A filmmaker from Mull and a Moray-based foundation are backing a move to transform a derelict bothy in a picturesque Highland glen into a wilderness base.
Conservation charity Trees for Life has secured a 25-year lease on Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric and is working with Forestry Commission Scotland on the renovation project.
The building will be completely refurbished and equipped, with ecologically-sound solutions for the onsite provision of a water supply, energy and sewerage, to provide a base for volunteers planting trees in the glen.
Filmmaker Gordon Buchanan – well-known from television programmes such as Big Cat Diary and Springwatch – has now pledged his support for the project.
Generous donations and grants have contributed towards much of the total cost of £137,000. The most recent being £20,000 from The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation based in Fochabers.
And the charity is now appealing for the final £30,000 needed to complete the funding for the project.
Mr Buchanan, who was brought up on the Isle of Mull, said he considered time spent in Glen Affric’s ancient forest to be precious.
He said: “I am thrilled to be supporting Trees for Life’s appeal for a new base in Glen Affric.
“It’s not possible to plant trees in this remote location without a place for volunteers to stay.
“We now have a fantastic opportunity to renovate Athnamulloch Bothy in the western glen, saving it from dereliction and bringing it back to life.”
The Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation was set up by brothers Gordon and Ian Baxter, with their wives Ena and Margaret, in 1981 so the family could continue to support the Fochabers and district communities.
And, in the past 12 months, it has widened its remit to include projects in the north of Scotland and the Highlands and islands.
Foundation manager, Kay Jackson, said: “We’re proud to support Trees for Life’s restoration of the Caledonian Forest and its Build the Bothy appeal.
“It is inspiring to think that this will lead to the planting of thousands of trees and create opportunities for hundreds of people to benefit from being physically active in spectacular Glen Affric.”
Anyone wishing to support the appeal can do so at www.treesforlife.org.uk