Forest Archives - Page 3 of 6

Trees For Life Wins Global Competition

Apr 012016

IMG_3907 Scots pines in snow with blue sky at Coille Ruigh na Cuileigemed

Scots pines at Coille Ruigh na Cuileigemed

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Scotland’s only entry in a leading global conservation competition has won funding of more than £20,000 to address biodiversity loss and deforestation in the Highlands, including through the planting of 50,000 native trees and the creation of habitats that will offer a lifeline to endangered and rare wildlife.

Trees for Life’s Rewilding the Highlands initiative has won the Alpine category of the 2016 European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA) Conservation Vote, securing more than 7,000 votes and widespread social media support in a tightly contested international online vote that was held between 8-22 March.

The success will allow the charity to establish one of the UK’s most inspiring examples of rewilding. This will involve ambitious habitat creation to support wildlife including pine marten, red squirrel, golden eagle and Scottish wildcat, the planting of 50,000 native trees, and also the annual growing of 10,000 rare montane tree species, at Trees for Life’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness.

“This is fantastic news for Scotland’s Caledonian Forest and its endangered and rare wildlife, as well as for the many people who will benefit from our Rewilding the Highlands project, which is about people as well as places. Our sincere thanks go to everyone who supported us,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Founder.

Trees for Life also aims to boost the local and Highlands economy by promoting Glenmoriston as a tourist destination, where people can enjoy the great outdoors and discover remarkable wildlife. Central to this will be Dundreggan, a ‘lost world’ biodiversity hotspot where more than 3,000 species have been discovered, including 10 found nowhere else in the UK and others that are extremely rare.

There will also be opportunities for local people and visitors to get involved in conservation initiatives, and for volunteers from different walks of life to gain training in conservation. Support will be given to a local community project at Invergarry, to enhance biodiversity at its Glengarry Community Woodland.

The EOCA Online Conservation Vote attracts huge interest internationally with national media, politicians, presidents and celebrities getting involved. Trees for Life was Scotland’s only finalist in the competition’s three categories, which also featured projects from as far afield as central Asia, Brazil, The Caribbean, Ecuador, Madagascar and Nicaragua.

For more information, see www.treesforlife.org.uk.

Trees for Life is an award-winning conservation charity whose volunteers have planted more than one million trees at dozens of sites in the Highlands, and which has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

EOCA works to support valuable conservation work by raising funds from within the European outdoors sector and by promoting care and respect for wild places. See http://www.outdoorconservation.eu.

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Rewilding Highlands And Return Of Lynx In Spotlight

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Jan 142016

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

Alan Watson Featherstone, founder of award-winning charity Trees for Life

Rewilding the Highlands – from restored forests to the return of predators such as the lynx – are the focus of topical lectures taking place in Exeter and Plymouth featuring acclaimed writer George Monbiot and leading conservationist Alan Watson Featherstone, founder of award-winning charity Trees for Life.

The sold-out events at the University of Exeter and the University of Plymouth highlight the benefits of rewilding – the restoration of damaged natural ecosystems, and the return of keystone species – including for people’s wellbeing.

Plymouth University has a close connection with Trees for Life. Since 2011 staff and students from the university’s School of Biomedical and Biological Sciences have been researching the biodiversity of the forest canopy at the charity’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate near Loch Ness.

Alan Watson Featherstone – who at the end of 2015 was awarded an alternative New Year’s honour by The Guardian newspaper, in a celebration of the heroes of the year – said:

“Rewilding offers an exciting vision of hope. In the Highlands of Scotland we have an opportunity to reverse environmental degradation and create a world-class wilderness region – offering a lifeline to wildlife including beavers, capercaillie, wood ants and pine martens, and restoring natural forests and wild spaces for our children and grandchildren.”

George Monbiot said:

“Rewilding offers us a big chance to reverse destruction of the natural world. Letting trees return to bare and barren uplands, allowing the seabed to recover from trawling, and bringing back missing species would help hundreds of species that might otherwise struggle to survive – while rekindling wonder and enchantment that often seems missing in modern-day Britain.”

The two events – organised by the Network of Wellbeing (NOW, www.networkofwellbeing.org), together with Exeter University and Exeter Community Initiatives in Exeter, and in Plymouth with Plymouth University – will help to explore the links between rewilding and wellbeing, and highlight ways in which people can get involved in initiatives in their own communities.

This includes taking inspiration from Trees For Life as a practical, grassroots organisation through which people can connect, be active, take notice, keep learning and give – five ways to wellbeing based on 40 years of international research.

Trees for Life (www.treesforlife.org.uk) is restoring the ancient Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands, and offers many opportunities for volunteers to support its work and gain conservation experience.

