditional land management. Through The Fiadh Project, we are highlighting the shared aspirations between apparently opposing interests, and the need to work together for the benefit of Scotland’s nature and local communities.
In 2025, The Fiadh Project delivered the first of five planned campaigns, highlighting the common ground shared by deer managers, with an emphasis on the respect and affection they hold for deer. Our second campaign paid tribute to the role of Scotland’s deer managers in delivering nature restoration targets.
The resulting short film, Nature’s Keepers, shows how the role of deer managers is evolving as the climate and biodiversity crises escalate, and highlights the growing need for their knowledge and skills. The film quickly became our fifth most watched on YouTube, attracting over 13,000 views, while all four films produced for The Fiadh Project so far continue to attract significant interest.
The Nature’s Keepers film was accompanied by a story, Aiming High , in which we explored the impact of deer management across the Corrour Estate and beyond. Deer numbers are being carefully reduced, rare montane woodlands are returning to once bare hillsides and biodiversity is increasing – changes that are only possible thanks to the dedicated work of deer stalkers. The story gained additional coverage in the Press and Journal, and attracted widespread interest from the likes of the British Deer Society.
Hugh Webster Rewilding Relations Officer
TRAINING THE REWILDING GENERATION
People are drawn to rewilding from a wide range of backgrounds – and this diversity strikes me every time.
2025 was another busy year for Rewilding Training, with over 200 participants across our range of residential courses, study tours and Learning Days.
People are drawn to rewilding from a wide range of backgrounds, and this diversity strikes me every time. Our courses are suitable for anyone keen to learn about rewilding and we continue to see individuals from all walks of life – from students finding their feet and career-changers following their passions, to experienced conservationists taking a deeper dive into specific subjects.
Our new learning residential, ‘9 Ways to Rewild’, launched this year and proved popular, with two fully-booked weeks. The course is based within a rewilding site where the principle of ‘Letting Nature Lead’ has been followed for over 30 years. Here, we workshop our way through SBP’s nine principles of rewilding, covering a lot of ground, and add on visits to other sites to explore topics like wild grazing, rewilding business and creating more space for water. It’s always a pleasure to give back to our brilliant Northwoods Rewilding Network, whose partners provide us with a plethora of opportunities to see rewilding in action.
2025 also saw the annual return of a study group from the University of St Andrews. For the past three years, 12 students and their accompanying lecturers have joined us to visit rewilding projects in Perthshire and the Cairngorms. After learning from different practitioners in the field, the group gathers around the farmhouse table to share locally-sourced meals and enjoy presentations and discussions on careers and pathways into rewilding. Our study tours leave a lasting impression, consistently earning enthusiastic feedback from those who join us.
Stef Lauer Rewilding Training Lead
CALLING FOR A REWILDING NATION
This sustained advocacy is shifting the dial. Mentions of rewilding in the Scottish Parliament reached their highest level yet in 2025, reflecting growing political awareness.
Six years ago, we became a founding member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA), united by a vision of restoring 30% of Scotland’s land and seas and urging the government to declare Scotland the world’s first Rewilding Nation. In 2025, we continued to deliver the SRA’s digital communications strategy and supported its leadership, with our CEO, Lisa Chilton, joining the management team.
Influencing policy remained a core focus. The SRA responded to five government consultations that informed key legislation, including the Land Reform Bill. Direct engagement with decision makers intensified through meetings with more than 30 MSPs at Holyrood, attendance at major party conferences, and a parliamentary screening of the documentary film Wilding In September, the SRA launched a bilingual Community Rewilding Guide, helping more people across Scotland turn ideas into action. High-profile support from actor Alan Cumming continued to amplify calls for a Rewilding Nation, while 100 Alliance members and supporters gathered outside Holyrood to urge politicians to remove barriers to rewilding.
This sustained advocacy is shifting the dial. Mentions of rewilding in the Scottish Parliament reached a record high in 2025, reflecting growing political awareness. Why Not Scotland? – our feature-length documentary produced on behalf of the Alliance – is now available free online and has been viewed by more than 100,000 people. Together, these touchpoints are helping position rewilding as a solution to biodiversity loss and climate breakdown that also supports jobs, health and thriving communities.
Through 2026 and beyond, we will continue working with the Scottish Rewilding Alliance to build political support and secure the commitment needed to make Scotland a true Rewilding Nation.
Tim Aldred Digital Communications Lead
BIG PICTURE LIVE Reaching regional audiences
94% of survey respondents said they were likely to talk to family, friends or colleagues about rewilding.
As a charity, SCOTLAND: The Big Picture recognises the need to clearly communicate why we exist, what difference we make and why people should support us. We also understand the value of in-person events in engaging audiences directly and delivering powerful storytelling with real impact.
