DRUMADOON FARM
Drumadoon Farm is on the south-western coast of the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde. It consists of traditional farmland, dramatic coastal cliffs and shoreline, extensive scrub, woodlands and heather moor. With only a small part of the land farmed, it is no longer economically viable for agriculture. Most of the farmland has been left to its own devices for the last 30 years and has started the rewilding process by itself. Most of the land is classified Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Area or Scheduled Monument, and the surrounding sea is a Marine Protected Area.
Key rewilding commitments:
- MORE NATIVE WOODLAND: Encourage greater freedom for natural processes to shape the landscape by replacing the forest plantations with native trees and water features to benefit wildlife, including the planting of 150 acres of Scottish rainforest, the rarest rainforest on the planet.
- LET NATURE LEAD: Cease all use of herbicides and pesticides; remove the last internal fences.
- REINSTATE NATURAL GRAZING: Manage the upper land by the introduction of free-roaming native cattle.
- CREATE REWILDING BUSINESS: Develop regenerative tourism as the economic driver of the rewilding plans, with guests being encouraged to switch off from the modern world, reconnect with nature and participate in rewilding, archaeological, wildlife and conservation projects.
"Drumadoon offers a unique opportunity to combine rewilding, archaeology and regenerative tourism to showcase how we can rethink and live with nature in a more sustainable way. By ‘taking a step back’, we want to explore earlier and historic land practices to see if can ‘relearn’ better ways to co-exist in a natural landscape, as well as to inspire others and build new bridges between communities."