Today few areas of the world are truly wild and in the UK, even Scotland is no exception. Long-term deforestation and overgrazing by too many deer and sheep has left much of the land depleted and barren, with wildlife in retreat or missing. The Caledonian Forest – Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest – is one of the UK’s most endangered habitats, with many of its rare species facing extinction.

Yet action across Scotland is showing how restoring natural processes and protecting wilderness areas, and reducing human interference in ecosystems, can make a positive difference. This includes the restoration of native forests at many Highland sites, the re-establishment of birds of prey such as sea eagles, ospreys and red kites, and the trial reintroduction of European beavers at Knapdale in Argyll.

Future rewilding could involve the reinstatement of missing species, including apex predators – which play a crucial top-down regulatory role in ecosystems. Trees for Life believes that the Eurasian lynx – already reintroduced to areas of Europe such as the Alps and Jura mountains – is a realistic candidate for reintroduction. It offers little threat to sheep and none to humans.

It is a specialist predator of roe deer, a species which has multiplied in Britain in recent years and which holds back the natural regeneration of trees through intensive browsing.

The latest thinking on rewilding – including recent scientific discoveries – has been captured in George Monbiot’s highly-praised and gripping book, Feral, which lays out a positive environmental approach in which Nature is allowed to find its own way. George – well-known author and columnist for The Guardian – is also a key supporter of Rewilding Britain, a charity working for the mass restoration of ecosystems in Britain, on land and at sea. See www.rewildingbritain.org.uk.

NOW’s holistic approach to wellbeing shows that personal, social and environmental wellbeing must all be approached together – which means that rewilding, by enhancing nature, can have a great role to play in enhancing people’s wellbeing.

People can follow online conversation around the rewilding events on Twitter by using the hashtag #RewildingWell.

Background – reintroducing the lynx.

Across Scotland high numbers of deer are having a negative impact – through overgrazing and trampling – on reforestation, habitat quality, biodiversity and ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and flood prevention. The loss of native carnivores means that deer now have no natural predators.

The reintroduction of a top predator is crucial, and the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) is a realistic candidate. The species is still present in many northern and eastern – and some southern – countries in Europe. It represents no threat to humans, and there are no European records of anyone ever being attacked by a lynx.

While the reintroduction of predators is often proposed as a means of reducing excessive numbers of red deer in the Highlands, the main impact would likely be in disturbing deer populations – causing these animals to move more frequently so that their grazing is less concentrated in specific areas.

Trees for Life believes the lynx could be reintroduced to the UK by 2025. Restoring enough native woodland as habitat would be crucial, and some experts estimate that the Highlands could support a genetically viable population of 400 animals.

Experts are uncertain as to when the lynx died out in Britain, although some discoveries suggest its extinction date may have been some 1,500 years ago.

Eurasian lynx pic © Peter Cairns www.northshots.com

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New Era For Leading Conservation Charity

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Jan 142016

Alan with new CEO, Steve Micklewright.

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

Thirty years after founding award-winning charity Trees for Life, acclaimed conservationist Alan Watson Featherstone this week stepped down as the organisation’s Executive Director to take up a new role as Founder and Visionary, with Steve Micklewright becoming new Chief Executive Officer.

Alan Watson Featherstone said:

“This marks the beginning of an exciting new era for Trees for Life. I’m delighted to welcome Steve Micklewright as our new Chief Executive Officer, and I look forward to working closely with him to further expand and develop Trees for Life’s work to help restore the Caledonian Forest. It’s also a time to pay tribute to the excellent work of Trees for Life’s present and past staff and thousands of volunteers from all over the world who have done so much to rewild the Highlands.”

In his new role, Alan will have a focus on Trees for Life’s expanding conservation and forest restoration work, as well as liaison with its key partners and donors, and will continue to be the public face of the charity. While no longer responsible for the daily running of the organisation he founded, Alan will remain fully engaged with its work and will stay on its board of directors.

Steve Micklewright, who took up his new role on 4th January, said:

“It’s an honour to join this inspiring and pioneering charity which is making such a difference to Scotland’s wonderful wildlife and wild places – breathing new life into the stunning landscapes of the Highlands and helping to improve the lives of hundreds of people each year through hands-on and rewarding conservation opportunities.”

Steve has worked in nature conservation for over 25 years, most recently as Director of BirdLife Malta and previously for organisations including the Wildlife Trusts, WWF and CPRE (Campaign for the Protection of Rural England). He has placed a strong focus on the benefits of nature for the health and wellbeing of people throughout his career, and has worked on many forestry and woodland conservation projects.

