What do we do?
The Heather Trust seeks to promote all aspects of moorland management. We are not called The Heather Trust for nothing, but in addition to dealing with heathery matters, we seek to represent all those who have an interest in moorland areas, including such strange bedfellows as ramblers and gamekeepers, landowners and mountain bikers, farmers and conservationists. 

 

Founded in 1984, the Trust grew from an initial objective to prove that grouse and sheep can and should co-exist, and we still approach moorland from a management perspective. The value of having sheep on moorland is still in question in some areas and there are many equally diverse interests that need to be reconciled if moorland is to be managed efficiently, effectively and sensitively.

 

The Heather Trust is an independent charity dedicated to the promotion of high standards of moorland management for the benefit of wildlife, domestic stock, game and all people with an interest in moorland areas. Scottish Charity No: SC049374.

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How do we do it?
One of our more important roles is to use the independent view gained from our work in all the upland regions of the UK to represent an integrated view of upland and moorland issues on many committees. We are currently serving on committees that meet in London, on Exmoor, in the Peak District, in Wales, in the north of England and in Scotland.  None of this work attracts any funding and maintaining this presence is one of the main aims for our fund raising efforts. 

Other funded work includes running Scotland’s Moorland Forum, but a key element of our other work is to arrange demonstration events to get moorland specialists and disparate groups of people together to discuss management issues.  Importantly, these events usually include a visit to a moor, since standing on the ‘purple stuff’ is the best place to discuss the issues and helps to place everything in perspective. It is surprising how much common ground can be found between groups that have what appear to be conflicting views.

We operate across the whole of the UK and have link to all the key organisations with an interest in moorland. This includes research organisations and we seek to pass on the ideas coming out of upland research to people working on the ground, and vice versa.

Sustainability
To help us to achieve our Vision and Mission in a sustainable manner, The Heather Trust will be taking a balanced approach to our income streams, seeking grant funding and membership and donation income, whilst also trading to generate income that can be reinvested into the organisation.

 

We anticipate generating income from:

• Grant funders (including charitable foundations, public bodies and research institutions)

• Legacy funding

• Commissioned projects

• Commercial consultancy work

• Membership and donations

 

The capacity of our staff and contractors will be carefully considered by our Board when accepting any source of funding.  Delivery against the Outcomes identified in our Strategic Plan will remain our priority at all times.  Additional projects that deliver against additional outcomes will only be considered when our team have the capacity to deliver them and when they are either cost neutral or give us a surplus to reinvest in achieving our objectives.  

Advisory work
We offer an advisory service that provides landowners and managers with a view of the management of their moorland, and we can also provide advice on how it might be improved.  This service is aimed primarily at integrating all the different issues surrounding the management of a moor, and we spend as much time dealing with farming and conservation issues as we do with heather and grouse management.

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Accounts

Our Annual Accounts to December 2022 are available to view HERE.