THE pioneering South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has been unveiled as one of 30 ‘Game Changing Moments’ across the UK.
It is included in an exhibition at London’s National Portrait Gallery celebrating the National Lottery’s 30th birthday.
The “iconic” project’s unprecedented success in restoring a previously low population of golden eagles to record numbers is reflected in the exhibit by renowned photographer and social media influencer Thomas Duke.
Speaking at the unveiling, Dr Cat Barlow, from South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, said: “It is a huge privilege to see the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project feature alongside such a prestigious list of Game Changing Moments at the National Lottery’s 30th birthday exhibition in London.
“There has been incredible excitement at our project’s unprecedented success to date, with record numbers of golden eagles thriving across southern skies, and communities across the region benefitting environmentally, socially and culturally.
“We are so grateful to the National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland and National Lottery players for making all of this possible. All that we have achieved is absolutely testament to the generosity of our funders, and the support we have received from so many people, including ecologists, conservation charities, raptor experts, vets, landowners and land managers, as well as fifteen thousand community volunteers and project participants.”
And she revealed they are relaunching as a new charity, Restoring Upland Nature (RUN), to keep the momentum going and explore opportunities to reintroduce golden eagles into England and Wales too.
