Visitors are being given the chance to make a £2 payment towards a pioneering rewilding project near Loch Ness.
The Cobbs Group has introduced the discretionary charge for people staying at its hotels and holiday homes along the Great Glen Way between Inverness and Fort William.
Money from the ‘enviro tip’ will go to the neighbouring Bunloit Estate, owned by Highlands Rewilding, to pay for apprentices to support its 22 staff.
The move was announced to mark Scottish Apprenticeship Week which runs until March 10.
The scheme will launch in the spring and apply to visitors staying overnight.
Highlands Rewilding and Cobbs hope it will inspire other businesses in the area to do the same.
Third estate added to Highlands Rewilding portfolio
Highlands Rewilding was set up by Dr Jeremy Leggett. He is the founder of the solar energy company Solarcentury and a former scientific director at Greenpeace.
It bought the Bunloit Estate near Loch Ness in 2020 and later the Beldorney Estate in Aberdeenshire in 2021.
Last week it announced it acquired the cash needed to add the Tayvallich Estate in Argyll.
Dr Leggett, the company’s CEO, said its aim is rewilding and re-peopling the Highlands.
“As we fight to reverse biodiversity loss and sequester more carbon, we are also creating local green jobs.
“Both Cobbs and Highlands Rewilding are invested in sustainable rural economies. We hope that this new environmental tip will draw a clear connection between Scotland’s beautiful places, how tourism can support local communities, and our joint efforts to restore these wild and wonderful landscapes.”
Drumnadrochit-based Cobbs Group employs 440 people and supports two trainee tourism ambassadors, with plans to increase the number of trainees.
Fraser Campbell is the founder and managing director of the Cobbs Group which owns the Loch Ness Country House Hotel, Inverness; Loch Ness Clansman Hotel and Loch Ness Lodge, at Brackla, Inverness-shire; the Loch Ness Drumnadrochit Hotel and the Base Camp Hotel Nevis Range, Fort William.
Guests at the soon to open Loch Ness Gate House in Fort Augustus will also be able to pay the £2 tip.
He said: “We’re delighted to partner with Highlands Rewilding to support their environmental efforts and encourage others to do the same, all while developing much-needed local rural skills.
“We already support several apprentices each year, so the idea of helping a local project that’s helping future proof our environment and young local people is a win-win.
A way for visitors to give back
“We live in an amazing part of the country with wide open spaces. We want to do what we can to help, protect and restore biodiversity and tackle climate change.
“This new partnership provides a great platform for our group to play their part in supporting the future of our local community.”
Mr Campbell is a founding funder of Highlands Rewilding and reinvested with the company this year.
He said a discretionary environmental tip to visitors staying at local Cobbs’ establishments is an innovative way for visitors to give back to the Highlands and to help restore nature.
“Our visitors want to know that their money is being fed back into the local economy.
“This is a tangible way for us and our guests to help future proof our wonderful surroundings.”
He said as well as tackling climate change, Highlands Rewilding’s initiatives will attract more year-round visitors who will stay for longer, to the benefit of the wider economy.
Bunloit already employs one local apprentice, Ollie Morgan. It also supports several paid summer internships each year for Scottish university students.
Ollie joined the team from Glen Urquhart High School, part funded by the Scottish Government.
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