Crofting: national development plan

Land, Environment and Biodiversity

The Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets) (Scotland) Act 2019 sets targets to reduce Scotland's emissions of all greenhouse gasses to net zero by 2045. In the December 2020 update to the 'Climate Change Plan'^[12] the Scottish Government set out the pathway to delivering these targets and how its ambition for a just transition to net zero can support a green recovery from COVID-19. The update explains how Scotland's land can help deliver the emissions reduction targets whilst supporting the green recovery, for example by supporting an increase in the number of green jobs.

The 'Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry' chapter of the update, sets out the policies and actions that the Scottish Government will take to enable and support woodland creation and peatland restoration. The plan also states that in delivering these actions the government is determined to ensure they are undertaken "…in a just way, and in a way that also supports our wider ambitions and priorities such as:

• protecting and restoring Scotland's biodiversity and natural environment.
• investing in the natural capital that underpins our economy and wellbeing.
• providing a platform for the sustainable production of high quality food.
• providing a source of other long-term sustainable products like Scottish timber.
• providing a base for more renewable energy generation like on-shore wind and bioenergy, with appropriate safeguards for biodiversity.
• prioritising nature-based solutions to societal challenges, including air quality, water supply and quality, flood risk management, climate mitigation and adaptation and much more.
• providing more modern, affordable and energy-efficient rural housing."

Under the provisions of the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, the Scottish Government and all public bodies have a duty to further the conservation of biodiversity. Scottish Ministers also have a duty to publish a strategy or strategies for the conservation of biodiversity and to publish a list of species and habitats which are particularly important for the conservation of biodiversity. The development of a new Scottish Biodiversity Strategy is planned but, as indicated in the 'Statement of Intent on Biodiversity'^[13] published in December 2020, 'Scotland's biodiversity – it's in your hands' and 'The 2020 Challenge for Scotland's Biodiversity' will continue to provide a strategic framework and route map^[14] to protect and restore Scotland's biodiversity. The Statement of Intent also sets out the Scottish Government's ambition and direction of travel for improving biodiversity in partnership with land managers across Scotland.

It is known that climate change affects biodiversity. Climate change has an impact, both directly and indirectly, on habitats and, as a result, an effect on the abundance and distribution of the species present. However, the impact of changes in climate can be reduced by maintaining or enhancing biodiverse, interconnected habitats. It is well known that soils, grassland and wetlands, forests and peatlands hold vast stores of carbon. The management of particular habitats, for instance where various forms of agriculture are practised, provides resilience, enabling species to respond more effectively, and affects how much carbon is sequestered rather than released into the atmosphere in various gaseous forms, including carbon dioxide and methane.

Biodiversity and Sustainable Landscapes

Much crofting land use is recognised as being of high nature value. The traditional low intensity management and mixture of activities which are associated with crofting, supports a special range of species and habitats and contributes to creating a characteristic and distinct landscape.

A significant part of crofting activity revolves around livestock production and in some areas this is associated with low-intensity systems of high nature value. It is in these areas that we see a natural balance between food production and the environment, creating a rich diversity of wildlife habitats that are home to many species. The sensitive management of grasslands, habitat mosaics, field margins, and moorland habitats, provides biodiversity and environmental benefits. A number of particularly outstanding examples are designated as protected sites.

One example is the internationally renowned machair of the Uists, which is a rare coastal habitat maintained by the traditional rotation of cropped and fallow land, and the presence of cattle in winter^[15]. The swards provide pollen and nectar for insects like the great yellow bumblebee, and breeding sites for wading birds.

The Western Isles, and especially the machair of North and South Uist, Benbecula, and islands in the Sound of Harris, support the largest concentrations of breeding waders in the UK, and is one of the most important in Europe^[16].

More than 750,000 hectares of land in Scotland is in crofting tenure, with approximately 33,000 people living in crofting households. The Shucksmith Report^[17] stated that "The relationship with the land is at the heart of crofting". That relationship needs to remain healthy and must adapt to changing circumstances.

The Scottish Government is looking at ways in which to deliver direct environmental benefits through its agricultural support schemes. If an investment under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme requires planning permission, the planning process already ensures that environmental impact is taken into consideration^[18]. In addition, for any investment where planning permission is not required but the improvement is to be carried out on land within an environmental designated area, applicants will be asked to explain the assessment they have undertaken to ensure there is no negative environmental impact caused by the investment.

