Sunday 14th January 2024 6.30pm Carrifran Wildwood and beyond: re-wilding in Southern Scotland

John Goodacre   An account of a successful re-wilding project and a discussion of the rationale behind creating nature reserves.   On New Year's Day 2000, when the first trees of this project were planted, Carrifran was a typical high valley in the Scottish Borders ‒ treeless, windswept and closely grazed by generations of sheep and also feral goats. By 2020 it has been transformed into an inspiring example of what can be done in a short time towards recreating a native forest landscape. This has taken years of dreaming, research, planning, appeals for funds, applying for grants and building communities of supporters and volunteers both local and from afar. What can the Carrifran experience teach us when considering conservation and re-wilding in the Midlands, faced here with urbanisation and increasingly industrial farming?    Dr. Goodacre is an agrarian historian at the Department of English Local History at Leicester University. He has published a study of Lutterworth and its area in the 16th and 17th centuries, the farming economy and enclosure of the commons.   All welcome - admission free . Tea & biscuits. Donations welcome.