Highlands and Islands Environment Foundation Launch

03.03.21

We are delighted to announce the launch of the Highlands and Islands Environment Foundation (HIEF), the newest member of our network and our second UK based foundation. The HIEF aims to protect and regenerate the natural beauty, biodiversity and eco-systems of the Scottish highlands and islands, focusing on four key areas:

Freshwater habitats;
Marine and coastal habitats;
Forests and woodlands;
Montane habitats.

Our experience and developed global best practice will enable us to support the HIEF in their mission to help preserve and enhance these unique ecosystems. The HIEF hopes to carry out its mission by working in partnership with local communities to develop bold, sustainable regenerative projects which can be scaled and replicated. The foundation will enable people and businesses with a passion for the highlands and islands to work together to support projects which will have a tangible impact.

Their first four grants have already been announced:

Highland Primary Schools Birdbox Project – to supply each of the 175 primary schools across the highland area with x10 birdboxes each over a four-year period.

The Argyll and Islands Hope Spot – Aims to help local communities to protect and restore marine biodiversity on a local, regional, national and international scale.

Lochaline Native Oyster Restoration – Native oysters will be grown in suspended baskets to restore the local native oyster population and to help regenerate the local marine habitat

Saving Scotland’s Rainforest – The grant will help to pay for someone to help raise the profile of the rainforest amongst key target audiences as a lack of awareness has been a prominent issue in previous work.

To read about these fantastic projects in more detail, visit the Highlands and Islands Environment Foundation website here.

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