The Langholm Initiative bought 5,200 acres of the Langholm Moor and Tarras Valley from Buccleuch Estates on behalf of the community, to create a vast new nature reserve and community regeneration project.
Following extensive fundraising efforts by the Langholm Initiative, which received international support and hundreds of public donations, they were able to raise the £3.8 million needed to buy the land and bring it into community ownership. They hope to restore habitats across the land, develop ecotourism and rural industries to help regenerate the community and the town which has seen economic difficulty in recent years. This includes the creation of a new nature reserve called Tarras Valley which will restore Langholm’s ancient peatlands and woodlands, as well as helping to protect the area’s hen harrier populations.
The Langholm Initiative is currently underway with their second stage buy-out campaign to double the size of the reserve and bring the remaining 5,300 acres into community ownership, making this project one of the largest community-led ecological restoration projects in Southern Scotland.
Find out more about how you can get involved or if you have a similar project visit
Scottish Land Commission
Community Land Scotland
Scottish Land Fund
The Carman Family Foundation
The Bently Foundation
John Muir Trust
Garfield Weston Foundation
The Woodland Trust
