Rewilding at Kinkell Byre
Why we are Rewilding Kinkell
We are Rewilding Kinkell as we believe it is the best, nature-based solution that we can implement to help tackle the twin environmental crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We have the aim to be Planet Positive by 2030 through Rewilding and investing in Renewable Energy and the Circular Ecomony.
We have already planted more than 6000 trees, created 8 ponds and 2 wader scrapes. Several kilometres of hedgegrows are being planted, wildflower meadows are being created and nature is beginning to re-emerge. We have two highland cows on site, Coco & Ginger, whose job it is to look after and manage the land for us.
We have more plans in the future to deepen the involvement of the local community by providing space for allotments, so people can grow their own food. We also have plans for an educational eco-hub to inspire the younger generation. Ultimately, by using this holistic approach, we hope to inspire other landowners here to build a rewilding corridor that benefits nature and the local community.
For more information, read our Rewilding Blog
We are now offering Rewilding Tours as part of our project. For more information, head over to our Experience Page
Meet the Cows!
You have all probably seen our newest members of the team, Coco & Ginger when you have been at Kinkell. Not only are they here to get in on the wedding photos! But they are here to help with the conservation grazing at Kinkell. They are able to encourage natural regeneration by way of their particular grazing traits.
They help to reduce the prevalence of vigorous plants that out-compete more fragile species; creating microclimates and areas of bare ground through trampling and disturbance. They wrap their tongues around the grass and pull it up in tufts, which creates uneven areas of grass in terms of length and a tussocky finish.
Conservation grazing is now a widespread management method and many conservation bodies regularly use grazers to improve and maintain the sites that they manage for biodiversity.
What is Rewilding?
In it broadest sense, rewilding is concerned with the restoration of ecosystems; healing them, and putting them back together in a better state than they were before. In some cases it also means reintroducing species which have become either extinct or severely threatened.
Rewilding takes a big picture approach, aiming to restore the wider natural processes that support life (for example, grazing, flooding, and natural woodland regeneration). It complements existing conservation work and those sectors seeking a better way forward for nature.