We focused on working to save two rare pinewood species One-flowered Wintergreen Moneses uniflora and Twinflower Linnaea borealis.  The remaining populations of these plants are fragmented and struggling to survive.

One-flowered Wintergreen (Moneses uniflora) is a very rare pinewood specialist plant which has rapidly declined over the past decade. It relies heavily on woodland soil fungi, and seems dependent on microclimate and disturbance in the wood understory.

We have been investigating what can be done to protect this delicate flower. Part of this was a first of it’s kind trial translocation, moving 100 plants to a declining site in an effort to restore the vigour of the population and to test the viability of further translocations in future.

After 9 months, the survival rate at the site was above 70 per cent which is excellent for any plant translocation. This is excellent for a plant translocation and bodes well for further Wintergreen translocations.

Read more here.

Twinflower (Linnaea borealis) is a charismatic and beautiful flower which has sadly also heavily declined, with under 1,000 individuals in the UK, as modern forestry practice has caused habitat fragmentation.

With holistic management of pinewoods more commonplace, there is now an opportunity for Twinflower to recover. However, populations are isolated and cannot reproduce.

This project has moved over 1000 Twinflower cuttings to 10 new sites to aid in reproduction and help the species regain a healthy distribution

Watch our videos below to find out more about our work with this species.

The Cairngorms are home to some of the best remaining wildlife-rich grasslands in Scotland. We worked with volunteers and farmers to restore and reconnect these rare habitats.

A total of 20 sites across the Cairngorms were surveyed by citizen scientists in 2021 and 2022 using our Waxcap Watch App. We used this data to find two sites with a very high diversity of rare waxcap grassland fungi which had not been previously highlighted or protected.

Follow-up events with land-managers, a mycologist, and keen locals have helped to highlight the plight of these rare and poorly understood fungi, ensuring that these important sites are protected for generations to come.

In partnership with Pastures for Life, we also worked with four Strathspey farmers to trial a new model for grassland management, mob grazing.

The aim of mob grazing is to give the grassland community on site a chance to grow, flower, and set seed between grazing events. To achieve this, pastures are divided into smaller sections, and cattle are moved frequently between them.

Our farmers have found success with this new method of managing stock, and are enthusiastic to see nature returning to their grasslands.

With the help of a group of dedicated and skilled volunteers, we are continuing to monitor these sites, with over 100 quadrats surveyed biannually.

We worked with the James Hutton Institute (JHI) and dedicated hill walking volunteers, to carry out ground-breaking new research on the summit of the mountains.

In partnership with the James Hutton Institute (JHI), we surveyed 55 of 58 Cairngorms Munro’s.

Over 60 volunteers hiked up some of the tallest mountains in the UK, collecting small tubes of soil from different habitats.

These samples were then sent back to the lab for soil fungi analysis, with all species present identified via DNA.

These surveys help us to better understand the impact of climate change, nitrogen pollution, grazing, and trampling on some of the most fragile and under-studied environments in this country.

One of the two high value Waxcap grassland sites we worked at.

A very impressive and colourful variety of rare Waxcap community fungi were recorded at Glen Tanar, significantly more than previously recorded, including the rare Ballerina Waxcap (Porpolomopsis calytriformis).

Across 4 new translocation sites, we planted nearly 400 Twinflower cuttings.

They were collected from Balmoral Estate in the west to Ballogie in the east, connecting up populations and allowing seed to spread naturally across the Glen.

The other high value Waxcap grassland site we worked on. This site, rich in Corals and Earth Tongues, was completely unknown prior to discovery by citizen scientists using our Waxcap Watch App.

On a very wet day we assessed the community on this unique deer-grazed meadow.

One of the 55 Munro’s surveyed as part of our mountain fungi work. This was the most diverse site, with 359 species of fungi discovered in 5 small tubes of soil.

The 2nd most diverse Munro we surveyed, with a total of 358 species of fungi detected. Wider surveys also detected an entirely new to science species of Squamanita fungus.

In third place, the mountain of the Cairngorms namesake, totalled 352 species of fungi detected.

Wider surveys also added two new recorded species of fungi to the UK, Amanita groenlandica and Acrodontium antarcticum.

One-flowered Wintergreen plants collected from Roseile forest on the Moray coast and near Grantown-on-Spey were planted near a remnant population in Abernethy as a trial for translocation of this species.

In summer 2024, the first season after translocation, 16 flowers occured on transplanted individuals, meaning new seed may already have been produced.

One of 6 translocation sites in Strathspey, we planted 96 Twinflower cuttings from 6 different populations into Drumin to reinforce an isolated population.

Cuttings were collected from upper Strathspey and were cared for and planted out by the national park Junior Rangers.

Another Twinflower translocation site in Strathspey. Anagach woods supports up to 5 wild patches of Twinflower, but all are struggling to reproduce and may not survive without help.

With the addition of 6 new individuals at the translocation site, there should now be plentiful opportunities for reproduction and recovery.

One of the 4 farms we are working with to trial and monitor mob grazing techniques. Volunteers get together in summer to survey a series of 1m quadrats.

By revisting these same quadrats over many years, we will identify a positive change in the number of meadow plant species and the health of grasslands at these farms.

Another farm testing the impact of mob grazing on their grassland and the animals. Although it is quite labour intensive, moving animals frequently can be beneficial for their health as well as the grasslands.

Having a more diverse community to eat may also help the health and happiness of the cattle.

The 3rd of 6 Twinflower translocation sites in Strathspey. This site is surrounded by a wealth of holistically managed pine woodland, suitable for Twinflower to thrive.

Unfortunately, there is no wild Twinflower reproducing nearby to take advantage of it. As our newly translocated patches reproduce, seed will be distrubuted across the woods via the legs of passing animals, allowing Twinflower to spread and re-establish itself in this region.

Another of our four farms trialling mob grazing. We have completed two years of monitoring on these sites so far, but we have yet to identify the impact on grassland communities, as plants will take time to respond to changing management.

We are looking forward to seeing the ecological outcome of mob grazing on these sites.

A total of 3 translocation sites were selected near Carrbridge for Twinflower translocation.

There are no wild Twinflower patches in the upper Dunlain valley at all, but plenty of suitable and holistically managed pine woodland available for it to re-establish.

The final site trailling mob grazing. As we start to build a picture of the impact of grazing, and farmers continue to learn and share their insights, we may be able to promote and shift the norms of upland grazing towards more nature friendly approaches.