Award-winning author, producer and acknowledged hero of the curlew, Mary is also a deep thinker around our relationship with wild nature. As more and more people mourn the decline in our living systems, Mary reflects on the long-term emotional consequences of environmental degradation and considers whether ecological grief is real. If so, is there a cure?

In 2019, Jenna took part in the stalking of a red deer hind on a Highland estate: part of an immersive attempt to understand the ideas that lie behind rewilding, and what it means emotionally and physically to participate in shooting a deer. This exploration led her to better understand the meaning of 'wildness', the multiple facets of rewilding and its role in a future Scotland.

Duncan has spent 30 years comparing the effects of different histories and politics on the landscapes and wildlife management of his native Scotland and his home in Norway. Usually, Norway comes off well in the comparison, but in its large predator management Norway’s system is conspicuously dysfunctional. With special reference to lynx, Duncan looks at this policy failure and the lessons it holds for species restoration in Scotland; and the lessons from other, successful frameworks.

Flo is studying gull migration, and is the central character in the Why Not Scotland? documentary that is released online today. She spent last summer exploring mainland Europe, where in many places, nature is making a dramatic recovery. People are returning too, finding new economic opportunities in a revitalised landscape. In the film, Flo asks “if rewilding can happen in Italy, Germany, Poland and Norway, could Scotland be next?” 

As a podcaster and storyteller, James has travelled throughout Europe exploring some of the continent’s most ambitious rewilding actions. The Rewild Podcast showcases bison returning to Romania, bears to Italy and lynx to Slovenia, whilst celebrating the passionate people fighting back for nature. Seeing the exciting work of pioneering initiatives across the continent, James’ thoughts cast back home to Scotland – can we too deliver on the ambition and scale seen elsewhere?

Sarah is a land manager and scientist with a passion for upland ecology and rare arctic-alpine flora. An advocate for reviving Scotland’s mountain woodland, she works on landscape-scale nature recovery at Corrour Estate in Lochaber, and is studying restoration projects across the country through her research at the University of Stirling. Sarah enthusiastically explains how bringing back the “wee trees” at altitude can benefit people, wildlife, and the fight against climate change.

A Marine Biologist and photographer, Richard has spent the last 15 years witnessing the return of orcas, or killer whales, to the seas around his home on Shetland. The islands are rightly famed for their cacophonous seabird colonies, but these rich waters support an abundance of life, which includes one of the world’s largest and most powerful predators.

Lee is an ecologist and the author of the award-winning book, Wild Fell: Fighting for Nature on a Lake District Hill Farm, which chronicles his experiences from a decade of working for the RSPB at Haweswater in the Lake District. In his day job for the Lowther Estate, he is helping to design and deliver a multi-partner landscape recovery scheme, aiming to create a connected corridor of nature-rich land covering 14,000ha.