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Alan Watson Featherstone

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

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About me

About me
At the base of an old Araucaria tree in Huerquehue National Park in Chile.

Welcome to my website! 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, and was its executive director for almost 30 years. During that time it became the leading organisation working to restore the Caledonian Forest in Scotland and took on ownership of the 10,000 acre Dundreggan Estate in Glenmoriston as its flagship project for native woodland recovery.


.With the Guardian writer and author,
George Monbiot

Through my work with Trees for Life, I’ve helped to provide the inspiration for other ecological restoration projects in the Scottish Borders, on Dartmoor in England and for the creation of the Yendegaia National Park in Tierra del Fuego, Chile. I also founded the Restoring the Earth project, to promote the restoration of the planet’s degraded ecosystems as the most important task for humanity in the 21st century.

I regularly contribute articles to various professional and popular publications, and am active on Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as writing my own blogs. My natural history photographs have appeared in publications such as Time magazine and Encyclopedia Britannica, and I’m currently working on a high quality photographic book project about the Araucaria (monkey puzzle tree) forests of Chile.

Receiving the Spirit of Scotland Award in 2012.

I’ve given lectures at events and conferences in more than 20 countries worldwide, and have received a number of awards for my work, including the Schumacher Award in 2001, the Spirit of Scotland Environment Award in 2012 and the RSPB Nature of Scotland Outstanding Contribution Award in 2013, whilst Trees for Life was recognised as the UK Conservation Project of the Year in 1991.

Being filmed by the BBC for the ‘Trees that made Britain’ TV programme in 2006.

Over a period of many years I have been filmed regularly for television programmes and have been featured in radio interviews, both in Scotland and as far afield as Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of Argentina. I speak with clarity and confidence in public settings, and am able to communicate my passion and inspiration for the natural world and its restoration.

Meeting Princess Anne at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh in 2012.

I am a trustee of several charities, including Wild things!, an environmental education charity that grew out of Trees for Life; the Findhorn Hinterland Trust, which promotes conservation and education on the wild land surrounding the Findhorn Community; and Trees for Hope, which works to restore the degraded lands of the Fertile Crescent area. I am also a Patron of Moor Trees, which is working to restore native woodland on Dartmoor in the southwest of England.

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. I also seek to embody my values and care for the Earth in my own personal life. To this end, I’ve been vegan for almost 40 years and live in an energy-efficient ecologically designed house in the Findhorn Community in northeast Scotland, where the ecological footprint of our lives is one of the lowest in the UK.

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My TEDx talk – Restoring the ancient Caledonian Forest.

TEDx TEDx – Restoring the Caledonian Forest

Recent posts

  • A shieldbug extravaganza, part 2
  • A shieldbug extravaganza, part 1
  • Life on a spear thistle
  • A twinflower day
  • Unseen biodiversity of Glen Affric, part 3

News

  • The Nature Talks: Reconnecting People and Planet Now More Than Ever
  • Trees and Bees Conference 19 March 2021
  • Forests Forever perpetual calendar – a perfect gift for Christmas
  • New podcast on Empowerment
  • Caledonian Forest Engagement Diary for 2021 now available

I’m speaking at…

  • The Nature Talks: Reconnecting People and Planet Now More Than Ever – 3 February 2021–
    7 February 2021
  • Climate Action North - Trees and Bees Online Conference to celebrate International Day of Forests 2021 – 19 March 2021
  • A Rewilding Journey: Rewilding the World and Ourselves – 22 May 2021–
    29 May 2021

Over on Twitter…

Alan Watson FeatherstoneFollow

Alan Watson Featherstone
AlanWatsonFeat1Alan Watson Featherstone@AlanWatsonFeat1·
3h

I'm delighted to be giving a presentation about the Caledonian Forest and some of its species as part of this project to provide inspiration to primary school-age children about Nature. It's online on Saturday 23rd January at 5.00 pm.

https://calendar.boomte.ch/single/ecH9H9kO4xpL3A8L3l?comp_id=comp-kjwzr18r&instance=772_K1d0tEEt7G5VI0ORas5KwE168pYO9HFMcs4IGoI.eyJpbnN0YW5jZUlkIjoiMGMwOWRmY2YtMzcyMi00ODdkLWE3M2MtNmY5ZWQ2ZTcyMGVkIiwiYXBwRGVmSWQiOiIxM2I0YTAyOC0wMGZhLTcxMzMtMjQyZi00NjI4MTA2YjhjOTEiLCJzaWduRGF0ZSI6IjIwMjEtMDEtMjJUMTI6MTk6MjAuNDA1WiIsImRlbW9Nb2RlIjpmYWxzZSwiYWlkIjoiMDQ2YzVkYTAtMTYwZS00OTM4LWI5YzgtZGIyOGMzODQ3Yzc2Iiwic2l0ZU93bmVySWQiOiI5NGJkOGY2MS02OWM5LTQ3MTItYjYzZC0xOWRjZjBkYWVhZjQifQ&startDate=

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Retweet on TwitterAlan Watson Featherstone Retweeted
theSNPThe SNP@theSNP·
5h

☮️ We believe that nuclear weapons are immoral, ineffective and expensive.

❌ In times of imposed Tory austerity, the £205 billion wasted on Trident would be far better spent on improving healthcare, education and building a better future for our children. https://twitter.com/CNDuk/status/1352534256396984320

CND@CNDuk

BIG news!

Our new polling with @Survation, just released, shows:

☮️ 77% of the UK public support a total global ban on nuclear weapons

☮️ 59% want the British government to sign the UN Nuclear Ban Treaty

#TPNW #nuclearban

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Retweet on TwitterAlan Watson Featherstone Retweeted
CNDukCND@CNDuk·
24h

The Nuclear Ban Treaty is here!

For the first time, nuclear weapons are illegal under international law.

#nuclearban

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