With this in mind, in 2025 we developed and delivered our first Big Picture Live events in Banchory and Edinburgh. Across two evenings, an audience of 201 joined our CEO, Lisa Chilton, and Northwoods partner Tom Bowser – co-owner of award-winning rewilding project Argaty Red Kites, and author of A Sky Full of Kites and Waters of Life – for a programme of storytelling, film and rewilding inspiration.
Big Picture Live showcases rewilding as a practical solution to the climate and biodiversity crises, whilst giving regional audiences the opportunity to discover how SCOTLAND: The Big Picture and its partners are making rewilding happen across Scotland – and, crucially, how they can play a part.
Following the events, 94% of survey respondents said they were likely or very likely to talk to family, friends or colleagues about rewilding, and 61% said they felt motivated to take action.
Big Picture Live has quickly become a valuable addition to our engagement toolkit, allowing us to connect directly with audiences in their communities and drive more support for rewilding across Scotland.
Emma Brown Head of Communications and Engagement
BIG PICTURE LIVE
What did our attendees think?
Thank you for what you do, and giving us hope in a desperate world.
A great evening… thank you for organising the event and all that your team do to rewild Scotland and give us all hope for a better future.
I learned a lot about rewilding – what it actually is and the benefits it brings.
COMMITTING LAND AND WATER TO REWILDING
54,411 native trees planted over 150 hectares (230 football pitches).
356 hectares set aside for natural woodland regeneration.
£58,185 of funding distributed to Northwoods and Loch Abar Mòr land partners from our Rewilding Fund.
115 landowners and community groups partnering with us to restore nature.
29 new partners joined our Northwoods Rewilding Network and Loch Abar Mòr partnership.
48,562 hectares committed to nature recovery as part of our Loch Abar Mòr landscape-scale nature restoration partnership in the west Highlands.
Over1,000 trees planted in ‘seed islands’* by volunteers in the Lochy Riverwoods Project of the West Highlands.
*A small, fenced enclosure of planted or naturally regenerating trees, protected from browsing herbivores and allowing the new woodland to naturally expand as seeds disperse.
15 beavers released across the Northwoods Rewilding Network.
2025 Highlights
61%
Public support for lynx (Survation poll).
70 new wetland features created across the Northwoods Rewilding Network.
69 hectares of peatland restoration.
Over £800,000 spent by Northwoods land partners with local suppliers of rewilding products and services.
6,795 riparian (riverbank) trees planted across the Northwoods Rewilding Network.
Over100
large woody structures** installed along 2km of the River Ossian on the Corrour Estate.
**Large branches and sections of tree trunks added to watercourses to kickstart natural processes in degraded river systems, boosting the diversity of habitats and life they can support while building resilience to climate change.
THE POWER OF NETWORKING
Connecting the dots – four years on
Four and a half years on, the Northwoods Rewilding Network is not only generating meaningful ecological and climate benefits, but actively helping to bring rewilding into the mainstream.
Northwoods land partners
When we established the Northwoods Rewilding Network in 2021, we had one overarching goal: to remove the barriers holding back nature recovery. Alongside that sat a set of aims: for the network to function as ecological stepping stones across the country; to demonstrate that farmers, crofters and community landowners have a central role in nature recovery; to establish rewilding as a valid form of land use; and to inspire others to begin their own rewilding journeys.
Four and a half years on, Northwoods is delivering on those ambitions. It’s generating meaningful ecological and climate benefits while helping bring rewilding into the mainstream.
15 new land partners joined the network in 2025 and, by year’s end, Northwoods had signed its 100th partner site – a milestone that reflects the growing appetite for rewilding across Scotland. Armed with bespoke ecological guidance and committed to SBP’s nine principles of rewilding, these partners – farmers, crofters and community groups – are getting on with the real work: riparian planting, wetland creation, river re-wiggling, reinstating natural grazing and bringing back missing species.
Finding the funds to translate rewilding ambitions into action remains the biggest challenge for many Northwoods partners.
Through our Rewilding Fund, we provide match funding for habitat restoration across partner sites. We are hugely grateful to everyone who donated in 2025 – your support enabled us to offer almost £60,000 in grants, helping unlock additional funding from other sources.
We also support partners with grant applications and connect them with companies such as SSEN Transmission that invest in biodiversity recovery.
This blended funding approach is essential to sustaining momentum and ensuring willing partners are not held back by financial constraints.
James Nairne Northwoods Rewilding Network Manager
2025 NORTHWOODS HEROES
Celebrating our partners’ achievements
Sam Hesling Abriachan Forest Trust
Inverness
A director at environmental contractors McGowan
Environmental Engineering in his professional life, Sam helps lead the Abriachan Forest Trust in his spare time. In 2025, he oversaw the reintroduction of beavers to Abriachan –the first community group in Scotland to achieve this important milestone, delivering a significant boost to local biodiversity.