Trees for Life’s story began in 1986 when Alan Watson Featherstone made a commitment during an environmental conference in Findhorn to launch a Caledonian Forest restoration project. Practical activity began in 1989, with tree guards used to protect Scots pine seedlings in Glen Cannich from being eaten by deer. In 1991, volunteers began planting some of the first new trees to grow in the forest for 200 years.

Trees for Life has since grown into a multi award-winning, leading conservation volunteering charity, with a dedicated staff team and thousands of supporters and volunteers.

Its volunteers have helped to plant more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and the charity has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018. In 2008, it bought Dundreggan Conservation Estate, a 10,000-acre site and biodiversity hotspot in Glenmoriston to the west of Loch Ness.

Alan has won numerous awards for his work. At the end of 2015 he was awarded an alternative New Year’s honour by The Guardian newspaper in a celebration of the heroes of the year.

Next week, Alan will continue his acclaimed series of lectures with well-known writer and author George Monbiot, with events at the University of Exeter on 14 January and at the University of Plymouth on 15 January. The sold-out Plymouth lecture will be available via live web streaming, with details at www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/RewildingLiveStream.

The lectures will highlight the benefits of rewilding – the restoration of damaged natural ecosystems, and the return of keystone species.

People can support Trees for Life by becoming a member, carrying out conservation action, sponsoring trees for special occasions or sponsoring an acre of native forest. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

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Rewilding Scotland And Tackling Climate Change

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Dec 082015

With 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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Project Seeks Major Boost In Red Squirrel Numbers

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Aug 252015

Red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) in scots pine forest, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland.

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

An innovative new project by conservation charities Trees for Life and the Highland Foundation for Wildlife aims to secure a major increase in the range of Scotland’s red squirrel populations for the first time in decades.

The Caledonian Forest Wildlife Project – which launches this summer – has the ambitious goal of establishing 10 new populations of the species in the Highlands over the next three years, with the long-term aim of boosting red squirrel numbers in Scotland by more than 10 per cent.

It will also provide a unique opportunity for volunteers, including those from remote communities, to take an active part in wildlife conservation.

The project will involve conservation experts carefully relocating red squirrels from areas of Scotland where they are thriving to remote forests in the north-west Highlands where there are no squirrels at present, but good quality habitat for them.

It will build on pioneering work by Roy Dennis MBE of the Highland Foundation for Wildlife which has demonstrated impressive results – 40 red squirrels that he moved into woodlands at Dundonnell in 2008, for example, have already expanded into a thriving population of around 400, and two further translocations were also very successful.

“Through an effective and proven approach, this exciting initiative will help red squirrels return to the forests where they belong for the first time in decades – leading to significant new populations of this iconic species and offering real hope for its long-term survival,” said Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director.

“Increasing red squirrel numbers will also benefit our native forests and the many species that depend on them, because red squirrels are nature’s tree planters. They collect and bury thousands of tree seeds each autumn, but frequently forget these hoards – which in spring take root and so expand our woodlands.”

The project has been made possible by a grant of more than £61,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

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

“Thanks to National Lottery players, HLF grants have helped to protect an amazing range of landscapes, habitats, and species of plants and animals. The Heritage Lottery Fund is delighted to support the Caledonian Forest Wildlife Project – which will provide opportunities in both rural and urban communities for volunteers to learn about wildlife, as well as training in practical conservation skills.

“We are pleased to support projects that will stimulate an interest in our precious natural heritage and so help conserve it for future generations.”

Urgent conservation action is needed to secure the long-term future of the red squirrel, which is increasingly rare in Britain and is recognised in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan as a priority species. Only an estimated 138,000 reds are left in the UK, and their populations – devastated by disease and competition from the introduced grey squirrel – are still in decline.

Red squirrel numbers have also been adversely affected by the loss of their forest homes, which have been reduced to isolated remnants. Although many forests in the north-west Highlands offer suitable habitat, red squirrels travel from tree to tree and do not usually cross open ground. This means they cannot spread back to areas of fragmented woodland from where they have disappeared.

The Caledonian Forest Wildlife Project will see squirrels transported to carefully selected release sites in specially constructed nest boxes, lined with hay for comfort and warmth, and provisioned with peanuts for food and apple for hydration. These nest boxes will then be nailed to trees and their exit holes filled with moss – so that the squirrels can find their way out in their own time, once people have left, minimising stress for the animals.

Food will be provided for several months after release, to help the squirrels settle easily into their new surroundings.

Situated far away from disease-carrying grey squirrels, the relocated reds will quickly establish new populations.

Animal welfare measures will be central to the project. Once a squirrel has been caught, the trap will be covered with a dark cloth to keep the animal calm and reduce stress. All traps will be checked at a maximum of two-hourly intervals, and all squirrels will undergo a health check by a qualified veterinarian, to ensure that diseased animals are not introduced into the new populations.

