I'm Mairi McFadyen, a researcher and creative practitioner based near Loch Ness. I describe my work as 'cultural darning and mending' - finding the threads of cultural memory and carefully darning them back into the ongoing story of a place.

I bring over fifteen years' experience working with Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland. I hold a PhD in traditional song from the University of Edinburgh, have taught heritage studies, ethnology and folklore across higher and further education, and contributed to national ICH policy through Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS). I have collaborated with Scotland's national forums of Music, Storytelling and Dance, and am a lead author of a British Academy policy paper on integrating ICH into nature recovery in the Scottish Highlands.

My particular interest is in how living cultural heritage can inform and inspire environmental action. As Human Ecology Researcher-in-Residence at the Findhorn Watershed Initiative, I explored how Gaelic cultural heritage — placenames, seasonal traditions, song, story — can rekindle nature connection, guide restoration efforts and foster lasting relationships of care for place. I have received public funding from Creative Scotland to develop this work as an artist-researcher through a local project ‘Stories, Songs and Stewardship in Abriachan Forest.’

I facilitate the Creative Connections course for Tobar an Dualchais – Kist o Riches, Scotland's largest archive of oral cultural heritage, working with artists, musicians and educators to explore the potential of living heritage in the context of environmental awareness and climate action. I also support groups and organisations to develop practical skills in citizen fieldwork and oral history — vital tools for communities to document and safeguard their own ICH in participatory, intergenerational ways.

You can read more about my wider work on my personal website.