Andrew and Jessica Spence East Overscaig
Sutherland
Through a wide range of rewilding interventions across their landholding in Sutherland, Andrew and Jessica have shown a relentless determination to restore functioning natural processes. Their commitment to woodland creation exemplifies what is possible when landowners embrace rewilding whole-heartedly.
Behind every rewilding success story is an individual, family or community who chose to do something extraordinary with their land. These are just some of the remarkable people driving change across the Northwoods network.
Debbie Davy Scoraig
Wester Ross
A crofter and specialist in equine rewilding, Debbie has built up a herd of Exmoor ponies on her own croft in the north-west Highlands. She is now extending the reach of free-living Exmoor ponies to other Northwoods partner sites, reinstating the kind of natural grazing that once shaped Scotland’s upland landscapes.
Karen Blackport Deer Park Borders
Founder of environmental charity Bright Green Nature, which manages partner site Deer Park in the Borders, Karen and her team continue to set the standard for community rewilding in Scotland – helping people reconnect with nature and find inspiration in the wild world on their doorstep.
BRINGING THE POTENTIAL RETURN OF LYNX TO LIFE
A new public opinion poll showed rising public support for the return of lynx to Scotland – up nine points to 61% since 2020 – and decreasing opposition, now at just 13% of respondents.
Lynx to Scotland project partners:
During several snowy days in January 2025, four young and apparently tame lynx were spotted and captured in the Cairngorms National Park. Their unlicensed release was widely condemned, and one animal died shortly after capture. This was no way to return an enigmatic predator to Scotland.
Since 2020, in partnership with Trees for Life and The Lifescape Project, we’ve been assessing whether lynx could come back through a carefully managed, responsible reintroduction. Their surprise appearance in the Cairngorms reignited the debate and set the scene for our 2025 work.
In February, we sent an open letter to Scotland’s First Minister, questioning his dismissal of a potential lynx reintroduction given the results of a new public opinion poll. The survey showed rising public support for the return of lynx to Scotland – up nine points to 61% since 2020 – and decreasing opposition, now at just 13% of respondents.
Shortly afterwards, we released a report on the lynx study tour we led to Switzerland in 2024, which took farmers, hunters and foresters on a journey to learn about living with lynx. Their concerns remained, but the trip provided valuable insights from lived experience in regions successfully managing coexistence.
In May, we published the conclusions of Scotland’s National Lynx Discussion, a series of independently facilitated workshops bringing together 53 representatives from sectors that could be impacted by lynx. The report received wide media coverage, and its recommendations have already begun shaping the work of Lynx to Scotland.
Later in the year, focus turned to preparing lynx information materials, including a short film, for Highland and Moray local consultations in early 2026. These explained the key concerns, potential challenges and likely benefits a reintroduction could bring.
In 2026, we’re excited to remain at the heart of conversations, communications and research through the Lynx to Scotland partnership, focused on the key question – is Scotland ready to live alongside lynx again?
Hayley Gray Head of Projects
BRINGING BEAVERS BACK
The return of an ecosystem engineer
A broad cross-section of the local community came along to the beaver releases, from young to old, all eager to be part of this historic event.
Throughout 2025, we facilitated the reintroduction of two beaver families to one of our Northwoods sites, the community owned and managed Abriachan Forest Trust. This was an exciting culmination of several years of hard work and preparation to bring the benefits of this incredible ecosystem engineer to a community already engaged in restoring and conserving their local environment.
We began early engagement in 2023, with a village hall event and a site visit to a beaver enclosure. Throughout 2024, we held a number of stakeholder meetings to develop the plan and secure sufficient release locations, with lots of work behind the scenes. In early 2025, we held a final event with many local community members, including a representative from the National Farmers Union Scotland and staff from the District Salmon Fishery Board, ahead of submitting a licence application to NatureScot. Feedback throughout was really supportive, with encouragement to ‘just get on with it’ from some community members keen to see the widespread benefits of beavers for the entire ecosystem, from increasing wetlands to creating specific niches for amphibians, insectivorous birds, bats and more.
A broad range of the local community came along to the beaver releases – from young to old, all were eager to be part of this historic event.
The animals released comprised a family of eight and a family of five. Two separate unrelated males were supplemented later to try and ensure future genetic diversity of this fledgling population. All the beavers had been trapped and translocated under a protected species licence from NatureScot, granted when there is deemed to be insurmountable agricultural conflict or animal welfare concerns. Observations via camera trapping since their release last autumn confirms that the families have settled well, have found plenty of forage and are exploring and extending the wetland environment through dam building. We’re looking forward to seeing kits in spring 2026!
Kirsten Brewster Wildlife Comeback Lead
(REALLY) BIG THINKING IN LOCHABER
Over the past year, the partnership has grown from six to 13 partners, now directly managing more than 120,000 acres, while stewarding a much larger area, through shared ambition and community action.
