Highlands & Islands MSP Ariane Burgess has praised nature restoration projects across the Highlands & Islands.
The Green MSP highlighted how these projects are key to rebuilding Scotland’s nature, which in turn can slow or even reverse climate change.
Speaking in a debate in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Burgess said:
“A great deal of the work on the ground, to meet our climate targets, will take place in the Highlands and Islands.
“The Highlands and Islands has the land and the nature that is pivotal in this national effort.
“So we need to welcome and accommodate more people in the region, to deliver more and more projects like these.
“That’s why affordable rural housing is crucial.
“We need housing for workers, and long-term homes to support stable, growing communities.”
Ms Burgess referred to five projects supported by the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund.
Scotsburn Farms in Invergordon will plant aspen trees to provide more habitat for endangered capercaillie.
The Glencoe Habitat Recovery Project will restore woodlands, wetland and peatland in Glencoe National Nature Reserve.
In Badenoch and Strathsepy the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland will work to restore “Five Feisty Species” of threatened invertebrates.
Protecting Gigha’s Woodlands project, run by Isle of Gigha Community Trust, will remove invasive species and create a system of hedgerows across the island.
The Turning the Tide project across Luing and Scarba will create and restore woodland, habitat corridors and wetland on both islands, led by cattle farmers the Cadzow Brothers.
