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31 Mar 2022

A message from our chairman

A view of the Isle of Canna, with clouds hugging the tops of the steep cliffs on the far side of the bay. A church can be seen on the headland in the foreground.
Our chairman Sir Mark Jones celebrates the launch of the National Trust for Scotland’s ten-year strategy: Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone.

After over a year of consultation, research and workforce engagement, I’m delighted that today we are launching Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone, the National Trust for Scotland’s new ten-year strategy.

The strategy sets out our vision for the years ahead and provides a framework for the ambitions of the Trust, Scotland’s largest independent conservation charity, as we work towards our centenary year in 2031.

National Trust for Scotland Chairman, Sir Mark Jones

Building on the work the Trust has done across Scotland over the last 90 years, Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone focuses on three core ‘pillars’ of activity: conservation, engagement and sustainability. Each of these combine to deliver the Trust’s timeless charitable purpose, as set out in 1931.

Through the strategy we’ve outlined 11 strategic objectives, each falling under one of the core pillars. Together these objectives will support the Trust in its work to protect and share our special places and improve the health and wellbeing of people across the country through access to Scotland’s heritage.

Over the course of the next ten years, supported by our fundraising, we have pledged to invest £100 million in our sites, with £38 million allocated to the care of the Trust’s places within the next three years, with the goal of increasing access to and visitor experiences at our sites.

Our new strategy comes at a pivotal time for Scotland and the Trust. It outlines how the charity will recover from the impacts of the global health pandemic over the last two years, as well as how we will respond to the growing climate and biodiversity crisis.

We have big ambitions for the future: from increasing our membership to half a million members, growing our visitors to six million annually, becoming carbon negative by 2031, to speaking up for Scotland’s heritage which doesn’t have a voice.

The next ten years will be an exciting and crucial time for the National Trust for Scotland, and we look forward to your continued support.

If you’d like to learn more about Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone or discuss how we could work together to achieve the Trust’s ambitions, get in touch via email on strategy@nts.org.uk.



About Sir Mark Jones

Sir Mark Jones took over as Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland on 9 August 2019. He was the Director of the National Museums of Scotland from 1992 to 2001 where he oversaw the project to create and open the ‘Museum of Scotland’.

He then became the Director of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. During his tenure, there was a ten-year, £120 million programme of renewal of the museum which saw visitor numbers triple.

Currently, he is chair of the Pilgrim Trust, the Historic Scotland Foundation and the Patrick Allan-Fraser of Hospitalfield Trust.

He also owns the Golden Hare bookshop in Stockbridge, Edinburgh which was recently named Independent Bookshop of the Year at the British Book Awards.

Our Strategy

Our new strategy – Nature, Beauty & Heritage for Everyone – provides a framework for the future of the National Trust for Scotland as we look towards our centenary in 2031.

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