Caring for the land
Johnnie Walker
Earlier this year, Diageo announced a partnership between Johnnie Walker and RSPB Scotland to help save a crucial area of peatland in An Lurg North peatland area, part of the Abernethy Reserve in the Cairngorms.
Investment from Johnnie Walker means that vital work can be carried out to continue the restoration and conservation of the peatland area, which is severely degraded and is among some of the highest priority areas for peatland restoration in Scotland. The An Lurg area had already undergone a series of preparatory works supported by Peatland ACTION, a NatureScot partnership initiative funded by Scottish Government, and is part of a priority habitat within the Cairngorms Connect partnership.
The partnership will focus on restoration work on 88 hectares, which will result in a total area of 160 hectares of the Cairngorm plateau being conserved – the equivalent of around 224 football pitches.
Learn more here.
Ardmore Distillery (Beam Suntory & Suntory Holdings)
In 2021, Beam Suntory and its parent company, Suntory Holdings, launched an initiative known as the Peatland Water Sanctuary, a large-scale series of peatland restoration and conservation and watershed conservation projects in Scotland.
The companies plan to invest more than $4 million in the restoration and conservation of peatlands and watersheds throughout Scotland by 2030, with the first project due to begin near the Ardmore distillery in November 2021. In the first phase, nearly 15 hectares of peatland in the Ardmore Knockandy Hill north side slope will be restored, with subsequent projects across other sites in Scotland to follow in the coming years. Overall, Beam Suntory aims to restore and conserve 1,300 hectares of peatland by 2030, and 2,600 hectares by 2040.
Learn more about the project here.
Caring for the land news & commentary
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