Impact Projects FAQ
With Satopia Travel's nature restoration initiative in partnership with The European Nature Trust, you're a steward of change.
Our FAQ page is designed to provide you with clear, concise answers to the most common questions about the Nature Restoration project and impact.
Why The European Nature Trust?
The European Nature Trust is a grantmaking charity that empowers locally impactful NGOs to restore nature at scale. Partnered with Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust, the project aims to restore more than 200 km of high priority rivers in the Kyle catchment. The goal is to boost biodiversity, prevent the local extinction of wild Atlantic salmon, mitigate climate change effects, and support community resilience.
Why the Scottish Highland?
The Scottish Highlands, though beautiful, hide a history of environmental degradation. Throughout the last couple of centuries, the Highlands lost 97% of its native woodland, making the region a prime focus for ecosystem restoration. Today, wild Atlantic salmon are at their lowest ever recorded number. To lose this iconic species would diminish the ecosystem, lose an intrinsically beautiful spectacle of wild nature, and further endanger local employment.
What’s the connection between the trees and the salmon?
Salmon are part of complex freshwater ecosystems that connect land and sea. Without the cooling shade that trees provide on riverbanks, these hugely important river catchments are becoming too hot under climate change. Salmon are adapted to live in cool waters; above 23 degrees Celsius, they overheat, changing their behaviour and development. By planting trees on rivers, we can build shade to cool the waters – a scientifically proven approach – while supporting biodiversity, restoring the natural flow of the water, and sequestering carbon. Restoring riparian woodlands will also provide critical nursery grounds to shelter young salmon and improve their survival.
Why the River Kyle catchment?
The Kyle catchment, in the heart of the Scottish Highlands, contains some of the most critical rivers for salmon migration. Yet, they are some of the most vulnerable to thermal stress. Across the Kyle catchment, Kyle Fisheries estimates that 257 km of riverbanks are in need of restoration, based on water temperature vulnerability data. Native riparian woodland currently covers, on average, 7% of Kyle of Sutherland’s rivers, with most headwater rivers featuring less than 5% cover. Today, there are 86 full time job roles on the Kyle rivers related to salmon. If salmon disappear as our climate warms, the loss of these jobs would double the unemployment rate across the Kyle of Sutherland region.
Can I get my own Carbon Credit certificate for my donation?
The programme does not offer a specific Carbon Credit certificate. However, your donation contributes to sequestering a significant volume of carbon as the trees grow, aligning with carbon offsetting goals.
What is my Carbon Footprint resulting from my travel?
While the project does not directly deal with travel emissions, it encourages people to offset their carbon footprint through these donations. Your specific carbon footprint from travel would need to be calculated separately. Satopia Travel has selected this project as a way to restore native, biodiverse woodland, while drawing in carbon from the atmosphere by planting native trees along the Highland river banks. While we do not book commercial flights for our guests, we do encourage them to explore options to offset their travel emissions.
What is the difference between the 3 nature restoration packages?
Three-tiered packages offer donors flexibility in contributions. They scale in terms of the number of trees planted and the length of riverbank restored, allowing donors to choose based on their capacity and inclination.
- Willow: €1,000 donation plants ~200 native trees and restores ~100 metres of riverbank.
- Birch: €2,000 donation plants ~400 native trees and restores ~200 metres of riverbank.
- Pine: €3,000 donation plants ~600 native trees and restores ~300 metres of riverbank.
Can I visit the project and see the implementation of the work on the ground?
Absolutely, we would love to invite you to visit the Scottish Highlands and witness the progress that TENT is doing in restoration of the native woodlands in the region. We encourage you to go through the annual impact reports that are provided as well, along with aerial surveys, photography, and GIS mapping to show the progress made. TENT’s Conservation Manager will be happy to talk to you about the project, your impact, and to help arrange a visit when appropriate.
What is the primary aim of the Kyle Riverwoods Project, and how does it contribute to carbon sequestration and biodiversity?
The Kyle Riverwoods Project, spearheaded by the Kyle of Sutherland Fisheries Trust in collaboration with The European Nature Trust, is committed to the ecological restoration of the Kyle rivers. Contrary to timber-focused initiatives, this project is designed with long-term sustainability in mind, making it highly improbable that trees will be felled.
Through this project, the woodlands are projected to significantly capture carbon and bolster both freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity. Satopia Travel champions this initiative for its comprehensive approach to ecosystem recovery, as opposed to mere carbon offsetting through fast-growing but ecologically poor monocultures.
To put it in numbers, one hectare (roughly 1,600 trees) of native broadleaved woodland is anticipated to sequester approximately 5.7 tonnes of CO2 per year. This carbon sequestration estimate is grounded in the “Quantifying the Sustainable Forestry Carbon Cycle” report published by Forest Research in June 2022.
Furthermore, the diversity supported by these native trees is impressive:
- Birch accommodates 229 insect species and 126 different types of lichen and moss.
- Oak is home to 284 insect species and 324 lichens.
- Willow supports 266 insect species and 160 lichens.
- Rowan aids 28 insect species and 125 lichens, and 37 bird species feast on its berries.
- Scots pine nurtures 91 insect species and 132 lichens, and 23 bird species rely on its fruits.
Source https://www.jstor.org/stable/4528
Can I contribute €100 EUR to the project?
The three indicated packages are designed to deliver maximum impact on woodland creation projects. While smaller contributions are not specified in the 3 packages, smaller donations are also welcome. A €100 EUR donation is also a positive contribution that would contribute to the planting of approximately 20 trees.
