Feb 242017
 

With thanks to Richard Bunting, Director, Richard Bunting PR.

Peter Chandler sweep-netting for fungus gnats beside a lone Scots pine on Dundreggan in August 2016

Surveys at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness have revealed a range of rare species, including a midge never recorded in the United Kingdom before – underlining the site’s growing reputation as a ‘lost world’ for biodiversity.
The discovery of the non-biting midge (Chironomus vallenduuki) by entomologist Peter Chandler last August brings the total of UK biodiversity firsts found at the Inverness-shire estate to 11.

Other key findings during the charity’s 2016 survey season included two rare gnats whose larvae feed on fungi.

One of these (Sciophila varia) is only known from four other UK sites. The other (Mycomya nigricornis) is only known in the UK from a handful of Scottish sites and had not been seen since 1990.

“Dundreggan is a special part of the Caledonian Forest that keeps on revealing beautiful, interesting and rare species. The surprisingly rich wealth of life in this corner of the Highlands highlights the importance of concerted conservation action to protect and restore Scotland’s wild places,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s founder.

The charity also found two parasitic wasps (Homotropus pallipes and Diphyus salicatorius), for which there are very few Scottish records, and – for the first time in Scotland north of the River Tay – a pseudoscorpion called the knotty shining claw (Lamprochernes nodosus).

A micro-moth, the small barred longhorn (Adela croesella) – only documented at three other locations in Scotland, and never before this far north – was found by volunteer Richard Davidson. Richard had been taking part in one of Trees for Life’s popular volunteer Conservation Weeks at Dundreggan when he found the moth.

“Our latest discoveries add to an already-remarkable range of rare and endangered species found at Dundreggan – some of which were previously unknown in the UK or Scotland, or which were feared to be extinct,” added Alan Watson Featherstone.

New species for the UK discovered on the estate in recent years were three sawflies (Nematus pravus, Nematus pseudodispar and Amauronematus tristis), an aphid (Cinara smolandiae), two aphid parasitoids (Ephedrus helleni, Praon cavariellae), three fungus gnats (Brevicornu parafennicum, Mycomya disa, Sceptonia longisetosa), and a mite (Ceratozetella thienemanni).

Parasitic wasp Diphyus salicatorius

Dundreggan has also revealed the second-ever British record of a waxfly species (Helicoconis hirtinervis); a golden horsefly (Atylotus fulvus) only seen once before in Scotland since 1923; and the juniper shieldbug (Cyphostethus tristriatus), thought to be the first Highlands record.

In total, more than 3,300 species have now been recorded at the forest restoration site.
At least 68 of these are priority species for conservation.

Members of the public can volunteer to help plant half a million trees at Dundreggan as part of Trees for Life’s award-winning restoration of the Caledonian Forest. The charity’s rewilding activity also includes working for the return of rare woodland wildlife and plants, and carrying out scientific research and education programmes. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

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Dec 082015
 

(medium) Scots pine seedling in snow, inside dwarf birch exclosure Dundreggan2With thanks to Richard Bunting, Director, Richard Bunting PR.

People can help rewild the Scottish Highlands and take action on climate change this Christmas by having specially-dedicated trees planted for family and friends through conservation charity Trees for Life.
A dedicated native tree will be planted in the Caledonian Forest for each recipient of Trees for Life’s Christmas tree certificates – creating a home for wildlife and forests for the future.

A personalised certificate accompanies the planet-friendly gift, with one tree costing £15, and further trees £5 each.

Trees will also be planted for recipients of the charity’s ‘plant a tree’ winter gift card. Each card costs £6 + P&P, and contains information about the tree that will be planted and the wildlife that will benefit.

“People all over the world will be hoping that an effective global deal can be reached by the world’s governments currently gathered at the Paris Climate Change Conference. Alongside international agreements, we can all take personal action for our environment, with one tangible and specific way being the planting of a dedicated tree in the Caledonian Forest,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director.

“Every tree dedicated will help reduce the impact of climate change by replacing the carbon footprint and packaging of Christmas presents with a gift that instead soaks up carbon dioxide, and that benefits wildlife and Scotland’s wild landscapes. It’s a meaningful and inspiring way of celebrating the festive season, which also makes a real positive difference for the planet.”

