In 2007 Forestry and Land Scotland, RSPB and The Woodland Trust came together on a landscape scale project that covers 16,500 hectares in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
Find out more about The Great Trossachs Forest
Creating a National Nature Reserve
The Great Trossachs Forest achievements were recognised in 2015 with the award of National Nature Reserve (NNR) status.
This 200 year partnership project will restore, protect and enhance a diverse range of habitats for the benefit of wildlife and people.
Working with partners
We're working with our partners Woodland Trust and RSPB Scotland.
Together we’re delivering this large scale landscape project, returning heavily grazed land and conifer plantation to a more natural mix of habitats.
When planting we’re committed to:
- avoiding areas of priority open habitat and important archaeological remains
- maintaining the natural beauty of the landscape
- making sure walkers can access the higher slopes of the surrounding hills
Woodland pastures
Many people think that because sheep and deer damaged the land, all grazing by animals is now bad. That’s not the case.
Through fences and managing the deer population we're helping natural regeneration of the ancient woodland. We’re also introducing Highland cattle to some areas.
Cattle grazing
Cattle are 'non-specific' grazers. They create a mosaic of vegetation structure and species diversity. This is good for butterflies and other invertebrates. Ground disturbance by cattle can also create bare earth for tree seedlings to establish.