Rewilding project aims to restore peatland near Loch Ness

Work has started on a project to restore more than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of peatland near Loch Ness.

Rewilding Affric Highlands is leading a partnership of charities and private landowners to help save and repair connected areas of blanket bog.

The project involves the Dundreggan Estate which is owned by the rewilding charity Trees For Life, as well as private landholdings at Guisachan and Corrimony Farm.

Healthy peatlands can help to prevent carbon dioxide from being released into the atmosphere while also providing habitats for a wide range of wildlife.

Research has suggested that about 80% of peatland in Scotland is degraded.

The damage can be caused by bogs being drained so commercial forestry can be planted.

Peatland can also dry out if there is excessive trampling and overgrazing by red deer.

The rewilding scheme involves drains being blocked and dams built so that moisture can be retained.

Pools are being restored so they can once again provide homes for dragonflies and wetland birds like black throated divers and dunlin.

Sphagnum moss is also being planted.

It can hold up to 20 times its weight in water, and promotes the waterlogged, acidic conditions needed for revegetation and peat formation.

Corrimony Farm, which is run by David Girvan, is an upland working farm with about 150 suckler cows and 180 breeding ewes.

He said: "We're showing that farming can work well with peatland restoration, which makes a real difference for keeping carbon locked up.

"It's good to see such a big area across different estates being restored together."

Stephanie Kiel, Rewilding Affric Highlands executive director, added: "This is about restoring a whole ecosystem at landscape scale, with a shared commitment to tackling the nature and climate emergencies and benefitting local communities."