Jenny Grant
High Life Highland Countryside Ranger for Wester Ross
Meet Jenny Grant, High Life Highland countryside ranger for Wester Ross. Find out what makes this area so unique and what wildlife, flora and fauna you can see when visiting the area..
About me
I grew up in lovely East Sutherland, not very far away from my ranger patch of Wester Ross but to me, the two coasts of the Highlands were worlds apart. As a family we would visit the west and I still feel as excited about it now as I did as a child; captivated by its rugged beauty, colours and wildlife. We used to go fishing in Badachro and climb Stac Pollaidh and I can remember those days as clear as yesterday because I loved the experience so much. I’m keen to give others a real experience of Wester Ross, to fall in love with it and appreciate it.
Visiting the area
Wester Ross stretches from the Coigach peninsula in the north, to Garve in the east and to Strathcarron in the south. It has a striking combination of high hills, ancient pine forest and bog, fringed with a fascinating and intricate coast line. Each of these habitats, not only have a spectacular visual appeal, but have the geology and wildlife to match. By the sea shore will find incredible biodiversity; otters and shore birds love the rocky coast line and white-tailed sea eagles are more common a sight than they were a decade ago. In the water, much of it part of Marine Protected Areas, you can see the very big, whales and dolphins, to rare invertebrates such as the stunning flame shell.
We don’t have as many trees in Wester Ross but you can still see some excellent examples of ancient Caledonian Pine Forest at Beinn Eighe National Nature Reserve and some other sites. In some places in Wester Ross, red squirrels have been reintroduced so please slow down, take in the view and watch the roads for our newest residents.
As a High Life Highland Countryside Ranger it is my job to help others to be active and engage with their environment and to encourage people using the countryside to care deeply about it, so that we can all look after it. I do this by teaching how everything connects and is interdependent. I love everything from the fabulous fungi in our woods to beasties in our rivers and marine mammals along the coast. The communities living in Wester Ross tend to be really proactive and in tune with their environment, and we hope our visitors will be too.
I arrange guided walks and events for tourists and local people, where I can interpret the landscape for you. I meet lots of inspiring people on my travels, so I hope to show you around Wester Ross and if you’re anything like me, you won’t be able to get enough of this vast and beautiful land and sea.
For more information about the High Life Highlands Ranger Service or if you want to get in touch to find out about guided walks or events or report wildlife sightings please find our details at our website https://www.highlifehighland.com/rangers/
