Dundreggan Rewilding Centre: A Gateway to a Wilder Scotland
In years gone by, ancient Caledonian forest once covered much of the Scottish Highlands. This was a diverse landscape brimming with life and a mosaic of habitats woven through forests, glens, bogs, clearings and mountainous slopes.
Over time, Scotland’s wild forest began to retreat after centuries of use and grazing by goats, sheep and wild deer, and human actions depleted this nature-rich woodland that was home to thousands of species of plants and animals.
Inspired to restore the Caledonian forest and nature’s balance, Alan Watson Featherstone worked with volunteers in Glen Affric to expand this ancient forest and founded the charity Trees for Life in 1993. Over the last 30 years, Trees for Life has been rewilding the Scottish Highlands and restoring a revitalised wild forest that provides space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive.
Rewilding the Scottish Highlands
In 2008, we bought the 10,000-acre estate at Dundreggan in Glenmoriston where important fragments of Scotland’s Caledonian forest are now expanding and flourishing. Rewilding has allowed the forest to recover through practical action and natural regeneration. The estate is home to over 4,000 species, many of which are rare and protected. Wildlife is returning, natural ecosystems are thriving and more people are exploring a landscape rich with biodiversity and opportunity.
Since 1993, around 5,000 people have volunteered with us, helping to plant more than two million trees and create a healthier, more vibrant landscape that not only supports nature but also communities and the people who live here.
People are integral to the success of rewilding, which helps us to find new and better ways for humans and nature to coexist, creates economic and social opportunities and brings well-being benefits for people from all walks of life.
Dundreggan in the AutumnImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
The Dundreggan Rewilding Centre
For 15 years, Dundreggan has been a beacon for rewilding our landscapes, and now it will be a beacon for rewilding people too. Developed in consultation with the local community, the new Dundreggan Rewilding Centre opened in April 2023. A world first, the centre celebrates the close connections between people and nature and is a gateway to Dundreggan’s unique landscape rich in natural and cultural heritage. Visitors can explore ancient pinewood, discover centuries of Gaelic history and connect with a landscape undergoing transformation through rewilding.
Nature is a prominent thread running through Gaelic culture and is woven through the place names, folklore and poetry from this area. Dundreggan and Glenmoriston are areas rich with Gaelic folklore which stretches back through the centuries and offers a window into this landscape and the long relationship between humans and nature in the Highlands.
Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
A Volunteer with Scots Pine seedlingsImage provided by Trees for Life
Birch trees at DundregganImage provided by Trees for Life
A Volunteer planting trees at DundregganImage provided by Trees for Life
Connecting with nature
The local community, and those who lived here before us, are integral to the information and activities available at the Rewilding Centre. Visitors can hear some of this area’s wonderful stories and tales in our storytelling space, Am Bothan (The Bothy). Our storytelling sessions help visitors visualise Dundreggan’s evolution over the years and understand how and why we should continue to rewild this important area and the wider Scottish Highlands.
The Rewilding Centre encourages visitors to ‘rewild’ themselves and connect with nature. A network of footpaths, ranging from easy to strenuous, meander through the landscape, offering visitors of all abilities an opportunity to spot wildlife such as golden eagles, red squirrels, wood ants and pine martens, see rewilding in action and experience what makes Dundreggan so special.
Guided walk at Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
Am Bothan, Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
Forest discovery at Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
An Suidhe, Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
Dundreggan is also the location of our tree nursery, where we grow around 100,000 rare and native trees every year, including Scots pine, aspen, birch, willow, rowan, juniper and oak, and visitors can take guided tours of the nursery to learn more about the growing and planting process. Guided rewilding walks give people the opportunity to learn more about rewilding and the plants, trees and animals that share this space.
We hope that visitors will immerse themselves in this landscape and our accommodation building allows visitors to spend longer exploring Dundreggan and the local area. With 20 rooms, and a communal space for relaxing after a day’s adventure, it’s a comfortable and convenient base for those keen to spend time experiencing this special place.
Facilities at the Rewilding Centre include classrooms for up to 40 people, a large multi-purpose presentation and event space, an accessible outdoor play area and a café offering delicious meals and light snacks using seasonal, locally sourced ingredients.
Dundreggan Tree NurseryImage provided by Trees for Life
Young birch trees at Dundreggan Tree NurseryImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
Am Bile Sculpture, Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
An Nead Cafe, Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography
Hope for the future
Ultimately, we hope the Rewilding Centre will inspire people to explore and engage with Scotland’s wild places and that by offering experiences that bring people and nature together, we can help visitors to connect with the landscape and encourage them to play their own part in protecting the natural world.
Everyone should have the opportunity to engage with nature and experience the well-being benefits that it brings, and we hope that by getting closer to nature and exploring a regenerating landscape people will leave inspired to make small changes in their own lives that can have a big impact for generations to come.
Only by working with nature and helping it to take care of itself, can we positively affect the future and create a better world that offers hope and inspiration for centuries to come.
Laurelin Cummins-Fraser - Dundreggan Rewilding Centre Director
Many thanks to Laurelin Cummins-Fraser and the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre team from everyone on the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands for sharing this wonderful blog which highlights the sheer importance of the work to conserve and engage with our natural environment.
Do you have a story to tell about your connections to nature or to a landscape that you want to see conserved for future generations? Why not share it with us on our Story Portal! To submit your story, click here.
Dundreggan Rewilding CentreImage provided by Trees for Life/© Paul Campbell Photography