A long-term nature restoration initiative has been launched at Reediehill Deer Farm near Auchtermuchty, Fife, through a collaboration between SSEN Transmission and rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture. The scheme is linked to the Tealing–Westfield overhead line upgrade and aims to deliver lasting environmental benefits alongside critical grid modernisation.

Covering 18.5 hectares of former deer farmland, the project will establish new habitats to boost wildlife, enhance biodiversity and improve ecological connectivity across the surrounding landscape.

The work is underpinned by a 30-year agreement, described as the first of its kind in Scotland. The commitment by the landowners and SSEN Transmission is designed to secure the successful creation and long-term management of the habitats.

Reediehill Deer Farm has been owned and managed by John and Nichola Fletcher since 1973, when they established what is regarded as Europe's first commercial deer farm. John went on to export breeding stock worldwide, receiving the Queen's Award for Export in 1990, while Nichola ran the venison enterprise Fletchers of Auchtermuchty. Over the decades they promoted natural diversity, planting wide hedgerows in the 1980s and creating ponds, earning multiple conservation awards. After selling the venison business in 2012, they retained a herd of rare white red deer and sought new uses for redundant paddocks.

The restoration will create around eight hectares of species-rich grassland and 10 hectares of naturalistic woodland, with more than 12,000 native trees to be planted.

The project supports SSEN Transmission's Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) objectives associated with its Tealing–Westfield overhead line upgrade, which will replace conductors and equipment to carry higher voltages, increase capacity and help transport renewable electricity across Scotland.

It is the first scheme delivered through SSEN Transmission's partnership with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, which works with landowners via the Northwoods Rewilding Network to advance nature recovery and habitat restoration.

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The launch was marked by the planting of the first of 12,000 native trees at Reediehill, with the Fletchers' granddaughters, Harriet (16) and Clara (14), starting a new family woodland. As third-generation custodians, they will be able to watch the land evolve from agricultural grassland into a mosaic of woodland, wetland, grassland and heathland over the next three decades.

The initiative forms part of SSEN Transmission's wider plan to invest £100 million in nature restoration across Scotland. In addition to delivering at least 10% BNG on all infrastructure projects, the company is backing habitat projects intended to leave a positive legacy for nature while enabling the grid upgrades required for a clean energy future.

The Fletchers said: "Turning agricultural land into unproductive grassland and woodlands of any kind is inevitably a difficult decision. We are only too conscious of the backbreaking labour our predecessors put into improving the fertility of this upland farm. However, it is not well suited to modern farming and we are very concerned at the dramatic decline of wildlife within our lifetimes.

"We now want to build on the work we started decades ago when we established our wildlife corridors. Our family is absolutely delighted that SCOTLAND: The Big Picture put us in contact with SSEN Transmission who have now joined with us in this exciting new thirty-year project. It seems extremely fitting that our two granddaughters should launch it by planting the first two trees for a thirty-year scheme."

Katie Andrews, Nature Delivery Manager at SSEN Transmission, said: "At SSEN Transmission, we're committed to leaving the environment in a better state than we found it wherever we build and upgrade our infrastructure.

"We are delighted to be able to work with John and Nichola to help turn their inspiring plans into reality. The Reediehill project is an excellent example of how Biodiversity Net Gain can deliver meaningful, lasting benefits for nature at a local level and on a long-term basis – while supporting the vital infrastructure needed to deliver clean, secure electricity supplies for future generations.

"We're particularly pleased that this is the first project to be delivered through our partnership with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture. One of the real strengths of our partnership with SCOTLAND: The Big Picture has been their ability to connect us with passionate and committed landowners like Nichola and John, creating opportunities to turn a shared ambition for nature restoration into action on the ground."

Northwoods Rewilding Network Manager, James Nairne, has supported the Fletcher family with their nature recovery efforts at Reediehill Farm since 2024. He said: "SCOTLAND: The Big Picture is delighted to have helped secure this investment at Reediehill. These partnerships show how private investment can help to deliver long term nature recovery across Scotland. We're connecting investment in infrastructure with investment in nature, directing funding towards projects that can restore habitats and improve biodiversity.

"This 30-year commitment at Reediehill is an important milestone – the first long-term BNG agreement of its kind in the country, demonstrating the potential for new partnerships between businesses, landowners and nature organisations to help scale up nature recovery across Scotland."

Reediehill Farm is expected to deliver meaningful local habitat restoration and sustained benefits for wildlife, while fulfilling BNG commitments linked to the Tealing–Westfield upgrade.