Home » Wildlife Estates Scotland Award: 100 Years Past and Hence

Wildlife Estates Scotland Award: 100 Years Past and Hence

Logie Estate has been recognised for contribution to wildlife management and conservation efforts under the prestigious international accreditation scheme WES – Wildlife Estates Scotland.

Logie was one of seven landholdings to be honoured under the scheme and we were delighted that Gill, our Assistant Estate Manager, was able to take a brief break from her maternity leave to receive the award at the Scottish Game Fair recently. Having led the application process and put the hard work in, it was wonderful to see Gill being presented with the certificate by the Scottish Government Minister for Agriculture, Marine and Islands, Jim Fairlie MSP.

100 years past & hence

As we celebrate 100 years of the Grant/Laing family’s custodianship of Logie Steading and Estate, it’s exciting to look back on how much has changed over the last century. As we reflect on what’s changed, it’s only natural to also look towards the future. While we, sadly, don’t have a crystal ball to know what the world might look like in another 100 years, there are things we can hope for – and things we can do to try shape what is to come. This impetus led the Estate team in 2025 to develop an application to Wildlife Estates Scotland (WES), a nature based accreditation that aims to promote exemplary habitat and wildlife management practices, build recognition and raise standards through an objective accreditation system.

What is WES & what’s involved?

WES is a national version of the European Wildlife Estates scheme, endorsed by the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Environment. Scotland is second out of 19 participating countries across Europe in terms of total land accredited and we’re proud to be making a small contribution to that figure now that we have been awarded WES Level 2 Accreditation!

With a multitude of questions to respond to across 5 different modules – such as agriculture, forestry, tourism and game management – the application gave us plenty of food for thought and the process helped shape our conservation thinking and objectives. While we had never defined formal objectives, Logie Estate has always operated in a manner that respected the natural environment. The process helped us formalise what we already do and recognise where there is room for improvement.

We established three guiding principles.

Firstly, UNDERSTAND. From working to establish an ecological and carbon baseline and understanding the carbon impact of the in-hand farm, to knowing how Estate based third-party businesses and farms prioritise environmental activities – we are on a mission to collect and collate as much relevant data as possible. This will help us to better understand and evidence the rich and diverse nature of Logie Estate while also expanding our knowledge. This journey will likely never be over, but we are committed to learning as much as we can about the diversity of our landholdings.

Secondly, IMPROVE. Through understanding what is here, we can establish where we can improve – be that changing working practices to enhance outcomes for nature, altering how we manage a part of our landholdings to support a particular species, or working out ways to reduce our carbon footprint. This objective is all about exploring how we can do more to support the natural environment.

Lastly, CONNECT. This objective is all about fostering an active and collaborative relationship with our local community and playing our part in helping it grow and evolve. It is also a commitment to continue to provide a safe and easily accessible space for visitors to connect with nature in a way that ensures nature retains the space it needs to exist and thrive.

What it’s all about

The application process involved a rigorous independent assessment of our wildlife and habitat management, as well as our social and economic contribution to our local community.

Miles Montgomery, chair of WES, noted that at its core this accreditation is about ‘recognising landholdings where people and nature support one another to thrive and grow.’

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to think that in another 100 years, Logie could be an exemplar of best practice and continue to contribute to the environment and our community in a positive way. We hope that we are taking steps in that direction.

Notes:

To find out more about Wildlife Estates Scotland, please visit their website.

The WES Advisory Board and Technical Committee includes the Scottish Government, NatureScot, Cairngorms National Park Authority, Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust, RSPB Scotland and Scottish Forestry.

If you are a Scottish landholder considering a WES application and would like to know more about what it’s like, we’re happy to discuss our experiences – please get in touch.