Brawlbin

Location results

Brawlbin is a 509ha sprawling farm on the shores of Loch Calder. Brawlbin sits within an extraordinary landscape that is renowned for its special wetland habitats and endangered wildlife.

509ha

managed to boost biodiversity and carbon capture

170ha

wetland being maintained for breeding birds and carbon capture

41

breeding birds species recorded

Location overview

Conserving Breeding Waders

Liaising with local experts, such as the RSPB, our FFC staff are working with our tenant grazier to actively support the regionally-important breeding wader populations and other birds that make their home at Brawlbin.Breeding waders have suffered severe declines across the UK over the last few decades but agricultural holdings in Caithness support a nationally important population of the five, key farmland species: curlew, lapwing, redshank, oystercatcher and snipe. FFC are currently exploring opportunities to implement our ambitious management plan for the site so we can greatly enhance these bird populations.

Bringing Habitats Back To Health

We are planning to work with our tenant grazier and other interested groups to bring our bog, marshes, grassland and heath habitats back to full health. This will include eradicating the existing sitka spruce invasion on our bogs and exploring opportunities to create new montane scrub; a rare habitat which is important to much wildlife.

Creating Wildflower-Rich Habitats

Brawlbin provides high quality, flower-rich habitats for the benefit of pollen and nectar dependent invertebrates, particularly the great yellow bumblebee. Having once occurred right across the UK, the great yellow bumblebee is now confined to some of the Scottish islands, and Caithness and Sutherland in the far north of mainland Scotland. The loss of flower-rich meadows is largely to blame for its decline and Brawlbin has the opportunity to create areas for this special species.

Our vision

Our vision is that Brawlbin will greatly contribute to international, national, and regional targets to reverse the biodiversity crisis. Ensure that Brawlbin is a net sink for carbon by managing all semi-natural habitats into good condition and agreeing farming practices to achieve carbon neutral status. The holding sits within an extraordinary landscape that is renowned for its special habitats and wildlife. Many species found on agricultural ground here are rare, threatened or declining, including breeding waders, the great yellow bumblebee and twite. Good management at Brawlbin Farm will provide opportunities to demonstrate how biodiversity can be boosted through collaboration between private finance, conservationists, agriculturalists and the local farming community.

Make an impact

Curlew Conservation: Protecting the IUCN red-listed Bird of Conservation Concern

Caithness hosts one of the largest populations of breeding waders in the UK, due to its large expanses of open landscape, which provide birds with natural protection from predators, and the mosaic of wetlands, wet grasslands, bog and agricultural habitats found across the county. Our ongoing monitoring and management work at Brawlbin will safeguard this near threatened species.

Protecting one of the rarest British bumblebees

With expert advice, including from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, we aim to create new wildflower-rich strips on Brawlbin farm, which we hope will attract the rare great yellow bumblebee. Once more widespread across the UK, this species has recently been listed as a conservation priority under the national Species on the Edge project.

Special conservation efforts for red-listed species

Through annual monitoring of key habitats and species, our conservation work at Brawlbin will conserve and enhance the habitats that so many rare and protected species depend on for food and shelter. This includes conservation grazing for waders and the protection of wetlands around the south edge of Loch Calder for otters, water vole and wildfowl.

Restore Today, Flourish Tomorrow

At Brawlbin, we are focused on protecting endangered species and wetland habitat to lock up carbon and help nature to thrive. We also work on enhancing flower-rich habitats. Our projects aim to engage and benefit local communities while conserving the environment.

Make an impact

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Hundreds of trees become thousands, thousands become millions. Millions of trees will have a significant impact on the climate crisis. This nature based approach is not the only solution to climate change, but it’s real, here now and already making a measurable difference to biodiversity and global C02 levels.