Introducing Gwen Raes: Dundreggan’s new estate manager nurtures belonging as well as biodiversity

In December we welcomed Gwen Raes to Dundreggan to take up the role of Estate Manager, a key role within Trees for Life as we seek to demonstrate how rewilding offers a viable model for forward-looking land management in the Highlands while addressing the very pressing climate and biodiversity emergencies.

Originally training and practicing as a psychologist in her homeland of Belgium, Gwen’s interest in and care for people is tangible. “Staying in one landscape to work, you’re part of the community, able to cultivate a sense of belonging. Making people feel part of the estate, from neighbours to visiting volunteers, is really important to me.”

The landscape and the people who live in it are inseparable. “At Dundreggan, we are not starting with a blank canvas,” Gwen says. “We have inherited a landscape significantly shaped by the people who lived and worked here before us.

“Rewilding is an opportunity to make this relationship between people and the land more equitable, in terms of who can access and benefit from it. It’s an opportunity that I’m really excited about.”

Over time, Trees for Life would like to see increased access across the wider estate, building on the improved path network which was completed with the creation of the Rewilding Centre, so that more people can enjoy the impact that nature recovery is having on this former sporting estate. The estate’s natural and physical assets could also be opened up to local people to use and create their own enterprises. As an example, we are currently working on plans to develop an on-site deer larder, so venison from the estate can be processed and sold in Glenmoriston, adding value that circulates locally. Looking at natural capital, our model of sharing a third of woodland carbon sale proceeds with community groups is already gaining traction across the broader Affric Highlands rewilding initiative area – an encouraging sign of progressive change to come.

We discuss rewilding as Gwen drives us up Eve’s Road, an old droving route on the western side of Dundreggan that connects Glenmoriston to Strathglass and Glen Affric. In the 1700s, people would have used this route to move cattle from the Highlands to markets, or ‘trysts’, in the south. The drovers using Eve’s Road might have come from Glen Shiel, Skye, and even the Western Isles, travelling huge distances by foot and often sleeping out in the open – a transhumance way of life where an intimate knowledge of place and its folklore were also transported between glens.

The views west from the track are spectacular. The alpine-like spine of Glen Shiel’s Five Sisters is a dramatic backdrop to Gwen’s current focus – the restoration of a former commercial clear felled plantation site. Working with peatland contractors Caledonian Climate, the plan is to restore almost 494 acres of forest bog here – an interesting habitat where forest and bog co-exist in a relatively stable relationship.

The 180,000 trees we eventually plant here will help to create a diverse, resilient habitat mosaic, offering food and cover to a host of invertebrates and birds. The shelter they offer will influence the microclimate, creating conditions of relative warmth and humidity, allowing woodland flora and fauna to thrive alongside those of bogs.

Asked about her impressions on joining Trees for Life, Gwen’s quick to point to the strength of our ecology team whose diligent monitoring work is giving us an evidence-based direction of travel. Last summer, an eight-week-long survey across Dundreggan revealed that there are at least 450,000 young regenerating trees on the estate, which with the right level of deer management, could successfully establish. In addition to the 27 different wild tree species growing naturally on the estate, including high numbers of juniper and aspen, we have 22 types of rare ancient woodland plants, like dogs mercury, valerian and meadowsweet. Some human intervention, in this case, increasing our deer cull, is all nature needs to succeed. Over the last winter season, our deer cull has doubled, thanks to the hard work, care and specialist knowledge of Dundreggan’s two deer stalkers.

Dundreggan is a rewilding demonstrator, home to the world’s first Rewilding Centre and a partner in Affric Highlands. Trees for Life is undoubtedly fuelled by ambition. But we continuously need to keep asking ourselves: what does rewilding mean to us? Gwen’s answer is that people need to be integral, not a secondary add-on. How that looks across Dundreggan’s 10,000 acres, we don’t yet know. But there is no doubt that Gwen intends to find out.