Countryside and environment students are being offered a grant of up to £200 for dissertations about rewilding in Scotland.
The Reforesting Scotland Student Bursary can be used to help with transport, materials and living costs associated with doing a dissertation on the theme of ecological restoration.
Reforesting Scotland aims to promote a sustainable forest culture and economy by developing the use of locally-produced forest goods and services, and encouraging social and ecological restoration in forests and in wider land use.
The charity will provide up to ten grants a year to undergraduate or MSc students at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and other universities who are preparing for their dissertations.
SRUC countryside management lecturer Nicky Penford, who is one of the directors of Reforesting Scotland, said: “It’s a very topical issue at the moment and there are a lot of students who are interested in it.
“We thought it would be a good way of encouraging students to look at aspects of rewilding. It’s a broad theme covering everything from extending forests into areas where there used to be natural woodland, to the reintroduction of species such as beavers and lynx.”
As well as the grant, the charity is offering students the chance to get their work published in its journal.
“We get a lot of students who do interesting dissertations,” said Nicky, who teaches at SRUC’s Craibstone campus near Aberdeen. “It’s good if they get the opportunity to write it up for publication as well.”
To apply for a grant, students have to write a 500-word summary of their project, outlining how it will contribute to knowledge of ecological restoration.
They also need to show how it will be undertaken, what costs are involved and give the start and end date.
Proposals can be submitted throughout the year and will be assessed by a panel of Reforesting Scotland directors.
To submit a proposal, or for more information, contact Nicky Penford at: [email protected]
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