Under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme the Scottish Government will ensure that environmental issues are considered for each investment carried out on land within an environmental designated area.

There is a rich variety of habitats and species found in the crofting area. The biodiversity of the Highlands and Islands is in many respects distinct and unique and is often connected to the management of the land. Species rich lowland grasslands and upland meadows are frequently found in crofts and common grazings. These grasslands depend on sensitive livestock grazing and cutting regimes which allow flowering plants to flower and set seed prior to being grazed more heavily or mowed.

A significant number of priority species which are rare or in decline can be found in the crofting area. The great yellow bumblebee is restricted to machair areas and other flower-rich areas in Orkney, Scottish islands, and Caithness and Sutherland. Marsh fritillary is restricted to the west coast in Scotland.

Species on the Edge is a partnership project of NatureScot and seven nature conservation charities which was launched in 2020. Over a four-and-a-half period a programme of work will seek to improve the fortunes of some of these priority and rare species found along Scotland's coast and islands^[19].

Since 2019, NatureScot has been Piloting an Outcome Based Approach working with clusters of crofters and farmers to test innovative approaches to delivering environmental outcomes on crofts and farms. Three of the pilots are in the crofting area (Skye, Argyll, and Strathspey)^[20]. The project is also working closely with two partner projects in Shetland (with the RSPB) and in the Outer Hebrides (with the European Forum for Nature Conservation and Pastoralism). This work will help inform future schemes as new agriculture policies are developed.

Pollinators

Pollinators are an integral part of our biodiversity and provide an important contribution through pollination to crop production and environmental services.

Many crofting areas, especially machair habitats, are crucial for the survival of some of our rarest bumblebees, including the great yellow bumble bee. Land management, including managing habitats and providing flower-rich areas to ensure a supply of pollen and nectar is important for our native pollinators, and is encouraged under the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland 2017–2027^[21].

Beekeeping can play an important role but care needs to be taken where honey bees are introduced or kept as they can threaten native bumblebees and solitary bees^[22]. Apicultural (beekeeping) businesses in Scotland are generally small or medium-sized enterprises, and the value of their honey production varies from year to year. Collectively it averages several million pounds per annum. In addition, these businesses are important locally as employers. Healthy thriving bee colonies are also important to soft fruit and arable crofters and farmers as crop pollinators. The use of land for beekeeping has been recognised legally as a form of crofting cultivation since 2010.

The Scottish Government takes the matter of bee health very seriously, and encourages responsible beekeeping and management practices that protect local populations of wild pollinators.

The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage management practices that support biodiversity.

The Scottish Government will continue to explore the possibility of introducing a beekeeping package under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme.

The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage action to ensure our native pollinators thrive as part of the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland.

Peatlands

In the 2021-22 budget, the Scottish Government announced funding of £22 million for peatland restoration, part of the commitment made in 2020 to invest more than £250 million over 10 years to support restoration of 20,000 hectares of Scottish peatland annually. Peatland restoration has the potential to support or create significant numbers of additional green jobs in rural and remote areas of Scotland, with associated skills development and training.

Crofting areas include large areas of peatlands or peaty soils. These act as important stores of carbon and support biodiversity. The carbon stored in Scottish peatland soils as carbon dioxide (CO2) is equivalent to more than 120 times Scotland's total annual greenhouses gas emissions.

In environments conducive to peat formation, dead plant matter does not decompose completely so the carbon held within them becomes locked into the peat. When peat is exposed to the air through extraction or cultivation, for example, it degrades and the stored carbon is released as CO2, a greenhouse gas, which exacerbates global warming and climate change. Peatland also forms a unique natural habitat that supports biodiversity and species at risk, such as plants, birds and insects.

An RSPB report^[23] showed that the densest peatland areas are in Caithness, Western Isles, and west and east Highlands. These are all crofting areas. It is estimated that more than 80% of Scotland's peatland is in poor condition and could benefit from restoration. Peatlands are a vital nature based solution to the twin challenges of the climate emergency and loss of biodiversity. Alongside their role in capturing and locking up carbon, they provide an important range of other co-benefits including offering important natural habitats that support a range of unique ecosystems and biodiversity, contributing to flood risk management and improvement of water quality, reduction of soil erosion and reduction in the risk of wildfire.