Only a fraction of the ancient Caledonian Forest now survives, but Trees for Life volunteers have helped to plant more than one million trees across the Highlands. Each tree dedicated for Christmas will help the charity to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018.

Trees for Life also has available a range of unique Winter Gifts – including original artwork, T-shirts, and shopping bags – with all proceeds helping to restore the forest. The charity’s 2016 calendar (£10.95) provides an annual celebration of the richness of the Caledonian Forest and features stunning photography, while the beauty of the Highlands is also showcased in its 2016 Engagement Diary (£14.95).

A Sponsor a Squirrel gift pack (£30) – featuring a photographic print from wildlife photographer Peter Cairns and a soft toy or a signed limited edition Tori Ratcliffe art print – will help red squirrels return to areas of the Highlands from where they have been lost.

It’s also possible to sponsor an acre of wild forest at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness. Each sponsorship gift of £60 is recognised with a special certificate, and will help to expand Caledonian pinewoods for red squirrels, pine martens, wood ants and Scottish wildcats, and to create and restore precious habitats from wildflower meadows to wetlands.

For more details, please visit www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 01309 691292.

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Dec 062013
 

TfL volunteers celebrateWith thanks to Richard Bunting.

On 29th November, the conservation charity Trees for Life celebrated the announcement that it has won £50,000 of Lottery funding for a pioneering project to help restore Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest and protect its rare wildlife from extinction.

The conservation charity’s plan to create a new volunteer training programme at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness, which will benefit hundreds of disadvantaged people from the Inverness region, was successful in the recent finals of the People’s Millions public vote.

Speaking after the announcement last Friday Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“This is fantastic news for our work to save the Caledonian Forest and its unique wildlife and for the hundreds of people every year who will be able to join our training programme – transforming their own lives as they help to restore the forest.

“I would like to thank every single person who voted for us in the People’s Millions yesterday.”

The Trees for Life training project is about people and places.  In particular, it will benefit people from diverse backgrounds and those with limited access to healthy outdoor activities and training opportunities.

Disadvantaged people – including those on low incomes or who are unemployed from the rural region around Inverness and from deprived urban areas in Inverness – will be able to learn about threatened habitats and species and gain health benefits from volunteering in green places.

Activities will include planting trees and wild flowers, collecting seeds for propagating rare species, and growing trees and plants in a tree nursery.  The project will be accessible for older people and those with limited mobility, or affected by mental health issues, and accredited training for leading volunteer groups will also be on offer.

The People’s Millions, in which the public decide which local community projects will receive Lottery funding, is a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV and voting took place all day on 29th November with the results being broadcast by STV North in the evening.

Dundreggan, which is in Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire, has been described as a Highlands ‘lost world’ and, so far, almost 70 priority species for conservation, including several species never recorded in the UK before, have been discovered there.

The award-winning Trees for Life charity has planted more than one million trees at dozens of sites in the Highlands and has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018.

For further details, please visit www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

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Nov 252013
 

TfL volunteers People's Millions Nov 2013 mediumWith thanks to Richard Bunting.

Trees for Life is urging people to help it win £50,000 of Lottery funding in a televised public vote on Thursday 28 November, to help restore Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest and protect its rare wildlife from extinction, while benefitting hundreds of disadvantaged people.

The conservation charity is a finalist in the People’s Millions – a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV, in which the public decide which local community projects will receive Lottery funding – for its plan to establish a pioneering volunteer training programme at its Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness.

“We are asking people to vote for us on 28 November. Our People’s Millions project is about people and places. It’s about saving the UK’s equivalent of a rainforest and all its species from being lost forever, for our children and grandchildren to enjoy – and it’s about helping to improve the lives of hundreds of people every year,” said Trees for Life’s Executive Director Alan Watson Featherstone.

Success in the vote will allow Trees for Life to offer training in forest restoration to people from diverse backgrounds and those with limited access to healthy outdoor activities and training opportunities.

Disadvantaged people – including those on low incomes or who are unemployed – will be able learn about threatened habitats and species, and to gain health benefits from volunteering in green places.

