What do Atlantic salmon and Scotland whisky have in common? Rivers. And specifically, the fresh, cool water that flows along those rivers, with the “fresh” and “cool” characteristics being of particular importance when it comes to flora, fauna, and indeed, Scotland’s world-renowned whisky.
In recognition and support of these rivers, the surrounding woodlands and wildlife, and Scottish landscapes as a whole, Wilderness Scotland, the adventure travel company and leader in sustainable tourism, has announced a new partnership with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, a leading rewilding charity, to help restore and protect Scotland’s rivers through the innovative Riverwoods projects across the charity’s Northwoods Rewilding Network.
“At Wilderness Scotland, we are committed to protecting Scotland’s wild landscapes, and our partnership with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture is a natural extension of that mission,” said Paul Easto, Wilderness Scotland’s Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer. “With Scotland’s streams and rivers covering an amazing 125,000 km (77.6K miles), improving these habitats has the potential to create transformative change that will deliver significant benefits for wildlife and people.”
This new partnership will work to help restore Scotland’s vital waterways (Wilderness Scotland)
Scotland sits at the 57th parallel north, the same latitude as southern Alaska, which lies about 4,000 miles to the west. At one point in time in the distant past, the landscapes of both places may have looked very similar, covered in dense forest and teeming with diversity, but, as noted in SCOTLAND: The Big Picture’s feature film, Riverwoods – An Untold Story, “mankind has exerted a very different pressure here.”
The film compares the lives of Pacific salmon in Alaska to that of its Atlantic cousins in Scotland. In both places, the salmon are a key species in the land’s living, breathing, working ecological systems: “Their precious carcasses are consumed by animals, absorbed by vegetation, and recycled by nature’s complex web of life. There is no other species here like them. There are salmon in the trees, and in the soil that feeds the trees, and in the creatures that live amongst the trees. But time for their kind in Scotland is running out.”
Through its Wilderness Conservation & Community Fund, an initiative that allows travelers to give back to the environments and communities that are at the heart of their journeys, Wilderness Scotland and SCOTLAND: The Big Picture will plant corridors of native trees like aspen and willow as a means of helping to restore these vital waterways and, in turn, the future of salmon in the country. This much-needed riparian planting (riparian zones being the areas that border bodies of water and riparian planting involving planting vegetation in these zones) will help create shade by restoring native woodland along Scotland’s exposed riverbanks thus providing the cool, clean water that Atlantic salmon need to thrive and survive.
“Over many centuries, the loss of Scotland’s natural woodlands and much of the wildlife that shaped them has profoundly changed our rivers,” said Kathleen Slaney, Rewilding Investment Lead at SCOTLAND: The Big Picture. “Not so long ago, huge runs of Atlantic salmon returned each year from the sea, found their way into the cool, tree-lined waters of Scotland’s rivers. Having spawned the next generation, the fish then died, their carcasses fueling entire ecosystems.
“Today, many of these rivers flow through bare, treeless landscapes, the legacy of centuries of burning, felling, and overgrazing. Without the shade and nutrients provided by trees, rising water temperatures are impacting Scotland’s salmon, and this magnificent creature is threatened like never before. Through this partnership with Wilderness Scotland, and with the support of its travelers, we will continue the much-needed work of creating a network of thriving riverbank woodlands and healthy river systems across the country.”
Scotland’s clean, fresh water is also an essential ingredient in its iconic whisky (SCOTLAND: The Big Picture)
So, what does this all have to do with whisky? Clean water is essential for producing the well-known spirit, as it forms the base of the distillation process. Clean water means better whisky, making the rewilding efforts a win-win for one of Scotland’s most iconic species and one of its most iconic products.
“We’re committed to making travel a force for good and that means protecting the landscapes here and creating transformative environmental change,” Easto said. “Together with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, we aim to not only improve the deeply interconnected ecosystems in and along our rivers but ultimately hope to restore these wild places for generations to come.”
Feature Photo of SCOTLAND (The Big Picture)