It is therefore an increasing priority to restore our bogs and keep them healthy. In order to restore a peatland site we first need to establish the current condition of the peatland. NatureScot, working in partnership with the Scottish Government and the Crofting Commission, are undertaking an exercise to identify and map areas of degraded peatland. Once this exercise is complete, we will overlay that map with records of common grazings to identify which areas we need to engage and prioritise first. A large majority of common grazing land falls under land classified with peatland importance. NatureScot and the Crofting Commission will then aim to work with landowners, grazings committees and crofters to identify opportunities to restore degraded peatland.

The Scottish Government will continue to provide funding to support the restoration of degraded peatland, and to explore the need to provide funding to support the maintenance of healthy peatland.

NatureScot, in partnership with the Commission, will identify those areas of degraded peatland in the crofting counties with a view to prioritising engagement with crofters and common grazing committees.

Restoring an area of bare peat the size of Glasgow's George Square would save 19 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, which is the same as the emissions produced by 226 car journeys between Edinburgh and John O'Groats^[24].

Peatland Action is a fund run by NatureScot that supports the restoration of peatlands. Since 2012, Peatland ACTION, working in partnership with others, has set over 25,000 hectares of degraded peatland on the road to recovery. The scheme supports peatland restoration and preparatory work and provides training. There are a number of projects in the north of Scotland.

Case Study

Loch Orasaigh

Loch Orasaigh peatland restoration launched in 2019 in the Isle of Lewis, where there is considerable scope for more restoration activity^[25]. Working alongside Ranish Common Grazings Committee, Soval Estate and Scottish Water, the project will focus on restoring 11 hectares of damaged and eroding peatland within the Loch Orasaigh drinking water catchment area. The restoration aims to re-profile peat hags, block drainage ditches and encourage the stabilisation of vegetation around the edge of the loch. The project will help tackle climate change, as well as potentially reducing water treatment costs and protect two of Scotland's protected species Black-throated divers and Great skua, which are home to the loch.

Halladale Common Grazing was one of the first common grazing to undertake peatland restoration and carry out drain blocking. They have managed the grazing for the benefit of the peatlands since their designation in the 1980s. The common grazing is part of the Peatlands of Caithness and Sutherland. Initially the area was managed under the Peatland Management Scheme and subsequently a Rural Priorities Contract. The committee now manage it under an Agri—Environment Climate Scheme contract. To further improve the peatland the common grazing worked with NatureScot under the Peatland Management Scheme and LIFE Peatland project back in 2004^[26]. At the time, techniques were being developed; the project has allowed to restore peatland drains and helped train a number of local people to carry out the drain blocking.

Summary of Actions

Under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme the Scottish Government will ensure that environmental issues are considered for each investment carried out on land within an environmental designated area.

The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage management practices that support biodiversity.

The Scottish Government will continue to explore the possibility of introducing a beekeeping package under the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme.

The Scottish Government will continue to support and encourage action to ensure our native pollinators thrive as part of the Pollinator Strategy for Scotland.

The Scottish Government will continue to provide funding to support the restoration of degraded peatland, and to explore the need to provide funding to support the maintenance of healthy peatland.

NatureScot, in partnership with the Commission, will identify those areas of degraded peatland in the crofting counties with a view to prioritising engagement with crofters and common grazing committees.

The Scottish Government will support or create significant numbers of additional green jobs in rural and remote areas of Scotland, with associated skills development and training.

Woodlands and Forests

Scotland's woodlands and forests are a vital national resource and play an important role in rural development and sustainable land use. As well as providing timber for construction and opportunities for public enjoyment, our forests enhance and protect the environment and reduce the impact of climate change. Trees support soil and water conservation and they absorb carbon dioxide, removing and storing the carbon, while releasing oxygen back into the air. Trees improve biodiversity, increase the number of pollinators, and provide specialist habitat for birds and mammals.

Forestry in Scotland provides around
£1 billion to the economy each year and support over 25,000 jobs. Scotland's forests are home to more than 200 species of plants, birds and animals including Scottish wildcats, red squirrels, capercaillie, and our national tree – the Scots pine. Trees remove around 4.6 million cars' emissions each year^[27].

In February 2019, the Scottish Government published 'Scotland's Forestry Strategy 2019-2029'. The Strategy presents a 50 year vision for Scotland's forests and woodlands, and provides a 10-year framework for action. It sets out the long-term approach to expanding, protecting and enhancing Scotland's forests and woodlands, so that they deliver greater economic, social and environmental benefits to Scotland's people, now and in the future. The Strategy supports the delivery of the government's climate change forestry targets, including creating 18,000 hectares of new woodland a year by 2024/25, across a diverse range of woodland, including new native woodland.

