The Economic Times

In 2003, a businessman bought a 23,000-acre estate to restore it; now it's home to a million trees and red squirrels

Businessman Paul Lister transformed Scotland's 23,000-acre Alladale estate into a wilderness reserve, planting one million native trees and reintroducing red squirrels since buying it in 2003. Funded through eco-tourism, the project also supports Scottish wildcat breeding and peatland restoration. Lister's proposal to reintroduce wolves and bears sparked local opposition, though conservation efforts continue, with managers describing it as a multi-generational legacy project.