Go Wild Scotland
Go Wild Scotland
Go Wild Scotland is a not-for-profit social enterprise bringing people together with nature.
We offer nature tourism activities and company away days in the glorious landscape of southern Scotland to support a nature education programme and our own community woodland.
Our aim is to improve access to nature for all.
The nature-based activities programme includes guided walks, wildlife watching and conservation volunteering, suitable for all ages and abilities.
These activities help to fund a ranger-led nature education programme which has brought the outdoors into the classroom for hundreds of schoolchildren in the central Scottish Borders.
We have also created and run a community wildlife project at Mauldsheugh Wood in Selkirk, where everyone can get closer to nature thanks to the wheelchair accessible paths, nature trail, wildlife pond and bird viewing hide.
NATURE TOURISM
Our range of memorable wildlife experiences help guests make the most of the natural beauty of southern Scotland, providing great opportunities to explore this breathtaking landscape and to see the creatures that call it home.
From guided nature walks to full day private bespoke experiences, there’s something for everyone hoping to see some of Scotland’s iconic wildlife.
Corporate Away days
At Go Wild Scotland we’re helping companies give something back to their employees and their local communities.
Our nature away adventures at the heart of the beautiful Scottish Borders combine popular countryside activities like 4×4 forest safaris, falconry with owls, zip-wiring through the treetops and clay pigeon shooting with the opportunity to become a conservation ranger at a community nature reserve.
And there’s an added bonus: for every away day package booked, Go Wild Scotland will donate and run a free nature education session for a school or community group of your own choosing.
NATURE Education
Go Wild Scotland runs a hugely-popular nature education programme for schools in the central Scottish Borders, including classes in our own forest school.
Since launching the programme in 2022 we have worked with hundreds of schoolchildren and hands-on lessons are always in demand.
We have a great relationship with the neighbouring Philiphaugh Community School and Early Years Centre, who often walk a crocodile of children across the road and into the forest school.
We’ve also worked with Knowepark Primary School, Melrose Primary School, Newtown Primary School, Clovenfords Primary School, St Peter’s Primary School in Galashiels, St Margaret’s Early Learning in Galashiels, Kirkhope Primary School, Yarrow Primary School, Burnfoot Community School and Stirches Primary in Hawick and Kelso High School.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS
Mauldsheugh Wood in Selkirk is Go Wild Scotland’s own community wildlife project, aiming to make it easier for anyone to view wildlife even on the edge of a town.
We’ve constructed 1km of wheelchair-accessible paths and planted hundreds of trees to improve the habitat for native wildlife and make it easier for visitors to the woodland to enjoy nature.
The woodland features an innovative physical and digital nature trail, wildlife ponds, bird viewing hide and forest school.
The wood is owned by the Philiphaugh Trust Estate, which has granted us a licence to run the project.
We host a Nature Club at the wood on Friday afternoons (bookable online) and similar clubs during school holidays. Children attending the popular club have taken part the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, made bird feeders, nest boxes and dissected owl pellets among many other activities.
For older visitors, the Selkirk members of Cycling Without Age Scotland can often be spotted cycling their trishaw around the paths.
VIRTUAL Viewing
Go Wild Scotland helps everyone enjoy nature, even from the comfort of their own homes.
We use a range of trail cameras and monitoring equipment to share footage of the wildlife we survey at locations around the Scottish Borders.
Go Wild Scotland works with local landowners and operates cameras at our Mauldsheugh Wood Community Wildlife Project in Selkirk.
Tune in to see footage of badgers, foxes, deer and red squirrels, along with the bird life of the woods. We’re adding more footage all the time.
HEALTH Naturally
Nature makes people happy and happy people are healthier people. Nothing beats seeing a red squirrel scampering through the branches or a roe deer stepping tentatively into a forest clearing.
Go Wild Scotland is working with the Scottish Borders Social Enterprise Chamber to offer nature-based social prescribing packages in collaboration with other social enterprises.
Nature-based social prescribing offers a cost-effective, community-based approach to improving health and wellbeing. It can help improve mental health by providing opportunities for people to engage in meaningful activities and connect with others, reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Meet The TEAM
Rory
Community Director
Grace
Volunteers Director
OUR AIMS
To encourage community involvement in wildlife, nature and conservation projects for the well-being of the wildlife and the people who share and visit the natural environment.
To work to improve the natural environment for the benefit of wildlife and the people who share that space.
To promote greater inclusion and diversity with regard to access to the natural environment and to facilitate the viewing of wildlife for those currently under-represented.
To educate and inform on the subject of wildlife and the natural environment.
To help to promote the mental health benefits of wildlife conservation and viewing.
To promote and encourage the benefits of wildlife and nature conservation in combatting the effects of climate change.
WE're here
You can find us on the south-western edge of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders.
Park at Selkirk Leisure Centre (Selkirk Victoria Park Campsite on some sat navs) and walk along one of the two riverside paths towards the A707 road bridge.
Follow the nature trail sign under the bridge and enter the wood. You can also access it on foot from Buccleuch Road and off the B7009.
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