As crofts occupy around 20% of the Highlands and Islands, they are well placed to contribute to delivery of the Forestry Strategy. For example, through crofter forestry on appropriate sites, and through woodland crofts and "agro-forestry", where cultivation, grazing and woodland development complement one another and can actually assist in livestock production by providing shelter, enhancing grazing, and better drainage. Local forestry and woodland strategies set out these opportunities and provide a framework for forestry expansion through identifying preferred areas where forestry can have a positive impact on the environment, landscape, economy and local people.

Supporting Green Jobs

Scotland's forestry sector employs people across Scotland, including where job creation is most needed, such as in rural and remote areas and among younger age categories. As part of the green recovery, Scottish Forestry^[28] is doubling its recruitment of assistant woodland officers, and Forestry and Land Scotland^[29] is doubling the number of opportunities for young people (including modern apprenticeships) creating an additional 25 jobs for young people.

Employment in the private forestry sector will also grow in response to rising levels of woodland creation and increasing domestic timber production. Forestry companies in Scotland have already taken up the offer of funding through the 'Young Person Guarantee' and 'Kickstart' programmes to take on young people as part of a new 'Growing Rural Talent' initiative which was promoted at a Forestry Jobs Summit in December 2020.

The Scottish Government is encouraging private sector forestry companies to support new forestry jobs in rural and remote Scotland.

Integrated Land Use

When people think about crofting and all of its traditional practices, they don't immediately consider forestry or the management and creation of woodlands. Through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), the Scottish Government aims to help crofters to integrate trees into their business and increase the viability of their common grazing. The 'Sheep and Trees' initiative is aimed at helping land managers identify the many opportunities woodland creation can bring to support and develop existing businesses. New woodland and agroforestry where trees are integrated into farmed landscapes without losing agricultural productivity, planted with clear objectives, designed well and carefully located on in-bye land and within hill and upland common grazings, can bring many benefits.

How crofting can benefit from trees:

• Shelter and shade for livestockWoodland and shelter belts can provide shelter for livestock, slowing down wind speeds, allowing stock to be left outside longer thus increasing productivity, improving animal welfare and reducing costs.
• Windbreaks to protect cropsTrees used for windbreaks can help prevent damage to crops and reduce soil erosion.
• Diversifying croft businessWoodlands can, in time, be a useful way of generating a different income stream from less productive land. Fast growing species can produce saleable timber in around 20 years through thinning, which also helps manage the woodland for future quality timber production.
• Adapting to climate change and reducing its effectsPlanting trees absorbs and locks up carbon, helping to reduce net carbon emissions.
• Landscape and biodiversity improvementsPlanting on less-productive land can improve the landscape and its biodiversity, providing habitat and wildlife corridors for flora and fauna. Woodlands host a large number of insects, helping pollination of nearby crops, and shelters nesting birds which feed on insect pests.
• Improvement of water managementTrees can protect against soil erosion. They help prevent runoff of manure and fertiliser into water courses. They increase the rate of water infiltration which can slow the movement of water from land into water courses, thus reducing peak flows and the risk of flooding.
• Improved soil health
  Trees help to maintain long-term soil fertility by capturing nutrients deep in the ground and returning them to the surface rooting zone.
• Reduced pests and diseasesThe drying effect of trees can reduce the incidence of liver fluke, and shelter belts planted between fields can act as a biosecurity barrier.
• Supplementary browsing
  Trees offer the opportunity for supplementary fodder providing a range of micronutrients and anti–parasitic properties.
• Using new woodland to renew or redefine boundariesAn important benefit for many businesses is that the current FGS helps with costs associated with fencing new woodlands. New woodlands can be planned to provide a real opportunity for the business to redefine or renew boundaries on the croft and, as a result, help in the future management of the land.
• Fuel Source
  Trees can be used as a fuel source and provide an alternative to peat.

The Scottish Government will support woodland expansion that helps integrate woodland with traditional crofting activities.

The Scottish Government, through the forestry grant scheme, will provide grant support to crofters and common grazing committees to support the sustainable management of existing forests and woodlands.

The Scottish Government will introduce a forestry loan scheme to help crofters and grazings committees with the cash flow challenges associated with woodland creation.

