A pioneering charity initiative, which restored a previously low population of golden eagles in the south of Scotland to record numbers and launched Europe’s only annual golden eagle festival in Moffat (12 to 14 September 2025), has been given a starring role on BBC’s The One Show.
The appearance comes as the charity launches a renewed fundraising appeal to help it extend its groundbreaking work, so that other parts of the UK benefit from the return of the iconic species.
The work of the charity Restoring Upland Nature (RUN, formerly known as The South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project), and the community’s incredible support for the project, is the focus of the new short film on The One Show presented by renowned wildlife photographer Hamza Yassin, available to view via iplayer until 8 May 2025.
Interviewing RUN Chief Executive Dr Cat Barlow and Eagle Officer John Wright as they explore a large territory in the Moffat Hills, Hamza says: “Scotland is the only place to find them [golden eagles] in the UK… but while they have been thriving in the north, further south, numbers have been low. So when I heard about a golden eagle project that is giving them a helping hand to establish themselves in the south of Scotland, I had to come and check it out…
“Six years ago, the project began introducing eaglets from the north, to help grow the numbers here of this incredible creature. There’s something about eagles and especially golden eagles that just does it for me…By releasing young eagles, the population has grown from five or six to almost 50…It’s wonderful to know they are returning to southern skies.”
The feature concludes with a visit to the highly acclaimed Moffat Eagle Festival, where Hamza is noticeably excited to come face-to-face with a real captive-bred golden eagle. The beloved festival returns this year with a programme of fascinating and fun events for all ages from 12 to 14 September 2025 – full details to be announced at a later date.
Responding to The One Show, Dr Cat Barlow Chief Executive of RUN said: “Being part of something that has captured the hearts of so many and helped grow the population of golden eagles in the stunning south of Scotland is really special. We’re thrilled to have been able to share that with Hamza and The One Show’s millions of viewers. Hamza’s infectious enthusiasm for all we are doing was clear for all to see.
“Our success in the south of Scotland is testament to the passion and support of community, partners and funders, and we’re incredibly grateful to all of them. After our last appeal, we secured enough funding to relaunch as a new standalone charity called RUN. We have exciting plans to build on and extend our groundbreaking work so that other parts of the UK benefit from the return of golden eagles, but we can only do this with continued support.
“Every donation made will play a key part in reversing the UK’s biodiversity decline and ensuring current and future generations across the UK can experience that incredible sense of hope on seeing golden eagles soar.”
The team relaunched as a new registered charity RUN (Restoring Upland Nature), when the original project hosted by the Southern Upland Partnership came to an end in 2024. In addition to continuing their work in the south of Scotland, the charity now hopes to raise enough money to extend their reach to other areas of the UK, where the vitally important species has been missing for generations, can benefit from their groundbreaking learnings and techniques.
Chair Michael Clarke explained: “The UK is facing an unprecedented nature-climate crisis, and restoration projects like ours are now more important than ever to reverse biodiversity decline. We have had incredible success in the south of Scotland thanks to the support of community, partners and funders. With enough new public donations, we can take these learnings to restore this iconic species to other areas of the UK.
“There has been a great buzz at our initial success, with golden eagles thriving across southern skies, and communities across the region benefitting environmentally, socially and culturally. We’d love to keep this momentum going, but continued funding is crucial to making this a reality.”
The fundraising appeal to help the new charity take flight has secured a number of high-profile supporters including:
- BBC Springwatch TV presenter Iolo William, who said: “When I think of all the birds I’d love to see in Wales once more, I have to say top of my list would be the golden eagle. It became extinct in Wales around 400 years ago and in the last 30 years they became extinct in England as well. But thankfully the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project has reintroduced golden eagles back to an area of Scotland where they were just down to a handful of pairs and it is really exciting to see what is going on. Hopefully soon they will be back in England and who knows maybe in my kids’ lifetime they’ll be back in Wales… So if you can, please donate money to this brilliant project. Imagine looking up to the skies in the north of England and Wales and seeing golden eagles back to where they belong.”
- Star of Netflix’s Vikings Valhalla and producer of the Trees A Crowd environmental podcast, David Oakes, who added: “It would be phenomenal if the team behind the South of Scotland Golden Eagle project could replicate their outstanding success in other parts of the UK. Golden eagles, beyond being such awe-inspiring creatures, are apex predators – crucial to maintaining the balance of our natural ecosystems. The tragic decline of this iconic species only underlines the critical importance of supporting the brilliant work of this irreplaceable project. So, I encourage each of you to contribute to this cause, to help reverse biodiversity loss and be part of something historic.”
To support the work of RUN (Restoring Upland Nature), you can donate or register your interest in becoming a supporting partner via: goldeneaglessouthofscotland.co.uk.
