Projects
Here are some of the projects we are delivering, alongside ongoing support for our clients;
Corrour X University of St Andrews Natural Capital and Research Alliance
A 100-year collaboration to tackle the climate emergency through high-integrity, nature-based solutions, by leveraging the University’s scholarly excellence and Corrour’s pioneering land management practices, the alliance will advance knowledge in biodiversity, natural capital, and sustainability, establishing Corrour as a satellite research centre for St Andrews scholars.
The partnership will help reduce the University’s carbon footprint, contributing to its goal to reach Net Zero by 2035, supporting 100,000 tCO2e of emissions removals and reductions over the next century, proving the vital role of natural capital markets to deliver nature restoration at scale in Scotland.
Sylvestris are proud to have been the architects of this transaction and partnership, from concept to conclusion, and onwards into delivery of the research relationship it has generated.
Ardtornish x University of Edinburgh Natural Capital Partnership
Ardtornish and the University of Edinburgh have entered a pioneering 100-year natural capital partnership to create new native woodland and restore degraded peatland over 1,000ha.
The university are supporting the establishment and long-term maintenance of these habitats via the purchase of carbon credits; validated and verified under government endorsed methodologies.
The partnerships’ work also focuses on the improvement of freshwater habitats, promises unique research opportunities for academics and students at the university and benefits for the community of Morvern, with Ardtornish serving as a long-term outdoor living laboratory where the impacts of the projects, changing ecosystems, conservation and restoration efforts can be monitored in the long-term.
Sylvestris acted on behalf of Ardtornish in brokering the terms of the natural capital and research partnership.
Aline Catchment Restoration, NRF Transforming Nature Fund: Ardtornish
The project combines in-river and riparian restoration, with wider land management changes over the Aline’s 1,263ha catchment to improve the health and climate resilience of the river, its tributaries and the loch.
Sylvestris are project managers and grant writers for this £800k project which also facilitates the expansion of CAOLAS’ work reintroducing native oysters to Loch Aline.
The project runs to March 2026.
Restoring the River South Esk, NRF Transforming Nature Fund:
Rottal
Sylvestris represents Rottal in a consortium of organisations delivering this 4-year nature restoration project across three of the Angus Glens. The project contributes to the climate resilience of the glens and reversing the decline of biodiversity.
The project has been awarded £1.4m to create 35ha of wetland along the South Esk, remeandering of 250m of the March burn, in-river habitat creation, and riparian revegetation.
The project is delivered in conjunction with the River South Esk Catchment Partnership. The partners have presented to the River Restoration Centre Annual Conference 2024 in Llandudno, Wales, and offered a paper to the CIEEM 2024 Scotland Conference (Reshaping Scotland: Nature Restoration in Action).
Moray Farm Cluster: NRF Transforming Nature Fund
Sylvestris secured Highlands & Islands Environment Foundation and Nature Restoration Development Fund grants to bring together 14 farm businesses across 6,600ha in the Laich of Moray and deliver their ambition to become the first group of its kind in Scotland to work together to demonstrate how farming and nature restoration can thrive side-by-side in a productive arable landscape.
We are project managing the grant in scoping of creation of nature networks and wetland and river restoration to improve the climate resilience of the cluster’s landscape.
Saving Scotland's Rainforest with Natural Capital:
Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest FIRNS
Sylvestris supported ASR in securing £208k in FIRNS funding to develop a vehicle to channel high-integrity private finance into rainforest restoration, and now manages that project.
The project has modelled the viability of rainforest restoration using existing markets for ecosystem services, and developed a framework to ensure the integrity of the projects. The project is now piloting the approach with investors and land owners in Argyll.
Sylvestris are working with Argyll and the Islands, Coast and Countryside Trust, Palladium and Make+Do studios to deliver this project which runs to March 2025.
Sylvestris also co-chair the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest Natural Capital Finance group.
Woodland Creation for Climate Resilience:
Rottal
Sylvestris are supporting the restoration of 500ha of native broadleaf woodland as part of Rottal’s ambitions towards improved biodiversity and greater climate resilience.
The woodland combines low density planting, natural regeneration and riparian woodland and is being designed in collaboration with the Cairngorms National Park Authority and the RSPB. The scheme will be delivered from autumn 2024 and will be made viable through the sale of woodland carbon credits.
Woodland &Peatland Restoration carbon projects :
Corrour
In 2023, Sylvestris supported the restoration of 175ha of degraded peatland through the validation of ~30,000 PIUs. The project was the first phase in Corrour’s ambitious multi-year programme of peatland restoration.
Phases 2 and 3 are being validated, with restoration commencing in March 2024 over a 600ha project area. Phase 4 and 5 are in development.
Corrour’s first woodland creation carbon scheme is undergoing verification, with a second project of ~900ha to be validated this year.
Natural Regeneration
Working Group:
Woodland Carbon Code
On behalf of Corrour, Sylvestris convene a working group to support the Woodland Carbon Code develop updates to the Code to better support landscape-scale natural regeneration projects. The group brings together representatives from across the forestry industry as well as the Woodland Carbon Code team and its validators, to define the amendments and methodologies required to reflect projects in which carbon sequestration is being achieved through the reduction in herbivore pressure without the use of fences.
Natural Capital Review: Scottish Wildlife Trust
In 2022 Sylvestris supported Scottish Wildlife Trust in a review of their flagship reserve, Ben Mor Coigach. We helped the Trust identify a set of environmental and social indicators that capture the ambitions of the reserve; from encouraging the regeneration of native woodland habitats, restoring peatland habitats, creating thriving freshwater habitats, to the reserve’s contribution to the local community and agreed a process by which the reserve could use the metrics as a management tool to achieve its ambitions.
