BeConnected Highland

Highland Nature Restoration Fund

About the fund

Established by the Scottish Government, the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) is a capital fund designed to help support projects that will deliver nature restoration, safeguard wildlife, and tackle the causes of biodiversity loss due to climate change.

How to apply

The Nature Restoration Fund is for capital projects only.

A total of £300,000 is available this year to support projects that meet the fund’s eligibility criteria. Grant awards are available from a minimum of £2,000 up to a maximum of £25,000. An intervention rate of up to 100% is possible; however, we would expect to see a good level of in-kind contribution.  Read all sections on this page before applying to ensure your project is eligible.

The fund is open to accept applications from now and will close 23 January 2026. There will be three rounds of decision-making during this time when applications will be considered. If the total available allocation is committed before the closure date, the fund will close. Information on the website will be updated to notify applicants.

A completed application form does not guarantee that it will be successful. Officers will assess your proposal on technical eligibility and the biodiversity impact it will deliver. Projects must score well in the biodiversity, environmental and legacy of the assessment criteria. If there are any issues with your application, an officer will be in touch with feedback.

There are three submission deadlines for when to submit applications for each decision-making date. Officers require a reasonable amount of time to assess your project before it is considered. The key dates are as follows:

  • round 1 – Submit by midday on 3 October 2025 for a decision by early November
  • round 2 – Submit by midday on 21 November 2025 for a decision by mid December
  • round 3 – Submit by midday on 23 January 2026 for a decision by mid February

You are only required to:

  • complete the application form 
  • submit a copy of a recent bank statement
  • submit a copy of your latest annual accounts
  • a Fair Work First policy statement

Failure to provide these will delay the application being considered, and it may have to be deferred to the next decision-making round.

If awarded funding, applicants are required to submit further documentation to support the application. This will be advised upon receipt of an offer of grant letter.

Who can apply

Applications are welcomed from:

  • Constituted community groups
  • Public sector bodies
  • Charities
  • Voluntary and social enterprises
  • Co-operatives and community ownership initiatives
  • Development trusts

Eligibility

The eligibility of the fund is broadly the same as previous years where there is a focus on outcomes which address the main drivers of the decline in biodiversity on land and sea. To deliver this aim, the fund has five strategic themes:

  • Habitat and species restoration - management for enhancement and connectivity
  • Freshwater restoration – including restoration of natural flows in rural catchments
  • Coastal and marine – initiatives which promote restoration recovery, enhancement or resilience
  • Control of invasive non-native species (INNS) - impacting on nature
  • Urban - enhancing and connecting nature across, and between, towns and cities.

Although not exclusively, this year there is a particular focus on establishing ‘Nature Networks’ to better connect areas for nature. Also known as ecological connectivity, it is provided by wildlife sites, corridors and stepping-stones, landscape features, watercourses, green and blue spaces that together form integrated ‘Nature Networks’.

Types of projects supported:

The Nature Restoration Fund is a capital fund designed to deliver change on the ground. Eligible expenditure includes capital equipment, resources and materials to enhance biodiversity.

The types of projects which may be supported, but are not limited to include:

  • Action for pollinators (equipment for maintaining and creating wildflower areas or verges including planting)
  • Improving condition and use of Local Nature Reserves (purchase and planting)
  • Developing a local ‘Nature Network’ through planting of wildlife corridors, removal of barriers to wildlife movement and pollinator planting
  • Greening active travel routes (creating wildflower areas or verges including planting)
  • Natural flood management actions such as connecting rivers with flood plains, pond or wetland creation, de-culverting, in-stream works for habitat and flow variability
  • Removal of invasive non-native species (INNS) to improve the biodiversity value of the remaining habitat. INNS removal projects must be sustainable beyond the funding period and that there is a plan in place to manage sites thereafter.
  • Habitat and species enhancement works using native stock, enhancing natural coastal defences through marram, addressing coastal squeeze.

What we cannot fund:

  • Staff time to administer or manage the project is not eligible. We accept this as in-kind or match funding contribution. Labour or contractor costs to work on sites however is eligible.
  • We can fund small tree planting schemes or woodland improvement activity however applicants should check the Forestry Grant Scheme (external link) to determine if their project is more suitable for this fund.
  • Ongoing maintenance of any site.
  • Activities which are a condition of planning or statutory obligations.
  • Replacement of existing or new infrastructure where there is no biodiversity enhancement.
  • Costs for delivering educational or community engagement activities.
  • Interpretation materials apart from warning signs for the public where activity is taking place.
  • Surveys, monitoring, data analysis or research.
  • Feasibility studies or management plans.
  • Single use plastics, for example for tree protection. Biodegradable or re-usable materials should be sourced.
  • Contingency costs.
  • The purchase of livestock.

Fair Work First

Fair Work First (external link) is the Scottish Government's policy for driving high quality and fair work across the labour market in Scotland. This is increasingly being implemented to grants, other funding and contracts being awarded across the public sector. All applicants must provide a signed statement to evidence that their organisation is committed to advancing the ‘Real Living Wage’ and ‘Effective Voice’ criteria. Applications cannot progress without a signed statement. We have produced a Fair Work First summary guidance for further information.