Activities will include planting trees and wild flowers, collecting seeds for propagating rare species, and growing trees and plants in a tree nursery. The project will be accessible for older people and those with limited mobility or affected by mental health issues. Accredited training for leading volunteer groups will also be on offer.

The People’s Millions vote will be by phone all day on 28 November, from 9am to midnight, with a STV North programme broadcast that evening. The telephone number to call will be announced on the day, including on www.treesforlife.org.uk. Up to 10 calls can be made from each phone, at a cost of 11p from a landline.

Dundreggan in Glen Moriston, Inverness-shire, has been described as a Highlands “lost world”. So far almost 70 priority species for conservation, including several species never recorded in the UK before, have been discovered there.

Trees for Life has planted more than one million trees at dozens of sites in the Highlands. It has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018.

The People’s Millions is a partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV. For more details, visit www.treesforlife.org.uk/peoplesmillions or call 0845 458 3505.

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Jul 052013
 

With thanks to Trees For Life.

Conservation charity Trees for Life is holding a special Biodiversity Weekend at its acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glen Moriston on 13 and 14 July.
This event offers people the chance to explore this biodiversity hotspot and to discover the rare and wonderful wildlife of the Caledonian Forest in 2013, the Year of Natural Scotland.

The event is part of the British Ecological Society’s centenary Festival of Ecology and also celebrates five years of conservation action at Dundreggan, Trees for Life’s flagship forest restoration project which lies to the west of Loch Ness.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“The weekend will be an inspiring opportunity to get close to nature and to learn more about the Caledonian Forest and its wildlife. A full programme of activities will allow people to see first hand just how much is being achieved at Dundreggan thanks to the support of our volunteers and generous donors.”

On Saturday 13 July, invited guests will be able to visit to Trees for Life’s new tree nursery, tour a newly-planted native woodland at Allt Fearna, and plant their own tree.

From 10.30 am – 5.00 pm on Sunday 14 July, a free entry Biodiversity Open Day will include wild life tracking, a visit to montane woodlands and opportunities to feed wild boar. Guests will be able to explore Dundreggan from riverbank to mountaintop on guided nature walks, or simply enjoy the beautiful ancient woodlands.

Organisations including the SWT and Aigas Field Centre will be attending, and the day will also include the launch of the Mountain Woodland Project in partnership with Highland Birchwoods.

Dundreggan is gaining an international reputation for its remarkable biodiversity and has been described as a Highlands ‘lost world’. Surveys last year revealed eight species never recorded before in the UK, adding to many rare and endangered species recently discovered on the estate – some previously unknown in Scotland or feared extinct there.

At least 67 priority species for conservation and more than 2,800 species in total have now been identified on the 10,000-acre site.

Trees for Life is planting half a million trees on the estate as well as working for the return of rare woodland wildlife, plants and insects, restoring other natural habitats and conducting scientific research and education programmes.

The British Ecological Society, the UK’s academic learned society supporting the science of ecology, is supporting the event. During 2013, the society is celebrating its centenary with a series of events, conferences and publications to increase the profile of ecological science among scientists and the public.

Its Festival of Ecology, a nationwide celebration of ecological science with over 60 participating institutions across the UK, runs from 15 June – 4 August. For details see www.festivalofecology.org.

Professor Georgina Mace FRS, British Ecological Society President said:

“We are delighted to be working with Trees for Life in celebrating our centenary year.This event is part of our Festival of Ecology through which we hope visitors will learn more about the science of ecology and how relevant and fascinating this science is to understanding the challenges we face in the world today.”

Trees for Life, Scotland’s leading conservation volunteering charity, is restoring the Caledonian Forest to a spectacular wilderness region of 1,000 square miles in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness. Only a fraction of the former forest now survives, but the award-winning charity has planted more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and has created 10,000 acres of new forest.

For details about the Biodiversity Weekend, contact Fiona Limbrey on 0845 458 3505 or email fiona@treesforlife.org.uk.

Mar 212013
 

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Conservation charity Trees for Life has welcomed the first United Nations International Day of Forests with a call for more people to get involved in helping to create a renaissance for Scotland’s beleaguered forests.

The UN General Assembly has proclaimed 21 March to be the International Day of Forests – a day to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of forests and trees for all life on earth.

