Alan Watson Featherstone

ECOLOGIST, NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER AND INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKER
FOUNDER OF THE AWARD-WINNING CHARITY TREES FOR LIFE

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“Alan has been an inspiration for many decades, with the vision to see Scotland recover some of its forests.”
– Dr Ulrich Loenig, human ecologist

Public speaking

Writing

Photography

About me

alan-watson-featherstoneWelcome to my web site! I am an inspirational public speaker, ecologist, nature photographer and writer based in the Findhorn Community in the northeast of Scotland.

In 1986 I founded the award-winning conservation charity, Trees for Life, which works to restore the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

I care deeply about our planet, and have dedicated my life to protecting its biological diversity and sharing the beauty and wonders of the natural world through my photographs, talks and writing. Read more

My latest blog post

Unseen biodiversity of Glen Affric, part 3

Here' the caterpillar of the poplar hawkmoth (Laothoe populi) is rearing its head up in a threat display, with its true legs also looking intimidating to a potential predator.

This blog follows on from Part 1 and Part 2 in this series with the same name, covering some of the species and ecological relationships I observed in Glen Affric during my visits there in 2018. It picks up the story in the middle of August, when the forest was full of a wide diversity of insects, many of them feeding on the flowering plants that f …

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Image of the Week

Scots pines beside cascades on the Affric River in winter, Glen Affric National Nature Reserve.

News

Forests Forever perpetual calendar now available

I’m pleased to announce that I’ve just published a new perpetual calendar – good for any year – entitled Forests Forever. It features 366 beautiful photographs of trees and forests from over 45 countries around the world – one for each day of the year – combined with quotations from people who have been inspired by trees, including Wangari Maathai, John Muir, Hermann Hesse and many others.

The calendar makes an ideal gift for anyone who appreciates trees and cares about the forests of the world. Further information, including many sample pages, and ordering details are available here.

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