The Riverwoods Blueprint Project, led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, is excited to announce the launch of a £200,000 grant to kickstart a pipeline of new river woodland creation and restoration activities across Scotland.
The Riverwoods Development Grant will fund 10-20 environmental NGOs, charitable trusts, community groups, local public bodies, and others in Scotland to produce river woodland development plans – the essential first step in enhancing local river health, creating new homes for wildlife and improving access to nature.
Scotland has over 125,000km of rivers and streams. River woodlands – the trees and woods in, next to and near rivers, burns and lochs – are vital for creating and maintaining healthy rivers. These biologically rich areas provide a link between land and water and are the green arteries of an ecosystem, supporting many of our most iconic native species including ospreys, white-tailed eagles, otters, red squirrels and Atlantic salmon.
Unfortunately, the impact of human activity has caused declines in the health of these precious habitats with a survey by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency revealing that only 13% of riverside habitats are in good condition. Restoration is urgently needed but solutions are often complex and must be tailored to each catchment.
Many local organisations are aware of these challenges and are motivated to implement solutions but often lack the funding for necessary initial surveys, scoping and consultation. The Riverwoods Development Grant seeks to overcome this barrier by supporting the crucial initial stages of river woodland creation.
A river woodland development plan identifies the need for conservation intervention, as well as the current opportunities for – and barriers to – implementation, taking a project from its concept to the identification of planting or restoration sites where the financial, ecological and operational details are ready to be delivered.
Up until 28 July 2025, applicants can apply for up to £20,000 to carry out the necessary scoping, analysis, community engagement and planning to identify viable opportunities for expanding river woodlands and improving riparian habitats. Successful candidates will be notified in October 2025 and have until March 2027 to complete their development plans.
Nicole Still, Riverwoods Project Manager, Scottish Wildlife Trust said: “During the Development phase of the Riverwoods Blueprint Project, the Trust gathered information from 23 river restoration projects across Scotland in varying stages of development and implementation. The people we spoke to stressed the need for financial support to develop riparian planting initiatives, especially to cover the costs of sourcing technical expertise to develop funding applications.
“This grant will be key for enabling not-for-profits across Scotland to develop high integrity river woodland development plans that could bring huge benefits for Scotland’s wildlife. Without it, projects may fail to get off the ground at the very earliest stages.”
The river woodland development plans and subsequent woodland restoration and creation activities supported through the Riverwoods Development Grant will help to deliver significant benefits including flood protection, improved water quality and better salmon fisheries, while addressing the pressing challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Successful projects will also contribute to the Riverwoods Blueprint, a visionary plan for sustainable river woodland networks that will be developed over the next four years by the Riverwoods Blueprint Project.
The Riverwoods Blueprint Project and the Riverwoods Development Grant are made possible by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and National Lottery players.
Caroline Clark, The National Lottery Fund Director for Scotland, said: “Caring properly for Scotland’s river catchments and their woodlands is vital to managing the impacts of climate change and helping nature flourish. The launch of this grant scheme is a key next step in helping achieve this river restoration, and we at The National Lottery Heritage Fund are delighted that our funding is contributing towards this essential work.”
For more information and to apply, please visit the riverwoods.org.uk.