Across Scotland, forest restoration efforts are bringing new or renewed life to many ancient native woodlands, from Rassal Ashwood in Wester Ross to the Carrifran Wildwood in Dumfries and Galloway, and from the Loch Sunart Oakwoods in Lochaber to Abernethy and Glenfeshie in the Cairngorms National Park.

Yet with increasing concerns about climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss – as well as tree diseases such as ash dieback and Dothistroma Needle Blight, which is a potential threat to the iconic Scots pine – the need for concerted action to conserve and regenerate Scotland’s native woodlands is more important than ever before.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“There are signs of hope for woodlands throughout Scotland, but we urgently need more people to help make a difference now – the future of Scotland’s forests is literally in our hands. We are the last generation with the opportunity to save the CaledonianForest, for example, as many of the remnants of this Scottish equivalent of the rainforests are in terminal decline.

“Fortunately projects such as ours provide an inspiring and practical way for people from all walks of life to help make a personal and positive difference – to help restore natural wonders such as the CaledonianForest and to reverse the global trend of deforestation.”

 For 2013, the Year of Natural Scotland, Trees for Life is:

  • Working to double its rate of restoration work in the Caledonian Forest.
  • Running a Million More Trees campaign – an ambitious bid to establish a further million trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2017.
  • Expanding its acclaimed Conservation Weeks, offering more opportunities for people to make a personal contribution to the environment and to gain hands-on conservation experience. The weeks are being held in eight locations across the Highlands, in a longer season than ever before that has begun this week and runs until November.
  • Launching Wildlife Weeks for conservation volunteers who want to spend extra time learning about and observing the CaledonianForest’s remarkable wildlife.
  • Running fortnightly Conservation Days, for local people to take practical action.
  • Enabling disadvantaged volunteers from diverse backgrounds, including older people and those who are unemployed or on low incomes, to help directly in forest restoration work – an initiative made possible by a £45,900 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Following a long history of deforestation, some 150 years ago the Caledonian Forest reached a critical point of no return. Since then, with too few remaining trees and too many deer eating all the seedlings that germinate, young trees have struggled to get established. This has left ‘geriatric’ forests made up of old trees at the end of their lives, with no new ones growing to replace them.

Today, only a fraction of the former Caledonian Forest survives, with its native pinewoods reduced to 35 isolated remnants. However, Trees for Life is restoring the forest to a wilderness region of 1,000 square miles in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness.

Volunteers from the award-winning charity have helped to plant more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and to create 10,000 acres of new forest. Amongst these emerging forests, a complex web of life is renewing itself. Habitat restoration is making a big difference to the wildlife of the Caledonian Forest, which includes the strawberry spider, wood ants, red squirrels, rare sawflies, ospreys and capercaillies.

For more details, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

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Mar 142013
 

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Conservation charity Trees for Life has received a grant of £45,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for the training of disadvantaged conservation volunteers in the Scottish Highlands.

The funding will enable volunteers from diverse backgrounds, including older people and those who are unemployed or on low incomes, to help directly in the restoration of Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest in stunning locations such as Glen Affric and Glen Moriston.

Volunteers, who otherwise might not get the chance to do so, will be able to take practical action to protect the natural environment, learn about threatened habitats and species, and benefit from time spent in green places and activities that are good for mental and physical health.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“This Heritage Lottery Fund grant is great news for the Caledonian Forest and for local communities, as it will allow disadvantaged volunteers to help save Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest and its unique wildlife. By doing so, they will develop new skills and gain a rewarding experience from spending time outdoors in the inspirational wild landscapes of the Highlands.”

Colin McLean, Head of the Heritage Lottery Fund in Scotland, said:

“In what is the Year of Natural Scotland, this is a great opportunity for people, who would not normally have the chance, to visit the countryside to learn new skills and gain a better understanding of our natural environment. By encouraging more people to experience nature first-hand, hopefully we are inspiring their enthusiasm for its long-term conservation while having fun along the way.”

Activities will include hands on conservation work in breathtaking locations surrounded by mountains, forest and rivers – including tree planting and protection, and work in Trees for Life’s tree nursery at its acclaimed Dundreggan Estate, a biodiversity hotspot situated to the west of Loch Ness.

