Kinlochleven trust looks towards a green future

Kinlochleven Community Trust has been running a tourism and green recovery project with the help of an external consultant to work towards a tourism strategy for the village.

Like many other areas in Highland, the village is a popular destination for visitors, and this increased pressure on services and the environment has not gone unnoticed.

To formulate the strategy, the trust has been asking the community and visitors to engage in various consultations to ensure that the work includes as many voices as possible.

Working with the Community Woodlands Association and a local ecologist, the trust has created a land and woodland management plan, tree survey and environmental action plan, all of which will aid a tourism strategy for Kinlochleven.

This has all been enabled by the support from NatureScot through the Better Places Green Recovery Fund.

Development Officer at the trust Lucy Cooke said: ‘We are so grateful to Nature Scot for providing the opportunity to develop this work.

‘It is difficult to manage the popularity of our beautiful corner of the world without negative impact to the environment and our community.

‘This project has given us a better understanding of what is happening and what can be done to aid our green resilience and recovery for the future.’

The trust is now writing an application to NatureScot’s second round of funding which enables organisations to build tourism infrastructure and create short term employment to manage visitors in the area and better protect the environment.