The Lure of the Wild
27 July 2010 - Online exclusive
Paul Lister’s passion for the environment and conservation brought about a restoration, a reforestation and a reservation: Alladale Wilderness Reserve
In 2001 when my father was in hospital for three months, I felt I needed a change, to get out of business and do something really worthwhile. I felt that we are all very mortal and fragile, and that I would be better off doing something I am passionate about. I was in the furniture business for 22 years trying to match my father’s achievements and, realising that that was not happening, I thought this was the time for change. So I established a small family office working on my main passions: the environment and conservation.
I had been thinking about a reserve in Scotland for a very long time. I had 10 criteria that had to be fulfilled for me to buy land in Scotland. I was looking for 50,000 acres with a certain amount of forestry coverage and with a river, hills and lochs. Over a five-year period I couldn’t find a single estate with more than three or four of my conditions, and then Alladale came up with 8 out of the 10. At that point I knew I had to make a decision; I could see the potential even before I got there, and I went up to Alladale with the agent to see for myself and I bought the estate.
Within 12 months I had already assembled my own team, and we made plans for restoring the land and building a reserve. We wanted to attract visitors to stay at Alladale, and not just rely 100 per cent on deer stalking. We wanted to attract people who wanted to be in the great outdoors. One of our key goals has been reforestation and, by the end of next year, we will have 10 per cent of the place planted with forestry – that means about 3,000 acres of ground planted with nearly half a million trees.
We also wanted to bring back animals that were once living up in Scotland, such as boar and elk, which we do now have at Alladale. I hope one day we will see more boar and elk in Scotland. Boar, in fact, help enormously in tree regeneration because they help disperse the seeds and make the ground very fertile as they crush up the soil, rather like a ploughed field, and help add nutrition to the soil. The boar we have were part of a three-year project with Oxford University’s Wildlife Crew Project, but they are a strain of boar that tolerates people. Our plan is also to bring in wild boar, and see how they survive.
We also address community involvement. We host 100 children every year for four days, so they can learn about the environment first hand. We also run leadership and team-building courses, which guests do whilst also learning about the wildlife on the estate. It is truly stunning up here. I am, in fact, a Londoner, but when I return to the city and get stuck in traffic, it can be pretty miserable – and I can’t believe people do this every day. I always look forward to getting back to the wilderness at Alladale in Scotland.
Alladale Wilderness Reserve, Ardgay, Sutherland, Scotland, IV24 3BS, Tel: 01863 755 338, Email: enquiries@alladale.com