Although only a fraction of the former CaledonianForest now survives, Trees for Life volunteers have helped to plant more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and to create 10,000 acres of new forest. The award-winning charity is restoring the forest to a spectacular wilderness region of 1,000 square miles in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness. For more details, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

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Feb 022013
 

Staff from six Moray distilleries are helping to bring Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest back from the brink by taking up life memberships of conservation charity Trees for Life.  With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Representatives from Speyside East distilleries, run by drinks company Diageo,  received life memberships from Trees for Life’s Executive Director Alan Watson Featherstone at an event at Drummuir Castle.
Matthew Desmond, who works at Mortlach Distillery near Dufftown, developed the scheme to promote the importance of a healthy environment for the Scotch whisky industry.

He involved colleagues from neighbouring distilleries, and funded the life memberships through a £1,500 personal donation to Trees for Life.

Diageo matched Matthew’s donation with a further £1,500.  Matthew said:-

“We are really proud to be supporting Trees for Life’s restoration of the Caledonian Forest. A healthy environment benefits everyone, and my colleagues and I were keen to play our part in helping to bring new life to the stunning wild landscapes of the Highlands,”

Alan Watson Featherstone said:

“I’d like to thank Matthew and his colleagues for their inspiring action. At Trees for Life, we depend on the support of our members to fund our vital conservation work. Members make a real difference to our project to restore Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest and to create a brighter future for the special wildlife of the Highlands.”

Only a fraction of the former Caledonian Forest now survives, but Trees for Life has planted more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and has created 10,000 acres of new forest. It has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration within the next five years. Almost all of the charity’s practical conservation work is carried out by volunteers.

People can support Trees for Life by becoming members and by funding dedicated trees and groves. The charity’s Conservation Weeks allow people to gain practical conservation experience in beautiful locations. For more details, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

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Dec 062012
 

Founder and executive director of conservation charity Trees for Life,  Alan Watson Featherstone, has triumphed in the Environment category of the prestigious Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Awards 2012, announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh on 29 November.

The awards mark outstanding individual contributions to Scottish cultural life which inspire others.

Categories commemorate all that is great about Scotland, including Art, Business, Food, Music, Screen, Sport and Writing as well as the Environment.

The recipient declared:

As the winners of these awards are decided by public vote in the UK, this is an inspiring, national recognition of Trees for Life’s restoration of the Caledonian Forest. I’m very grateful to everyone who voted. It’s an honour that shows how deeply people care about conserving Scotland’s world-class wild landscapes, and about protecting our stunning biodiversity and wildlife.”

The charity has already planted more than a million trees at dozens of locations in the Highlands, creating ten thousand acres of Caledonian Forest, and has pledged to establish a million more trees through planting and natural regeneration within the next five years.

Today, only a fraction of the original forest survives, but Trees for Life is restoring it and its unique wildlife to an inspiring, spectacular wilderness region of a thousand square miles to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness.

In his acceptance speech, Featherstone acknowledged the support he’s received from current and past staff of Trees for Life, and the thousands of volunteers who have worked on the project since 1989. He dedicated the award to everyone who’s been inspired by, and cares about, the Caledonian Forest, which he described as ‘a Scottish national treasure’.

His wide-ranging, long-term work to change humanity’s impact on nature and the planet has provided inspiration for ecological restoration projects in the Borders, Dartmoor and the endangered Parana pine forest in south-east Brazil.

People can support Trees for Life’s work by purchasing dedicated trees to celebrate births, weddings and special occasions. A tree will also be planted for every recipient of a new Plant a Tree winter gift card this Christmas.

Meanwhile, the charity’s acclaimed volunteer Conservation Weeks offer opportunities to gain practical conservation experience in spectacular surroundings.

www.treesforlife.org.uk

Telephone: 0845 458 3505

More on Trees For Life

Trees for Life’s story began at a major environmental conference at Findhorn in October 1986 when Alan, who at that time had no experience of conservation work, no funding and no access to land, made a commitment to delegates to launch a project to restore the Caledonian Forest.

