More than 200 hectares of peatland has now been restored on the mountainside at NatureScot’s Ben Wyvis National Nature Reserve (NNR) as part of landscape-scale habitat restoration stretching from summit to sea.
The large area of heavily eroded peat hags and gullies on the eastern slopes of the mountain, near Inverness, has been sensitively restored to re-vegetate the peat, halt erosion and allow the peatland to function properly.
The work, funded by NatureScot Peatland ACTION, has also included blocking historic man-made drains in order to re-wet the site and encourage the growth of sphagnum mosses to form new peat.
In total, 227 hectares has been restored by local contractors Albamontane at the site, which is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC).
NatureScot Nature Reserves Manager Ian Sargent said: “In Scotland’s Climate Week we want to shine a light on some of the success stories that offer real inspiration and hope in the face of the twin crises of biodiversity loss and climate change.