To celebrate World Tourism Day – Sept. 27 – the TreadRight Foundation, The Travel Corporation (TTC)’s not-for-profit arm, is launching the first segment of a new three-part video series, created in collaboration with its project partners, Trees For Life, GreenWave, and Rainforest Rescue. The series aims to educate guests and industry partners about the power of nature-based solutions in mitigating the climate crisis.
Debuting the series with Trees for Life, the segment spotlights the charity’s efforts to rewild the Scottish Highlands and restore Scotland’s Caledonian forest through large-scale nature restoration programmes such as the Wild Pine Project. Rewilding is an effective means to support and benefit people, nature and climate.
The video provide insights into the ongoing restoration of Caledonian pinewoods, a crucial habitat for Scotland’s rare wildlife, where less than 2% remains of what was an estimated one million hectares of Scotland.
Since partnering with Trees for Life in 2023, TreadRight’s funding has significantly advanced the Wild Pine Project, which is focused on mapping and assessing wild pine areas to restore, protect, and expand this life-supporting habitat. To date, the project has successfully surveyed 20 Wild Pine sites, a critical step in developing a restoration plan for the Caledonian forest.
“On World Tourism Day, we are honoured to showcase the incredible efforts of our TreadRight project partners with the launch of this video series. We hope it serves as a platform to educate travellers about the critical role of nature-based solutions to address climate change,” says Shannon Guihan, The Travel Corporation’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of TreadRight. “We are proud to share this journey with our committed partners who are helping to support our ambitious goal of achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050,” she adds.
“Wild Pine sites are Scotland’s undiscovered pinewood treasures,” says Alan McDonnell, Head of Nature Restoration, Trees for Life. “As we look more closely at the landscape, we are finding clear evidence that remnants of ancient pinewoods are much more extensive than we previously recognized. Thanks to TreadRight’s support, we’re able to expand Scotland’s Wild Pine map and demonstrate the true scale of restoration possible for these special Scottish woodlands,” he adds.
The Dundreggan Rewilding Centre, a cornerstone of the rewilding strategy, attracted 29,000 visitors in its first year (2023) and is projected to welcome 39,000 visitors in 2024. Guests on select TTC brands such as Highland Explorer Tours, HAGGiS Adventures and Trafalgar can visit this centre on a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience to explore ancient pinewood and unique juniper forest. The Centre engages local communities and visitors in the cultural history and ecological value of this ancient landscape.
Upcoming segments of the video trilogy will also spotlight US’s GreenWave and Australia’s Rainforest Rescue, and their diverse approaches to nature-based solutions and significant contributions to addressing climate issues. Follow the link to view the Trees for Life video and learn more about these initiatives: https://youtu.be/LDiYppo0QlY
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