“Scotland is a beautiful country – but all is not what it seems.”
This was the opening sentence of a letter that the acclaimed Scottish actor Brian Cox wrote for us in November last year. The Succession star had been approached by the Campaign Collective team as part of a campaign we’ve been helping to run, calling on the Scottish government to commit to large scale nature restoration.
The letter was picked up by hundreds of media titles across the UK, including the Guardian, the Scotsman and the Daily Record, and was the culmination of an eight-month long initial campaign phase, spearheaded by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA).
The campaign focused on encouraging people in Scotland to sign a ‘Rewilding Nation’ charter, which calls on the Scottish government to commit to nature recovery across 30% of the country’s land and seas. Brian Cox’s letter appeared just ahead of a reception organised with the SRA in Edinburgh, aimed at politicians, policy makers and members of the rewilding community. At the event, Karen Blackport, the SRA’s co-convenor, presented the Minister for Climate Action Dr Alasdair Allan MSP with a pathway of how this ambitious vision could be achieved.
The reception was followed swiftly by the backing of “Wellerman” singer Nathan Evans, who promoted the charter in a video message to his two million plus followers on Instagram and TikTok. The video was picked up by hundreds of media titles again, including the Independent and the Daily Record.
The campaign had started with a bang in April 2024, following public backing for the charter by Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio. Since then, we have been working with the SRA and its 20 members to help encourage people to sign the charter through a social media campaign, local public engagement events, PR, video work, and securing endorsements from celebrities and other influencers.
The Collective team also devised a lively and engaging public engagement stand, which has been used to great effect at the Scottish Greens and Lib Dem party conferences in the autumn, and will be bringing out again for an exhibition space at the Scottish Parliament this spring.
After taking time to reflect on a busy first nine months, the campaign is ready to go again in 2025. The ultimate goal is to see Scottish parties pledge to include a Rewilding Nation Bill in their manifestos, ahead of the Scottish Parliament elections in 2026.
Despite its obvious natural beauty, Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world. The argument is that by committing to rewilding at scale in the country, not only can we tackle the nature and climate emergencies, but we can also help to create a wealth of benefits for people including jobs, health, sustainable food, clean air and water, re-peopling, and thriving communities.
You can sign the Rewilding Nation charter and find out more here: https://www.rewild.scot/charter
Campaign Collective is a campaign partner to the Scottish Rewilding Alliance