Getting the Balance Right

The Scottish Government aims to support the creation of new woodland that will bring economic, environmental and social benefits. The benefits will include:

• Helping mitigate climate change by absorbing and storing carbon.
• Restoring priority habitats through developing forest habitat networks.
• Protecting soil and water resources.
• Supporting rural development through local businesses and croft, common grazing and farm diversification.
• Supporting a sustainable forest industry by providing a reliable timber supply.

The Scottish Government recognises the need for better integration of forestry and other land uses, and supports the principle that the right tree species is planted in the right place for the right purpose. Woodland creation and natural regeneration may be suitable in many areas, and must recognise the objectives of other land uses and safeguard priority habitats and species.

It is important that there is engagement with crofters and common grazings committees to help identify where opportunities exist for woodland creation. Getting access to good quality advice early in the process from Scottish Forestry and partners such as the Woodland Trust Scotland under the Croft Woodlands Project, is key, and can prevent unnecessary financial outlay.

The Croft Woodlands Project set up in 2016, supports crofters to create and manage woodlands. The Project is a partnership between the Scottish Crofting Federation, Woodland Trust Scotland, Scottish Forestry, Coigach & Assynt Living Landscapes, Point & Sandwick Trust, Argyll Small Woods Cooperative, Shetland Amenity Trust, Orkney Woodland Project, and the Communities Housing Trust.

The Project offers free support to crofters, common grazings committees and smallholders within the crofting counties. Advisers carry out site assessments, offer technical advice and assist with access to training and funding. The Project also runs a small loan scheme to help crofters with cash-flow. Advice is mainly focused on new native woodland planting, but can also include management of existing woodlands.

The Scottish Government, through Scottish Forestry, supports the Croft Woodlands Project to provide local advisers to help crofters and common grazings committees assess what is possible and realistic on the land and develop woodland proposals.

Forestry Grant Scheme

The Scottish Government provides funding for the sustainable creation and management of forests and woodlands in Scotland through the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) to support delivery of the Scottish Government's woodland creation targets and implementation of Scotland's Forestry Strategy (2019-2029).

The Scheme is delivered by Scottish Forestry, and has a number of different woodland creation options and grants. Payments include support for initial planting and annual maintenance for five years. There is also support for a number of operations which may be required to ensure the successful establishment of new woodland, for example, fencing, gorse removal, and bracken treatment.

As at February 2021, one of the FGS's woodland creation options, which offers the highest level of grant, is the 'Native Broadleaves in Northern and Western Isles' scheme. The minimum block size for this option is 0.25 hectares, up to a maximum of one hectare for the Northern Isles, and a maximum of three hectares for the Western Isles and elsewhere in the crofting counties.

There are also several grants to support the management of existing forests, and woodlands to improve woodland biodiversity, deliver greater environmental benefits, and enhance the public's use and enjoyment of woodlands.

Further guidance and advice on forestry grant support can be found at:

• Woodland creation - https://forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/woodland-creation
• Woodland management - https://forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/forestry-grants.
• Forestry Grants for woodlands on Common Grazings - https://forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/farm-woodlands/croft-woodland-project
• Croft Woodlands Project - https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/scotland/croft-woodlands/

Case Study

Sandy Murray

Sandy Murray from Auchumore in Strath Halladale has been planting trees on his croft since 1992. He has combined native woodland planting with shelter belts, timber and Christmas trees.

"From a crofting perspective I would say that the biggest benefit was the shelter the new woods gave us. The forestry grants allowed us to improve fencing, and this helped the management of the croft. Now there is firewood coming out as thinnings which offers another benefit.

Well planned woodland integrated with other activities can work really well. Seeing more wildlife as the trees grow and watching sheep take refuge in rough weather has been very satisfying".

The Scottish Government, through the forestry grant scheme, will provide grant support to crofters and common grazing committees to plant trees and create woodlands on croft and common grazing land.

Agroforestry and Woodland Crofts

Agroforestry is a broad term used to describe the integration of crop and/or livestock systems with trees, with the potential to increase croft productivity and its biodiversity value. This may be anything from the simple provision of shelter and shade for sheep, to a woodland-based business including livestock, horticulture, fruit, timber, forest products and tourism.

