Inverness College UHI student receives Scottish Land Commission award

An Inverness College UHI student has received a £1,000 award to further her research into ownership and management of rural land.

Awarded by the Scottish Land Commission, through the University of the Highlands and Islands, the award will Alison Martin to attend a conference in London later this year where she hopes to present a paper on aspects of her research.

Alison is undertaking a PhD at Inverness College UHI to investigate the governance and ownership of rural land in Scotland, specifically focused on decision-making around rewilding initiatives and species reintroductions. 

The new Scottish Land Commission Student Award was offered this year to University of the Highlands and Islands students as part of the Commission’s drive to encourage more research work to support land reform. There are plans to extend the award across other universities and research institutions in Scotland.

Speaking about the award, Hamish Trench, CEO of The Scottish Land Commission said, “We want to help build future research capacity to support land reform. Our work programme covers a wide range of issues – everything from land value tax to community ownership – and as part of that we’re looking to the academic community in Scotland to help us gather evidence, spark debate and develop new approaches, to make the most of Scotland’s land. Alison’s chosen focus is very relevant to practical implementation of community engagement and land rights and responsibilities in land use decision making.”

Alison Wilson, Head of Development at the University of the Highlands and Islands, added: “We are very grateful to the Scottish Land Commission for enabling Alison to take up this fantastic opportunity. Students are at the heart of what we do and we want to help them achieve all they can. We are delighted that more and more organisations and individuals are looking to support our students in this way.”

(Press release issued by The Scottish Land Commission)

Student spotlight - Alison Martin

As part of her PhD, Alison is investigating the governance and ownership of rural land in Scotland, specifically focused on decision-making around rewilding initiatives and species reintroductions. She’ll be interviewing policy makers, land owners and land managers, and looking at case study examples of rewilding initiatives in the context of community involvement, how decisions are made and how land is used.

Alison said: “Rewilding is a very contemporary issue and associated activities - especially species reintroduction - are a significant development in land use, land management and conservation.  Currently in Scotland a range of initiatives are underway which to a greater or lesser extent constitute rewilding but we currently lack a clear structure for how rewilding decisions are made and implemented - and by whom.  This all sits within the very unique context of Scottish land ownership, the Land Reform agenda and a push for greater community involvement based on underlying principles around human rights and land use for common good”.

With the £1000 Scottish Land Commission award, Alison will attend the Royal Geographic Society annual conference in London in August, where she’ll present a paper on her research and participate in discussions around legitimacy and trust in land use.  Alison worked as an environmental consultant before starting her PhD in October 2018.  She has a BA (Hons) in Sociology from the University of Glasgow and a MSc in Environmental Management from Stirling University.