Projects
As well as ongoing support for our clients, here are some of the projects we are delivering;
Moray Farm Cluster: Nature Network
As conveners of the Moray Farm Cluster, Sylvestris secured Highlands & Islands Environment Foundation and Nature Restoration Fund grants to bring together 12 farm businesses across 6,000ha in the Laich of Moray to demonstrate how farming and nature restoration can thrive side-by-side in a productive arable landscape.
Over the last 3 years, the cluster has developed plans to create nearly 250ha of new and improved habitat, including wetlands, woodland and wet woodland, wildflower areas, along with over 60km of new hedgerows and tree avenues, all designed to create more space for nature and reduce fragmentation.
Sylvestris recently delivered a 9-month FIRNS project to develop a business model, governance structure, and profit-sharing mechanism to test the viability of delivering the cluster’s nature network through payments for Biodiversity Enhancement with the support of Palladium, Burness Paull LLP and Saffery. The project is supported by NatureScot in collaboration with the Scottish Government through the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS).
In March 2026, the cluster area was selected as one of only nine Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Exemplar landscapes, prioritising its work for funding and resources.
You can read more on the cluster’s website.
Ardtornish Impact Report
Ardtornish published its first annual Impact Report as part of a commitment to greater transparency and accountability.
As a large landholding on the Morvern peninsula, the estate recognises that its decisions can have a disproportionate influence on the local economy, community, environment and housing. The Impact Report is designed to measure how the business interacts with its stakeholders on these issues, providing a benchmark for future progress.
By setting out both achievements and areas for improvement, Ardtornish aims to use the report to track its performance over time, making sure that progress on environmental, local-economic, and community goals remain central to decision making.
This first report looks back at the last 3 years, comparing information from a range of sources, including the accounts, and uses graphic images in an attempt to make the information clear.
Sylvestris worked with Ardtornish to select the indicators, collate the data, set targets, and draft the report. The report’s graphic designer was the brilliant Alan Tait.
Corrour X University of St Andrews Sustainability and Research Partnership
A 100-year Partnership tackling the climate emergency through high-integrity, nature-based solutions, by leveraging the University’s academic excellence and Corrour’s pioneering land management, the Partnership is advancing knowledge in biodiversity, natural capital, and sustainability, establishing Corrour as a satellite research centre.
The partnership will help reduce the University’s carbon footprint, contributing to its Net Zero by 2035 target, supporting 100,000 tCO2e of emissions removals and reductions.
Sylvestris is proud to have been the architect of this partnership and continues to manage the relationship.
This project was the focus of the BBC’s On Your Farm radio broadcast in February 2025.
Ardtornish & University of Edinburgh Natural Capital Partnership
Ardtornish and the University of Edinburgh have entered a 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 standards.
The partnerships’ work also promises unique research opportunities for academics and students and benefits for the community of Morvern, with Ardtornish serving as a 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 Project, NRF Transforming Nature Fund: Ardtornish
This ambitious Nature Restoration Funded 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 three-year project ran to March 2026.
Restoring the River South Esk, NRF Transforming Nature Fund:
Rottal
Sylvestris represents Rottal and acts as project managers 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 was 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 was delivered with the River South Esk Catchment Partnership. The three-year project ran to March 2026.
Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest: Saving Scotland's Rainforest with Natural Capital
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 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 worked with Argyll and the Islands, Coast and Countryside Trust, Palladium and Make+Do studios to deliver this project, which ran to March 2025.
Sylvestris is retained Natural Capital Finance Advisor to the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest.
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 2026 and will be made viable through the sale of woodland carbon credits.
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.
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.