Bamff, Perthshire

Rewilding Project

Bamff is a 182 hectare rewilding project in the heart of Perthshire, Scotland. The land consists of 12 fields, previously used for organic sheep farming, and 6 small woodlands.

The grassland is mostly wet and rushy, with some areas of rougher vegetation. The woodlands are a mixture of old spruce plantations and new areas of natural regeneration colonised by birch trees.

There are also growing areas of wetland, recently re-established by beavers who have blocked old drainage systems.

Bamff has an exciting rewilding plan and can be seen as a pioneer when it comes to reinstating natural processes on Scottish land.

In order to allow for the free roam of animals once they are introduced, the land has been prepared by removing all fences. This will allow animals to move freely across the 450 hectare space, a key stage in the rewilding plan as it maximises disturbance and dispersal of vegetation.
During spring and summer 2022, the plan is reintroduce wild animals onto the land again. At first this will consist of 20 wild cattle, 6 wild Exmoor ponies, and some Tamworth pigs. They will be left to their own devices on the land to encourage the re-initiation of natural processes and ecosystems on the land.
Bamff already has two beaver families that have colonised waterways and produced extensive wetland ecosystems that are vital for area biodiversity and aquatic species. Combined with more shallow ponds that are planned to be installed on some of the land in the near future, these habitats will act as a key carbon sink and opens up the potential for ongoing monitoring of wetland sequestration.

AREA BREAKDOWN

Breakdown of the project's habitat in hectares

ESTIMATED CARBON SEQUESTRATION

Estimate of the cumulative carbon sequestration across the project in tonnes. Estimates are derived from average carbon capture rates by habitat (Natural England Report, 2021: Carbon storage and sequestration by habitat), and from field surveys of the land