Launched in 2024, the Loch Abar Mòr partnership brings together land managers, communities and businesses across Lochaber to restore and reconnect a thriving network of habitats, where people can live and work within a more ecologically diverse and climate-resilient landscape.
2025 was the partnership’s first full year and marked significant progress in building a landscape-scale partnership for nature recovery across the region. Over the past year, the partnership has grown from six to 13 partners, now directly managing more than 120,000 acres while stewarding a much larger area through shared ambition and community action. This growth has been strengthened by the appointment of Dr Diane Baum as Nature Restoration Officer, increasing our capacity to translate vision into delivery.
Our core partnership team has attracted over £220,000 in funding, supporting projects from river catchments to upland habitats. Early delivery includes the Corrour Riverwoods project – with over 1,400 trees planted and more than 100 large woody structures installed along 2km of the River Ossian – and the Lochy Riverwoods project, where volunteers established seed islands with over 1,000 trees.
We’ve secured further funding to expand river restoration work into the River Rannoch catchment on Morvern, alongside a pipeline of projects spanning ‘seabed to summit.’
Engagement has been central to building long-term change. More than 150 people attended Riverwoods film screenings, while Insight & Inspiration visits and the Lochaber’s Wild Wealth business evening highlighted connections between nature recovery, livelihoods and community wellbeing. A growing volunteer programme is fostering local stewardship and participation.
Together, these activities represent a shift from aspiration to action – laying the foundations for a more connected, resilient landscape and a shared long-term vision of nature recovery at scale.
Abel McLinden
Loch Abar Mòr Partnership Manager
Funding a wilder future
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported our work in 2025. In a challenging year for fundraising, we were grateful to all funders, businesses and individuals who donated to our charity to support our important work. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and has helped to make more rewilding happen across Scotland.
We’re extremely grateful to those trusts and foundations that supported us via grants and unrestricted funding. In our fifth year as a charity, these have been essential in supporting the projects we undertake for nature, climate and people – from our Northwoods Rewilding Network and Loch Abar Mòr to our Wildlife Comeback work and The Fiadh Project.
Our Make Rewilding Your Business partnership programme has turned financial support from businesses directly into action on the ground. From away-days in the wild to informative lunch-and-learns, we were delighted to engage employees with our work and showcase the impact of their support on nature.
We were proud to continue our partnership with SSEN Transmission, bringing vital investment to restore nature across our Northwoods Rewilding Network. This partnership work was possible thanks to our support from the FIRNS (Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland) Scottish Government initiative, led by NatureScot in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund, enabling both targeted projects and wider rewilding efforts.
We ran three successful public fundraising appeals, supporting the Loch Abar Mòr landscape partnership and our Make Rewilding Happen campaign, which were supported by matched giving from Aviva Community Fund, The Reed Foundation and donors, Nigel and Sasha Roberts. We are especially thankful to our regular givers whose donations provide a hugely valuable and sustainable source of income, allowing us to plan for long-term impact.
Last year also saw inspiring individuals take on amazing fundraising challenges to raise donations on our behalf. Libby Watkinson completed an epic 320-mile cycle challenge across Scotland, visiting Northwoods Rewilding Network partners along the way, while Christina Sinclair solo hiked 300km through the Highlands raising donations for Loch Abar Mòr.
2025 has been a year of incredible impact in restoring Scotland’s wild spaces – and with your continued support, there is so much more we can achieve together for nature.
Alex Carley Fundraising Manager
The support we receive from trusts, foundations, businesses and individuals is hugely appreciated. While we cannot name everyone, we’re grateful to each and every one of you for your support in 2025:
Aviva Community Fund
British Airways Better World Community Fund
Cairnfold Charitable Trust
European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA)
Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
Future Woodlands Scotland
Garfield Weston Foundation
J & J R Wilson Trust
Lammart Pollock Trust
MEB Charitable Trust
Mr and Mrs William Donald’s Memorial Trust
Nineveh Charitable Trust
Rewilding Britain
Tay Charitable Trust
The Blackford Trust
The BigGive Trust
The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust
The Helvellyn Foundation
The National Lottery Heritage Fund
The Pears Family Charitable Foundation
The Reed Foundation
The Stafford Trust
The T D Paton Trust
Business Supporters :
Abernyte Brewery
Banquet of Consequences Ltd
Black Moon Botanica
Burness Paull LLP
Breathe
Great North Lodges
Horizons by Tour Partner Group
Keane Wang Music
Keerok Ltd
Landscaping Your Life
Loan Managers Limited t/a FIGS
McGowan Environmental Engineering Ltd
Meander Apparel
Nature Broking
Pinwheel
Rabbie’s Trail Burners
SSEN Transmission
The Drinks Bakery
Wilderness Scotland
Young Spirits