Music festival goers urged to help rewild the Highlands

Music lovers attending a Scottish festival this summer are being encouraged to rewild the Highlands by having their own trees planted by conservation charity, Trees for Life.

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival, the Highland’s longest running and biggest music festival, are calling on attendees to mitigate the carbon impact of travelling to the event through donations to fund native trees.

The festival, which takes place near Inverness has a capacity of almost 20,000 people, whose support could help Trees for Life restore the globally important Caledonian Forest with its precious wildlife of red squirrels and pine martens.

The trees donated will be planted at Trees for Life’s acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate – a 10,000-acre forest regeneration site and biodiversity hotspot in Glenmoriston near Loch Ness.

Steve Micklewright, Trees for Life’s chief executive, said: ‘We’re delighted Bella is helping to bring back one of the world’s most magical forest habitats. As well as trees, rewilding is about people, culture and place – so it’s wonderful to connect nature, music and the wild spirit of the Highlands like this.’

Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival will run from Thursday, August 1 – Saturday, August 3 2019.

Claire Clark from the festival said: ‘The wild Caledonian Forest once covered much of the Highlands, but today only one per cent remains – which we think is a really big problem. So we’re asking Bella-goers to help. Every £6 donation will allow Trees for Life to plant a native tree – a lasting legacy, and a great, green way to give back to nature when visiting Bella 2019.’

So far Trees for Life’s volunteers have established 1.7 million native trees, and the charity is also successfully reintroducing red squirrels to suitable woodlands across the Highlands.

The award-winning charity will have a dedicated presence at Bella from 1-3 August, so that attendees can discover more about rewilding the Highlands.

Find out more about the festival here.