Nature-Based Solutions: Corrour Partnership
Established in August 2024, the historic 100-year partnership between Corrour in the Highlands and the University brings together academic research and land-based climate action.
It has two core components:
- The provision of verified carbon credits from Corrour’s woodland and peatland restoration projects to support the University’s sustainability and net-zero strategy.
- A research collaboration enabling St Andrews academics and students to conduct applied environmental research at Corrour, informing both scientific understanding and practical conservation management.
In its first year, the partnership has established governance through a joint Board, formalised approval processes, and developed a multidisciplinary portfolio of projects. Corrour has also transferred 100,000 tCO2e for the University to use to offset its unavoidable emissions in delivering its world-leading research and teaching.
Carbon Projects
The partnership supports verified woodland and peatland restoration projects under the UK Woodland and Peatland Carbon Codes, contributing to long-term carbon sequestration and ecosystem recovery.
- Treig Woodland: Completed its 5-year verification, confirming regeneration beyond projections.
- Peatland Phase 1.1: Fully validated and preparing for its next verification cycle (completed).
- Peatland Phases 1.2 (Amair) and 1.3 (Loch na Lap): Validation nearing completion, showing consistent post-restoration carbon gains.
Research Collaboration
The Corrour–St Andrews research partnership fosters innovative, interdisciplinary research on ecosystem restoration, monitoring, and sustainability. Several projects have been approved since the partnership’s inception, including:
- Bundling Benefits from Peatland Restoration: Exploring how carbon and biodiversity credits can be integrated within UK nature recovery markets.
- Surveillance of the Environment: Developing low-cost drone and remote-sensing technologies for ecological monitoring.
- Montane Mosaics in Scotland: Investigating long-term montane woodland and peatland dynamics to guide restoration.
- Automated Bird Counting: Testing AI-based acoustic monitoring tools to automate bird surveys.
Looking ahead, plans are underway to construct a purpose-built Research Centre at Corrour, providing residential accommodation and laboratory space for University groups and external collaborators.