The forest had once covered much of the highlands, with native pinewoods encompassing 1.5m hectares at their maximum extent in a wild landscape of mountains, lochs and rivers. Largely a result of land clearance, wood use and farming, centuries of deforestation had taken a huge toll by the 1980s, with only a tiny percentage of the former forest remaining.

Practical conservation work began in June 1989, when Alan took a team of volunteers to place tree guards around Scots Pine seedlings in Glen Cannich, to protect them from deer. By 1991, Trees for Life had begun to plant a new generation of trees, some of which were the first to grow in the Caledonian Forest for 150 years.

Trees for Life’s vision includes reintroduction of the forest’s wildlife and plants to form a fully-functioning ecosystem. It has developed as an award-winning charity with a dedicated staff team, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of supporters.

In 2008, it bought the 10,000-acre Dundreggan Estate west of Loch Ness, one of the largest areas of land in the UK ever purchased for forest restoration.

The charity’s awards include UK Conservation Project of the Year 1991, the Millennium Marque in 2000 and Top Ten Conservation Holidays worldwide in 2009. In addition, Alan received the prestigious Schumacher Award in 2001 for his ‘inspirational and practical work on conserving and restoring degraded ecosystems‘.

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Nov 222012
 

Scientists have announced the sequencing of the entire genetic code – the genome – of a dwarf birch from Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Estate near Loch Ness in Glen Moriston, where the conservation charity is working to conserve a natural population of the species. With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Dwarf birch (Betula nana) is a nationally scarce species in Britain, occurring mainly in small populations on Scottish mountains.
The genome sequencing – a laboratory process identifying the complete DNA sequence of an organism – lays the foundations for genetic research into the birch genus, which includes up to 60 tree species.

This will benefit studies on the conservation of dwarf birch. Project lead scientist Richard Buggs, based at Queen Mary University of London, told Aberdeen Voice:

“Increasing our understanding of tree genomes is essential for our long-term ability to conserve and grow tree species in the UK.”

 Award-winning charity Trees for Life’s executive director Alan Watson Featherstone added:

“This is a tremendous breakthrough. Together with our woodland restoration work at Dundreggan, where we have one of the greatest concentrations of dwarf birch in Scotland, it will do much to benefit the conservation of this important species.”

Dwarf birch forms part of the mountain tree line, where woodland gives way to open moorland. This tree-line contains a unique assemblage of species and should be a miniature, waist-high species-rich woodland; in reality, it has become a ‘forgotten forest’ in the UK, overgrazed and in poor condition.

As part of its Million More Trees campaign, Trees for Life has launched an appeal to restore the ‘wee trees’ that form the natural tree-line, including those growing at their altitudinal limit as well as specially-adapted species such as dwarf birch.

By restoring the ‘wee trees’ of the Caledonian Forest, the charity also hopes to create a woodland link between Glen Affric and Glen Moriston, providing an expanded habitat for many species.

A healthy population of dwarf birch will also benefit the black grouse living along the woodland edge, and ptarmigan and golden plover nesting on the upland moors.

“Dundreggan offers a unique opportunity to restore the complete tree-line community and all its species,” said Alan Watson Featherstone.

The genome sequencing project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, and is being published in the journal Molecular Ecology.

Queen Mary University of London, Trees for Life and Highland Birchwoods are partnering to supervise PhD student James Borrell, who will survey the genetic diversity of dwarf birch populations in Scotland over the next three years.

Trees for Life has demonstrated the benefits of conservation action for this declining tree species.

In 2002 they fenced an area of dwarf birch to protect it from grazing deer, with astonishing results: dwarf birches now grow healthily above the surrounding vegetation and support a unique assemblage of species, including a rare moth that is a conservation priority for Scotland and three different sawflies, two of which were unknown in the UK until they were discovered at Dundreggan.

Such finds have established the Inverness-shire estate’s reputation as a ‘lost world’ for the Highlands.

The charity’s work at Dundreggan is a key part of its restoration of Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest to a spectacular wilderness region of 1,000 square miles to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness.

You can support Trees For Life by funding dedicated trees and groves, while the charity’s Conservation Weeks allow people to gain practical conservation experience in beautiful locations. For more details, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505

For details of Trees for Life’s Return of the Wee Trees Appeal, please visit http://treesforlife.org.uk/tfl.appeal_dwarfbirch.html

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