UHI Students Hosted by The Princess Royal at Glenfeshie Estate for Integrated Land Use Conference
HRH The Princess Royal visited Glenfeshie Estate this week (Tuesday 26 March) to meet students from across the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) partnership during field sessions as part of an integrated land use conference.
As the university’s chancellor, HRH The Princess Royal attended field sessions on deer management, land pressures and changes in legislation and spoke with students and expert speakers from Caledonian Climate Partners, Forestry and Land Scotland, NatureScot, and Savills.
The visit was organised during UHI’s eleventh integrated land use conference with over one hundred students and staff gathered from around the Highlands and Islands, Moray and Perthshire. Organised by UHI and industry partners, the three-day event brought students together from a range of land-based disciplines to collaborate and learn from each other.
Delegates, who are studying subjects such as geography, forestry, wildlife and conservation management, gamekeeping, sustainable development and environmental science, took part in workshops, contributed to discussions and developed their skills through field trips and engagement with expert speakers and students from other disciplines.
Students during field sessions at Glenfeshie Estate during UHI’s integrated land use conference
The conference included field sessions at Glenfeshie Estate which sits in the heart of the Cairngorm National Park – an internationally significant destination for biodiversity and ecological restoration. The estate is part of WildLand Limited – a private organisation working to preserve and regenerate vast swathes of wilderness across Scotland.
This year’s conference theme focused on ‘land use through the years (past, present and future)’. Along with the field session experts’ representatives from Cairngorms National Park, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Scottish Forestry and SEPA led discussions on topics such as community perspectives and projects, conservation and biodiversity, energy from community hydro, and water distribution issues.
Speaking about the event, Vicki Nairn, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at UHI, said: “We are delighted HRH The Princess Royal could join us at Wildland’s Glenfeshie Estate for our eleventh integrated land use conference. The annual event aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration among students, encouraging them to learn from each other and form professional network and I’m sure they’ll remember this one for many years to come.”
“I’d also like to give a special thanks to the team at Wildland for such a warm hospitable welcome in a stunning setting.”
Dr Su Bryan, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Health and the Environment at UHI, said: “Managing our land effectively is arguably one of the most important challenges facing us at the current time, it is an essential part of our response to climate change and biodiversity loss. At UHI, we are proud to train many of Scotland’s future land managers and we know how important it is for these managers to work with others from different backgrounds and with different priorities.”
“Since 2012, with our partners we have organised an annual integrated land use conference, where students learn from each other and crucially learn to work together. We are grateful to our hosts WildLand, and the many partners who have offered funding and support for such an important event.”
Tim Kirkwood, Chief Executive of WildLand Limited, said: “On behalf of Anne and Anders Holch Povlsen, the whole WildLand team is pleased to support UHI in this important event. We are glad that our work and the resulting recovering landscapes – as well as increasing opportunities for livelihoods that come with them – can be a practical, hopeful showcase for innovative, sustainable land use amidst the significant challenges, like climate change and the biodiversity crisis, that custodians of rural Scotland are facing.”
Students in discussion at the Duke of Gordon Hotel during UHI’s integrated land use conference
UHI’s integrated land use conference took place on Tuesday 26 to Thursday 28 March 2024 at the Duke of Gordon Hotel in Kingussie and the surrounding area.