Scotland's Climate Week 2025: Working together in the Angus Glens
It’s Scotland’s Climate Week 2025 and we’re highlighting our work across the public sector, businesses, and communities to ensure we are climate ready together. Last November we highlighted our plans to create a ‘living laboratory’ in the Angus Glens to track landscape change as we restore native woodlands and healthy rivers.
Our Angus Glens Project sits at the southern gateway to the Cairngorm National Park where we are aiming to tackle biodiversity loss and climate change. We want to do this in a way that will generate jobs and benefit local communities and visitors as the climate changes.
We’re working with others to achieve these aims.
Working with businesses
In November we welcomed local business, the Bothy Distillery, as the first commercial enterprise to move into FLS Glen Prosen. This followed an extensive consultation and expressions of interest process. The Bothy Distillery took up a lease of former industrial and residential premises in Spring 2025 and hopes to begin distilling in the heart of the glen before Christmas.
The founder, who grew up in a neighbouring glen, is championing sustainability in this fragile environment. The new visitor experience will draw people to the Glens, where they can learn about the rich heritage of the site and play a part in protecting it for the future. The business is also supporting several new jobs in the local area.
Learn more about working with businesses here
Working with local environment partners
We commissioned Esk Rivers and Fisheries Trust to research the state of juvenile salmon and freshwater invertebrate populations at Glen Prosen. We can use this information to monitor how successful our river restoration works are over the coming years and make informed decisions about the future as the climate changes.
Their report found that in-stream habitat and water quality were generally good - however juvenile salmon were smaller and fewer than nearby rivers. We are now implementing key findings from the report such as removing non-native conifer trees and regenerating broadleaf riparian trees to restore nutrient balance and provide much needed summer shade.
Learn more about working with environmental partners here
Working across the public sector
Our land management strategy is developed in collaboration with partner organisations such as NatureScot, Scottish Water, and the Cairngorms National Park. These efforts support the Scottish Government’s goals for nature recovery, climate adaptation, and community wellbeing.
We recently undertook important survey work to closely monitor various bird, mammal, and invertebrate species, as well as their habitats, to better understand the site. These findings will help us protect vulnerable species, create new habitats, and measure how biodiversity responds to change over time.
Learn more about working across the public sector here
Working with local communities
Throughout March and April we invited a third round of feedback on our draft land management plan from the public. We held public events, published online information and visualisations, and invited written feedback to ensure our project aligns with the needs and ambitions of local communities, partners, and stakeholders.
According to our Planning Forester Sophie Cade:
“We valued local feedback which showed broad support for the creation of new native woodland and nature recovery. We heard how important it is to spread social and economic benefits into the community, this is informing how we approach the work planned in the Angus Glens and we hope the plans will meet the varied needs of people, wildlife and landscape resilience.”