Peatland ACTION FW02 Field Ecologists Framework

NatureScot work to improve our natural environment in Scotland and inspire everyone to care more about it. We work to ensure that all nature in Scotland - our key habitats and landscapes, all our green space and our native species - are maintained, enhanced and bring us benefits. Our priority is a nature-rich future for Scotland and an effective response to the climate emergency.

Peatland ACTION funding - from Scottish Government - primarily supports on-the-ground peatland restoration activities and is open for applications from eligible land managers who have peatlands that would benefit from restoration. There are no geographical restrictions or target areas for Peatland ACTION funding. Peatlands are an iconic part of the Scottish landscape and have many benefits for people and nature. Healthy peatlands provide important ecosystem services including storing and sequestering carbon, supporting unique and specialised biodiversity, improving downstream water quality, and regulating water flow to provide natural flood management. In contrast, damage to peatlands reduces or reverses these benefits. For example, degraded peatlands release stored carbon and are a major global source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Peatland ACTION is led and funded by Scottish Government and delivered in partnership with NatureScot, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority, Forestry and Land Scotland, and Scottish Water.

Since 2012, Peatland ACTION has set over 66,000 hectares of degraded peatland on the road to recovery, but this effort needs to accelerate rapidly in the coming years to help address the twin crises of the climate emergency and biodiversity loss.

The appointed Field Ecologists will work with the Peatland ACTION Technical Team and Project Officers located across Scotland to help support species and ecological survey requirements for Peatland ACTION restoration sites.