Courtesy of Trees For Life
For Earth Day, the Travel Corporation's (TTC's) TreadRight Foundation has announced its newest project partner: Scotland-based Trees for Life and support for the charity's Wild Pine project.
The rewilding project is restoring Scotland’s globally important Caledonian Forest and its unique wildlife. It is the first project TreadRight has announced since shifting focus to supporting nature-based solutions (NbS) in support of its three pillars of Planet, People and Wildlife.
TreadRight is The Travel Corporation’s philanthropic arm, a global travel provider whose mission is to 'MAKE TRAVEL MATTER.' In 2022, TTC became the first tour operator with validated net zero targets. In support of these targets, TTC also announced an internal Carbon Fund to invest in its net zero transition, in concert with TreadRight’s prioritization of nature-based solutions.
“This Earth Day’s theme is ‘invest in our planet’ and TreadRight is pleased to partner with Trees of Life, a strong nature-based solutions charity working to tackle the overlapping nature and climate emergencies and create a cascade of benefits for people,” says Shannon Guihan, TTC's Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of The TreadRight Foundation.
“NbS include the conservation and restoration of natural ecosystems, and improved land management to either reduce carbon emissions or to store carbon in the planet,”she adds.
Trees For Life is dedicated to rewilding the Scottish Highlands. According to the charity, thousands of years ago wild pinewoods covered an estimated one million hectares of Scotland – but today only about 2 per cent of this life-supporting habitat remains, broken into small and isolated fragments, many under threat and in poor condition.
With the support of thousands of volunteers from around the world, Trees for Life – which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year – is saving this magical forest habitat and its wildlife from being lost forever, while creating social and economic benefits for local communities.
According to the charity, rewilding is an effective means to protect and restore sustainable biodiversity, natural landscapes, and wildlife while removing carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Alongside prioritizing the reduction of carbon emissions, supporting nature-based solutions which remove and store emissions already in the atmosphere is an integral component in the global journey towards net zero, which is the critical goal post to avoid a climate disaster according to the latest climate science.
Trees For Life is TreadRight’s third nature-based solution partner, in addition to US-based GreenWave and Project Vesta, both marine-based initiatives.
Travellers can join Highland Explorer Tours and Trafalgar with a visit to Trees For Life’s Dundreggan Rewilding Centre in the Scottish Highlands as a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience:
- Guests get to explore Dundreggan’s wild landscapes with accessible trails and forest adventures which is located eight miles from the shores of world-famous Loch Ness
- Travellers will discover centuries of Gaelic history and connection with a landscape undergoing transformation through rewilding
- The Rewilding Centre is a gateway to a 10,000-acre flagship estate that has been rewilding since 2008 and is home to more than 4,000 species of plants and animals including golden eagles and native species such as the black grouse
More information is available about TreadRight and nature-based solutions at treadright.org/planet.
