Communities Fund has provided £685 of match funding
Restore Species, Restore Nature
Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom
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Aim
Your donation will help to bring key species back to Scotland, creating healthier habitats and landscapes, for nature, climate and people.
Restore Species, Restore Nature
Scotland is famous for its iconic landscapes and wildlife, yet we rank amongst the most nature depleted countries in the world. Species that once played a vital role in maintaining healthy ecosystems have been lost completely, leaving our habitats incomplete and less able to recover without help.
Some species that play particularly important roles – so-called keystone species – have a bigger impact when they’re lost. Through their day-to-day lives, keystone species shape habitats and whole landscapes, allowing a greater diversity of wildlife to thrive.
Whether eco-engineers like beavers, wild boar who root and wallow to shape the land, or apex predators such as lynx, these species kickstart natural processes and create healthier landscapes that are richer in nature and more resilient to climate change.
Let nature’s architects get to work
SCOTLAND: The Big Picture is making rewilding happen across Scotland, for nature, climate and people. Our vision is a vast network of rewilded land and water, where wildlife flourishes and people thrive. Our Species Recovery for Rewilding work aims to promote and support the return of key species as a vital part of nature restoration alongside revitalising habitats. We work with our partners and local communities to return keystone species to Scotland, build understanding of their role in rewilding, and remove barriers to their recovery.
Which species are we working to recover and champion?
- Lynx
Could this shy forest cat one day return to Scotland? Its comeback would add wildness to our recovering woodlands and restore a vital predator to the top of the food chain. Your support would help our work through the Lynx to Scotland partnership, to assess whether and how lynx could return to northern Scotland.
- Beavers
Beavers are nature’s engineers, building dams that create vibrant wetlands, boost biodiversity and reduce flooding. Your support will help us to explore the return of beavers to new river catchments, working closely with local communities.
- Wild boar
Wild boar are dynamic ecosystem shapers that turn over the soil, wallow, disperse seeds and boost woodland regeneration. With your support, we could raise the profile of boar as a species with an important ecological role.
- ‘Wilder’ large herbivores
Appropriate species and densities of large herbivores add complexity to habitats and drive important natural processes through their grazing, dung and trampling of ground. With your support, we will work to increase understanding and use of ‘wilder’ grazing as a practical tool for rewilding.
Bringing beavers back to the Highlands – a species recovery success story
Beavers once lived throughout Britain, but around 400 years ago, they were hunted to extinction. Now, after centuries of absence, these extraordinary animals are making a comeback.
Last year, one site in our Northwoods Rewilding Network, owned and managed by a local Highland community near Inverness, welcomed a family of beavers through the support of our Species Recovery Lead. This was the exciting culmination of two years of hard work to secure a licence for their release.
This is just one example of what’s possible across Scotland.
‘I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the SCOTLAND: The Big Picture team for over two years of unwavering support in our efforts to reintroduce beavers.’
Sam Hesling, Chair of the community forest trust
Help us create a nature-rich Scotland
This work is about much more than individual species.
It's about restoring the relationships between species that make ecosystems resilient – helping landscapes recover their ability to manage water, store carbon, regenerate woodland and support abundant wildlife.
Your support can make this possible.
Returning species to a landscape they once called home takes time, expertise, collaboration and persistence. Your donation can help us work with communities, land managers, conservation organisations and decision-makers to overcome the barriers standing in the way of nature recovery.
Every donation brings us closer to a Scotland where wildlife can recover and thrive.
Donate today and support the recovery of Scotland's keystone species.
You can help in two simple ways:
💚 Make a donation
Whatever you can give, your support will help us create the conditions for keystone species to return and natural ecosystems to recover.
Every donation takes us one step closer to a nature-rich Scotland.
📣 Spread the word
Not everyone can donate – but everyone can help.
Share this appeal with your friends, family, colleagues and wider network. Help more people understand why beavers, wild boar, lynx and other keystone species matter, and why their recovery could transform Scotland's landscapes.
Together, we can give Scotland's wildlife the space and support it needs to recover.
A nature-rich Scotland starts with you.
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th October 2026 at 8:51am