The Hopes Estate, located in East Lothian is engaged in vital conservation work for the benefit of all the wildlife that flourishes here, including the valuable species such as curlew, lapwing, golden plover, black grouse and merlin.

Covering 4,200 acres of open hill, moorland and areas of natural regeneration, management activities include traditional sheep farming, grouse shooting, forestry and conservation. The estate achieved level 2 Wildlife Estate Scotland accreditation in 2013 and was also awarded the Golden Plover Award at the Scottish Game Fair 2016, celebrating the best sustainable upland management estate in Scotland.

Over the past six years the team at The Hopes has worked hard to plant trees, create areas of natural regeneration and restore peatland which will ultimately allow for higher levels of carbon capture.

Peatlands play a crucial role in all our lives by providing multiple benefits for people and nature. When healthy, they ‘lock-in’ carbon to help combat climate change, support biodiversity and safeguard rural jobs.

The Hopes has also been involved in the international wildlife and habitat accreditation scheme, Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), since its inception 10 years ago. This scheme builds information on species and land use to improve Scotland’s biodiversity and is based on a European scheme used in 19 countries. Scotland currently sits second in its league table of accredited land and the scheme is playing a huge part in helping Scotland’s wildlife to flourish.

Carrying out vital conservation work across Scotland’s moorlands by implementing climate change measures to help preserve important moorland habitats is imperative to safeguard our beautiful Scottish landscape for generations to come – this will only be achieved by pro-active management.