National campaigners gather at Aviemore to fight big business ‘greenwash’

A rally at Aviemore over the weekend has highlighted ‘the new wave of green labs in the Highlands and the creeping corporate control of Scotland’s rural landscapes’.

The Lost Forest at Kinrara Estate was the gathering point for The Landworkers’ Alliance, a UK-wide grassroots union of farmers, foresters and land-based workers who are advocating for greener, more accessible and thriving farming and land-based economies.

In Scotland they represent over 280 members, from a range of sectors including market gardening, arable, crofting, livestock, forestry and fibre.

They hosted the gathering in collaboration Scottish Histories of Resistance.

“In Scotland, small farmers , crofters and growers aren’t getting their fair share of government support, and new entrants are fighting an uphill battle for access to land,” said Tara Wight, of the Alliance.

“But, instead of supporting these workers - who form the backbone of community food resilience in Scotland - the Scottish Government is throwing millions at big corporations to finance their carbon offsetting projects.”

The alliance contends that in recent years, buying up vast swathes of the Scottish Highlands has become a trend for big multinational corporations simply to plant trees for carbon offsetting projects.

The ‘green land grabs’ were not only greenwashing the dubious activities of big businesses, but they were also perpetuating the high concentration of land ownership in Scotland.

The alliance complains that to make matters worse, the Scottish Government is paying them millions in public money to do it.

“BrewDog’s ‘Lost Forest’ is a perfect example of how government subsidies are favouring the interests of big business.

“In 2021 the global beer company BrewDog bought 9,300 acres in the Scottish Highlands to plant half a million trees, re-branding the former Kinrara Estate as the ‘Lost Forest’.

“Within 12 months of being planted, half of the trees died. Despite this, BrewDog has received a staggering £2.7 million in government subsidies - a third of the total value of the estate itself.”

The weekend gathering heard calls for the Scottish government to use public money to support small farms, crofts and new entrant farmers who want to grow food to feed their communities.

The Scottish Parliament’s consideration of a new Land Reform Bill presented a crucial opportunity to call for land to be held and used in the public interest, with workers and communities at its heart, the attendees heard.

The Aviemore event is part of a much broader series of events which aims to build a grassroots landworker-led movement for radical land reform in Scotland.

In response, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Land Reform Mairi Gougeon, told the Strathy: “We take the issue of finding land for new entrants to farming seriously, with over 8,000 hectares made available through public bodies such as Forestry and Land Scotland, Crown Estate Scotland, Scottish Water and local authorities.

“In the 2025-26 Programme for Government we committed to identifying and making available land for new entrants, and continue to work with the Landworkers Alliance, amongst other stakeholders, on this matter through the Farming Opportunities for New Entrants Group.

“We are also fully supportive of helping small scale woodland projects and have recently announced an extra £1 million forestry grant funding directed specifically at farmers and crofters to help them take advantage of the benefits of growing trees.

“We have one of the most concentrated patterns of land ownership in the world - with negative impacts raised by the Scottish Land Commission and many others.

“The Bill I have introduced is one that all parties and stakeholders can get behind, one that sets out ambitious proposals that will change how land is managed in our rural and island communities for the better.

“It has received significant support and I continue to speak with colleagues from across the chamber as it progresses.”

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill is currently at Stage 2, and further information on amendments can be found on the Scottish Parliament website: Land Reform (Scotland) Bill | Scottish Parliament Website

The small landholding provisions in Part 2 of the Bill will enable more small landholdings to be created once the Bill is enacted. This form of secure tenancy will provide opportunities for up to people who want to cultivate up to 20 hectares of land to get more opportunities to access land.

Grants of around £1.1 million have currently been paid to the Lost Project woodland scheme and this public money, as with all schemes, is fully protected through the conditions of the forestry grant contract. The Lost Forest must fulfil the conditions of their contract and this includes the replanting of the trees that died, and this is at their own cost

The Strathy has also invited Brewdog to comment.

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