Cairngorms Connect
Restoring native woodlands, peatlands and rivers across 60,000 hectares of the Scottish Highlands.
The Cairngorms National Park contains some of the UK’s most important upland habitats. Ancient Caledonian pine forest, montane woodland, blanket bog and river floodplains support species found in few other places in Britain, including western capercaillie, European wildcat and white-tailed eagle.
Yet centuries of land-use change have reshaped this landscape. Woodland cover declined to a fraction of its natural extent, peatlands were drained or damaged, and high deer densities suppressed regeneration. Climate change now adds further pressure to already fragmented ecosystems.
Cairngorms Connect brings together neighbouring land managers to restore ecological processes at scale. Through coordinated deer management, habitat restoration and species recovery, the partnership is rebuilding resilience across 60,000 hectares of the Scottish Highlands.
Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands, Scotland, UK
Cairngorms Connect
2019-2026
US$5,000,000
60,000 ha
Caledonian pine forest, montane woodland, blanket bog, wetlands, rivers and floodplains
Western capercaillie, European wildcat, Eurasian beaver, white-tailed eagle
Carbon storage, flood mitigation, biodiversity recovery, sustainable rural employment
Why this place matters
The Cairngorms Connect landscape holds the UK’s largest contiguous expanse of native woodland and supports 62% of Scotland’s western capercaillie population. More than 5,000 species have been recorded here, around 20% of which are nationally rare or scarce.
However, only around 1% of Scotland’s original Caledonian pinewood remains. Historic grazing pressure has prevented natural forest expansion. Rivers have been modified to suit land management, and damaged peatlands have released stored carbon.
Restoring ecological function across this landscape is critical not only for species recovery, but for climate resilience, carbon sequestration and the long-term sustainability of rural livelihoods.
Action on the ground
Restoration in the Cairngorms is already reshaping the landscape. Coordinated deer management, habitat recovery and species reintroductions are rebuilding ecological resilience, while community action is strengthening long-term stewardship across the partnership area.
kilograms of Cairngorms Connect venison produced.
staff employed across the partnership area.
of river and floodplain restored to improve natural processes.
youth engagement activities delivered across the landscape.
of new native woodland established through planting and natural regeneration since 2019.
of blanket bog restored to rebuild carbon storage and hydrological function.
European wildcats released to support species recovery.
Monitoring highlights
The project team monitors a range of indicators covering topics ranging from ecological recovery to economic impacts and community engagement. This helps to inform adaptive management.
Objective: Increase moth diversity after upland restoration.
Objective: increase diversity, abundance and biomass.
Objective: increase diversity after upland restoration.
Objective: increase vegetation diversity.
Cairngorms Connect is running a restoration trial in former plantation forests that lack the quantity and diversity of deadwood found in natural woodland. The partnership is testing three different deadwood-creation interventions and comparing their ecological outcomes by monitoring deadwood beetle communities. By treating the forests as a living experiment, the project is generating evidence on which techniques most effectively rebuild structural complexity and restore biodiversity in simplified forest stands.
The Willow Walk is a yearly community tree-planting event in the Cairngorms.
Growing trees and community
At RSPB Scotland’s Abernethy Reserve, a small tree nursery has become central to woodland recovery. What began as a grassroots initiative led by the Friends of Abernethy now produces around 10,000 native trees each year, grown from locally sourced seed and planted across the partnership area.
Volunteers sow, transplant and carry young trees into remote planting sites, including during the annual Willow Walk, when staff and community members hike into the hills to plant montane species. The nursery links ecological recovery with hands-on involvement, building skills, confidence and a shared sense of purpose.
Deer management and local venison
Reducing deer pressure is essential for woodland regeneration. Across the 60,000-hectare partnership area, coordinated deer management is enabling natural forest expansion without widespread fencing.
This work also produces a sustainable source of venison, brought into local supply chains through the Cairngorms Connect Venison initiative. Events such as the annual Hill to Grill festival celebrate local forests and food, linking deer management to community gatherings, skills and rural livelihoods. Apprenticeships and traineeships help develop the next generation of land managers.
“In an age of ecosystem restoration, we cannot think of any other project in Europe which will have data as valuable and unique as that of Cairngorms Connect.”
Sir John Lawton, Former Chair of ELSP Oversight and Selection Panel
“The tree nursery work sits at the epicentre of everything that we are trying to do at Cairngorms Connect. In this place of healing, beneath the many thousands of baby trees grows an understorey of hope, a community where people come together to do good things as an integral part of nature.”
Lynn Cassells, Cairngorms Connect Tree Nursery Assistant
“When you go to an area that has been allowed to regenerate naturally through reducing deer numbers, suddenly your mind is opened up to all the possibilities that this land holds.”
Dr Pip Gullett, Cairngorms Connect Project Scientist
What’s next?
The work underway marks just one stage in a 200-year vision. The next phase accelerates restoration, strengthens evidence and embeds long-term stewardship across the landscape.
Communities embedded at the heart of long-term stewardship.
Natural processes increasingly shaping habitat structure and species recovery.
Forests expanding towards their natural altitudinal limits.
Peatlands recovering as long-term carbon stores.
vision guiding restoration across 60,000 ha.
‘200-year’ monitoring indicators will be tracked long-term to measure ecological and socio-economic recovery.
Restoration Works
Restoration Works showcases the accomplishments of projects supported by the ELSP which have completed their funding period.
Visit the Cairngorms Connect website
Restoration works: Seven years of change across Europe’s landscapes and seascapes
Growing forests from the ground up in Strath Nethy
Deerstalker’s diary: A night in the hills
The dam the beavers built
