The Small Grants Fund

A wader scrape being dug as part of the first round of Small Grants Funding

The Working for Waders Small Grants Fund will open again in July to help farmers and land managers deliver projects for waders in Scotland. The pilot fund which ran during the winter of 2020/21 was very popular and led to some really exciting new work on a range of farms and estates from Lockerbie to Shetland, enabling participants to do things like build wader scrapes, trap invasive polecats and develop wader-friendly signage to educate members of the public about recreational access during the breeding season. 

Farmer Richard Lockett received support from the Small Grants Fund and used the money to improve lapwing habitats on his farm near Dingwall last winter. He said “The Small Grants Fund was really helpful and enabled me to refine and improve the lapwing conservation project I've been running here for several years. It also helped me to connect with other people involved in the Working for Waders project; that kind of networking is always useful”. 

Building on the success of the pilot, we’re now looking to work with farmers and land managers who are keen to develop wader-friendly projects which lie beyond or alongside many of the standard conservation tools supported by existing grant mechanisms. This might be the creation of new wader scrapes or features like gravel heaps for oystercatcher nests, but it could also cover collaborative projects which allow multiple farmers to work together on issues like predator control or holding training events on wader friendly farming.

Guidance for applications and an application form will be available on the Working for Waders website from Thursday 1st July, as well as examples of work we’re looking to support. If you have an idea for wader conservation on your land, we’d love to hear from you.