Fundraising drive launched for Dicaprio-backed green scheme
HE is one of the world’s most wellknown green campaigners and regularly uses his fame to highlight environmental issues across the globe.
Now a campaign calling for Scotland to become the first “rewilding nation” in the world, backed by Hollywood star Leonardo Dicaprio, is launching a new fundraising drive.
The Scottish Rewilding Alliance, a coalition of more than 20 organisations, is urging the Scottish Government to declare Scotland a rewilding nation in an effort to boost conservation strategies.
The alliance said that Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world but believes that it is possible to rewild 30% of it by restoring habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas, with no loss of productive farmland.
Actor Leonardo Dicaprio last week backed the campaign in an Instagram post which has been liked almost 100,000 times, saying: “With this campaign, Scotland could be a world leader in rewilding its landscapes, ensuring clean air and water, storing carbon, reducing flooding, restoring wildlife, and improving the lives of locals.”
Rewilding Britain now aims to raise £200,000 for the rewilding nation campaign as part of this year’s Big Give Green Match Fund, which runs from April 18-25, with all donations up to £100,000 matched by Big Give.
Kevin Cumming, Rewilding Britain’s rewilding director and steering group member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, said: “We’re urging people from all walks of life to support the Rewilding Nation campaign.
“This is about creating a groundswell of hope for a greener, fairer Scotland in which communities and nature thrive together.
“Rewilding is about tackling the nature and climate emergencies, while offering a cascade of benefits for people – including better health, new jobs, food security, and healthy rivers and seas.”
Funds raised during the Big Give week will support outreach work such as events with communities, meetings with politicians and policy makers, a new community rewilding guide, and making the campaign widely accessible in Gaelic.
Alliance member Trees for Life has extended an open invitation to Dicaprio to visit the charity’s Dundreggan Rewilding Centre near Loch Ness in the Highlands.
The centre celebrates rewilding and Gaelic culture, and offers a gateway for visitors to explore Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate, part of Affric Highlands, the UK’S biggest rewilding landscape.
Dicaprio has expressed interest in the Scottish environment before, drawing in large crowds at Cop26 in Glasgow in November 2021.
At the time, he was a UN representative on climate change and interacted with Maryhill locals at a fringe event in the Engine Works on Lochburn Road.
The alliance said that a rewilding nation charter, which calls on the Scottish Government to declare Scotland a rewilding nation, has already been signed by thousands of people.
The alliance is a coalition of more than 20 nature organisations urging the Scottish Government to declare Scotland as the first rewilding nation in an effort to boost conservation strategies.
But rewilding has its critics and the call comes as hundreds of thousands of acres of Scotland are currently undergoing the process in a bid to help native species thrive.
Many sceptics, including a number of leading conservationists, believe that rewilding does not actually help species to thrive.
The Royal Horticultural Society has said that an area that is just left to “rewild” may simply revert to scrub or be dominated by a single species, which may be worse for biodiversity.
The Scottish Government has previously said that it was working to unlock the full potential of restoration projects.
Ministers have been urged to commit to nature recovery across 30% of the country’s land and sea.
Figures recorded by the alliance suggested 2.1% of Scotland’s land was rewilding, with 150 projects covering at least 160,000 hectares.
But the environmental groups warned that the project would need to be significantly scaled up to meet the 30% target.
This is about creating a groundswell of hope for a greener, fairer Scotland