Conservationists have commenced ground works to restore a historic area of land on Skye as part of a £9million investment in the tourist economy.
Scotland’s leading environmental charity, the Outdoor Access Trust for Scotland (OATS), has begun seed collecting at one of the island’s most iconic sites, the Old Man of Storr, with aims of restoring the land to its original state.
The Skye Iconic Sites Project (SISP) is one of a series of projects being rolled-out across the Highlands and Islands region, forming part of a new £9million investment in the visitor economy.
The projects aim to provide more and better quality opportunities for visitors to enjoy natural and cultural heritage assets.
Experts have now begun trialing seed cutting and collection techniques on the Old Man of Storr, stressing it will help identify the best cutting system ahead of scaling up the operation for next season.
‘We aim to protect and develop the incredible sites Skye has’
Dougie Baird, chief executive officer of OATS said their work will help preserve the popular area for the generations of visitors venture to Skye.
“Skye is a global destination for international visitors keen to experience and relish in its beauty but, as we’ve seen many times before, an increase in visitor numbers comes at a cost,” he said.
“As an environmental organisation we aim to protect and develop the incredible sites Skye has so the public can enjoy everything the island has to offer, sustainably.
“This is an exciting opportunity for us to learn more about the land on one of Skye’s most famous and busiest walking routes.”
He added: “The seed collection is the first step in allowing us to capture the information we require in order to successfully restore the land and offer a solution that works for everyone. We can’t wait for the restoration to get fully underway.”
Restoring Skye’s natural landmarks
The trials, which have taken place over a number of days and involved hand cutting, strimming and vacuuming up the seed from the land, will play a crucial role in informing the project of the best system to use going forward.
After preparing the bare areas, the Access Trust will distribute the collected seeds to establish the reintroduction of certain species to the area, previously lost from the pressure of visitor footfall.
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The habitat restoration activity is just the beginning of extensive work planned by The Skye Iconic Sites Project (SISP).
Habitat restoration will be undertaken at various other locations including the Fairy Pools and the Quiraing. New bridges will be erected at the Fairy Pools as well as a series of new paths at both the Quiriang and Fairy Pools.
The extensive work aims to improve the visitor experience and achieve sustainable management of remote but popular locations on the island which are suffering as a result of the huge growth in tourism at Skye’s iconic landmarks.