Acting Minister for Climate Action visits Rivers Trust

PUBLISHED: 15/08/24

The Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust welcomed Acting Minister for Climate Action, Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, and Scottish Greens MSP for the Highlands and Islands, Ariane Burgess, to the River Findhorn on Tuesday 13 August to discuss the Trust’s flagship programme to foster nature recovery and connection, the “Findhorn Watershed Initiative”.

One of just twenty-four projects to receive funding from the first year of the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund, and as part of a £500 million 10-year commitment to supporting the transition to net zero in the northeast of Scotland, the Findhorn Watershed Initiative was launched at the end of 2022, with the Trust having successfully been awarded a significant grant of £970,000 towards the project.

Encompassing an area of 1300km² from the source to the sea of the River Findhorn, the watershed-scale Initiative brings together landowners, land managers, local communities, businesses and other river users in an accelerated, collaborative programme of habitat restoration, carbon sequestration and river stewardship.

Dr Alasdair Allan, MSP, Acting Minister for Climate Action said:

“I am delighted to see this investment from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund is supporting large scale nature restoration along the River Findhorn. The Findhorn, Nairn and Lossie Rivers Trust’s innovative approach to conservation and river stewardship, through the Findhorn Watershed Initiative, has accelerated this project which will have significant and long-lasting benefits on local climate resilience and biodiversity.”