A woodland croft is largely or wholly covered with trees. It may be on land that has been wooded for a long time, or where new planting has been designed to create a resilient, productive system. It might also have been created from an existing woodland. Woodland management is likely to be a key part of the croft business, and may include income streams from wood fuel or small-scale timber processing.

The Woodland Crofts Partnership^[30] has been established to support and promote woodland crofts. It is a partnership between the Scottish Crofting Federation, the Community Woodlands Association, the Communities Housing Trust, and Woodland Trust Scotland. It works closely with the Croft Woodlands Project, having many shared interests with it.

"Agroforestry embraces a spectrum or suite of management systems in which tree and woodland management form a binding element of a mixed economy that includes animal husbandry, horticulture, fruit growing or non-tree forest products. As this handbook will illustrate, there is a wealth of possibilities when woodland provides the matrix within which other land uses can thrive. A range of symbioses develops. These are nearly always richer, more productive, more resil­ient, and often more economic; they also employ more people than the single use systems we largely have today" ^[31].

Summary of Actions

The Scottish Government will support woodland expansion that helps integrate woodland with traditional crofting activities.

The Scottish Government, through the forestry grant scheme, will provide grant support to crofters and common grazing committees to support the sustainable management of existing forests and woodlands.

The Scottish Government will introduce a forestry loan scheme to help crofters and grazings committees with the cash flow challenges associated with woodland creation.

The Scottish Government, through Scottish Forestry, supports the Croft Woodlands Project to provide local advisers to help crofters and common grazings committees assess what is possible and realistic on the land and develop woodland proposals.

The Scottish Government, through the forestry grant scheme, will provide grant support to crofters and common grazing committees to plant trees and create woodlands on croft and common grazing land.

Case Study

Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer

Lynn and Sandra moved to Lynbreck Croft in March 2016. Since then, they have built up a multi-award winning enterprise, producing high quality meat, eggs and honey, and offering regular croft tours to showcase their nature-based approach to farming.

"We've had so much encouragement from neighbours, specialist advisers and networks of like-minded folk. Financial support from the Scottish Government, including the Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme and the Forestry Grant Scheme, really gave us a head start.

With no background in agriculture, we had a steep learning curve to try and make our vision fit with what could realistically be delivered on the ground.

Increasing the tree cover on the croft was always going to be a priority for us. In our first year we planted 17,400 native broadleaf trees, creating a 'living barn' for the future, where our animals can safely take shelter amongst the trees, whilst foraging on woodland flora and leaves

The existing birch woods on the croft had suffered from years of overgrazing, resulting in a real lack of young seedlings establishing. We fenced out deer and rabbits to allow them to recover, and our rare breed Oxford, Sandy and Black pigs are opening up niches for new saplings to germinate.

We're also looking to use trees to provide feed for our animals. With annual hay cuts becoming increasingly difficult to plan and costlier to purchase, we have planted 5,000 trees as part of an agroforestry project, so that we can feed freshly cut branches and dry others to make tree hay for the winter.

Living on the edge of the Cairngorms, harsh weather is part of daily life, but we have become increasingly aware of how the climate is changing, with extremes becoming the rule, rather than the exception.

We can no longer rely on seasonality averages and norms, we have to plan for the worst, allowing us to enjoy the best when it comes. Incorporating more trees on our croft is the best way for us to 'future proof' our business".

Case Study

Ros and Rab Nash

In 2015 Ros Nash and her husband Rab bought the 12 hectare Cogle Wood in Caithness and created a new woodland croft.

"Our business, Watten Firewood, has been expanding at an exciting rate. We have worked hard to streamline each part of the process, from harvesting logs to allowing customers to order and pay online.

Having our own woodland offers us protection from fluctuations in timber prices, which can vary significantly, whereas the price of processed firewood remains stable. Our customers like knowing that their wood is grown, harvested and seasoned just down the road."

Ros and Rab have plans to diversify the business over time with the aim of deriving all of their income from the croft.

"We intend to make the most of our forest resource by establishing revenue streams based on non-timber forest products such as edible mushrooms and honey from beekeeping. We also plan to tap into the glamping accommodation market"

The forest will develop and change as the business grows, with a richer array of habitats and species

"We plan to replant gradually, practicing continuous cover silviculture, creating coupes as we go, and improving biodiversity by taking a lead from what grows well locally. We'll introduce species such as willow, rowan, birch, alder, aspen, cherry, sycamore and Scots pine, many of which are currently being nurtured in our tree nursery".