The National Trust for Scotland works to conserve heritage buildings, but it's also an active supporter of local economies, providing assistance for resident community organisations... promoting tourism, enriching local culture... and actively developing as well as protecting local services...

Alexander Bennett who is the Trust's Group Manager for Countryside and Islands North has just popped back to the mainland after four days on Fair Isle, a place of breathtaking beauty that holds the distinction of being Britain's most remote inhabited island.

Fair Isle way up North offers a sample of the unique island life of Scotland, a mass of traditional crafts and trades from boat building, fishing, spinning and weaving, farming and furniture building.

The island is also a considerable conservation reserve for migrating birds, a nature prize that is protected and promoted by the Fair Isle Bird Observatory.

Alexander Bennett is responsible for a range of island and mainland properties in Scotland, many of which depend on tourism, but it's obvious he has a love affair with Fair Isle...

He explains that the role of the National Trust for Scotland on the island is about providing the Trust’s resources to help sustain the unique and treasured way of life there long into the future...

"The Trust has owned the island for 57 years or thereabouts and we have worked in partnership for all that time with what we call shared stewardship... he says.

"I have been working with the Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust, of which I am a director. They are one of the key sources of tourism on the island, people coming in to observe birds...

"Tourism has become quite an important part of the economy. It’s not the basis of the economy but it’s an important part of it...

"The basis of the economy is agriculture or crofting – sheep basically - working the land...

"But tourism has grown in popularity in recent years and the main reason for going to Fair Isle is to see the birds...

"But people tend to do that as the initial reason and decide to come back. They like it. They like the island and they like the people..."

Such tourism benefits the local economy in many ways. Small micro economies including shops, hire cars and taxis operated for a short time for visitors, including tourists from cruise-ships.

A lot of visitors stay in guest houses and the bird observatory which is obviously great for the local economy as an additional source of revenue...

We are not talking mass tourism here but niche eco-tourism which attracts people who value the wonder of this remote and precious wilderness, including its stunning beaches and cliffs.

The island is remote. Very. You can fly there or you can go by boat from Shetland. It’s a two and a half hour journey by boat...

"It's not critical but it is an important part of the economy now...it's an important income..." explains Alexander.

Promoting tourism is a growing element of what conservation organisation The National Trust for Scotland does.

Scotland's National Trust has over 310,000 members making it the largest conservation charity in Scotland.

National Trust properties are popular tourist destinations for both UK and international visitors but beyond preserving and managing the castles and stately homes and other heritage buildings that draw in visitors, the input of the charity is about assisting local community organisations and helping to manage a whole range of services and programmes seeking to improve life...

Nowhere is this more felt than in the smaller communities of the Highlands and the island communities of Scotland where the charity has a presence, for instance currently helping to develop Fair Isle's fire and rescue services with local partners on the island...

As such the charity's role is as much about social regeneration and growth as it is conservation.

"We have been involved in the community there since 1954 and one of our main purposes has been to halt the decline of the population... Alexander says of the charity’s involvement in Fair Isle...

"We have been investing in the infrastructure of the community for the very basics for housing, for business development, for electricity, water etc...

"But they are now in a strong position and we are standing back and they are gaining more and more strength as a community and empowering themselves and in some ways that's what we want...

"It's not just about conservation of the heritage. In the likes of some of these properties we own like Fair Isle, Iona, Canna, some of the island communities - we are there to help keep the island population sustainable. What we do in that respect - we recognise the significance of the island, the key features of the island... in Fair Isle’s case it is the community we promote more than anything..."

This role of going beyond the buildings and into the heart of the community is a little known part of what the National Trust for Scotland does. It’s about preserving and endowing the culture and the essence of these unique parts of Scotland...

The National Trust for Scotland is a facilitator beyond the heritage, and is not just about the past it is about building communities for the future...supporting local services like schools and emergency services, engaging and celebrating community life in ways that only a non-profit with a clear vision and an uncompromised mandate can do...