No more than two squirrels will be taken from any donor site, so that their removal does not negatively affect the donor population.

Volunteers – including those from remote communities and disadvantaged backgrounds – will be able to join training courses covering red squirrel surveys and conservation, and will be given the opportunity to help monitor the progress of the translocations. An online training programme will allow people to develop the skills to monitor red squirrels in their local area.

The scheme will also involve the creation of partnerships with landowners, ongoing monitoring, and pioneering research to learn more about red squirrels, in order to strengthen conservation action. Talks and seminars will be held with communities to inspire people to get involved with the conservation of endangered wildlife.

Trees for Life is dedicated to restoring the endangered Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands – one of the UK’s wildest landscapes. The award-winning charity’s volunteers have helped to plant more than one million trees at dozens of locations, and Trees for Life aims to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018. For more information, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 01309 691292.

About red squirrels:

* The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) lives in conifer-dominated boreal forests and in broadleaved deciduous forests. It is not ideally suited to woodlands now covering much of Britain, and has been outcompeted by the more adaptable introduced non-native grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) in much of the country. Greys also spread and transmit squirrel pox virus, to which they are immune but which is lethal to reds.

* While mainland Europe enjoys healthy populations of red squirrels, the species is now extremely rare in the UK – with current population estimates being 138,000 individuals. Approximately 120,000 of these are in Scotland, 3,000 in Wales and 15,000 in England.

* The red squirrel occurs throughout most of mainland Scotland, with the largest populations in Caledonian Forest remnants in the Highlands, and in Dumfries and Galloway. The Scottish population has increased slightly in recent years, probably due to the expansion of tree cover – but the animal’s range and population would have been much larger in the past, before the loss of most of the Caledonian Forest.

* The Eurasian red squirrel is widely distributed in Europe and northern Asia, from Scandinavia south to Italy and Bulgaria, and from Ireland and Britain across to Russia. Beyond Europe, its range extends as far as Mongolia, China, Korea and the northernmost of Japan’s islands.

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Funding Hope For Conservation Of Iconic Scottish Glen

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Sep 262014

Hopes of protecting and restoring a magnificent Highland glen and its rare wildlife – including golden eagles, red squirrels and Scottish wildcats – have received a major boost after conservation charity Trees for Life was named as finalist for a major European funding project, with the winner to be chosen after an online public vote. With thanks to Richard Bunting.

The charity’s Glen Affric Landscape Project is in the running to secure almost £20,000 in the European Outdoor Conservation Association’s ‘Outdoor’ funding scheme, with online voting taking place over two weeks until Monday 6 October. Trees for Life can be supported via www.treesforlife.org.uk/voteTFL.

The Trees for Life project will also create opportunities for outdoor activity and hill walking groups, local people and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in practical action to help reverse the loss of native woodlands and rare wildlife in the Highlands.

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

“We are asking people to vote for us and help make the most of this opportunity to protect one of Scotland’s finest wilderness forests. Glen Affric has been described as the most beautiful glen in Scotland, and this is a golden opportunity to help conserve its wildlife and wild places, and to reverse centuries of forest loss”

The Caledonian Forest at Glen Affric supports over 1,000 animal species. The pinewoods in the glen’s eastern reaches represent the largest surviving core area of native pinewood which continues to benefit from conservation management. But there is still much work to do to encourage this native woodland to expand westwards and this project will make a big contribution to achieving this.

Working in partnership with Forestry Commission Scotland, which manages the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, Trees for Life aims to enhance and extend the iconic glen’s native Caledonian pinewood and conserve its rare forest-dependent wildlife through a range of activities, including the planting of 20,000 trees as well as endangered plants. Non-native trees and plants will be removed and habitats restored.

Key to this will be hands-on forest restoration training and volunteering opportunities for hundreds of people through forest skills courses, volunteer restoration days and conservation weeks.

Guided walks and leaflets will allow hundreds of outdoor enthusiasts to learn more about the Caledonian Forest and how to help conserve Scotland’s threatened habitats and species.

The project also aims to boost the local and Highland economy through a growth in visitors for nature-based tourism, hill walking and outdoor and adventure pursuits. It will lay the foundations for a longer-term initiative to create a forest habitat corridor from Loch Affric to Scotland’s west coast – leaving a lasting legacy of an expanded forest landscape and increased wildlife, transforming the experiences of outdoor users in the Highlands for future generations.

The Caledonian Forest supports a unique range of species. Once covering much of the Scottish Highlands, centuries of deforestation have reduced the forest to a fraction of its former range. Many forest remnants consist of old and dying trees, with grazing pressure by red deer preventing the growth of young trees. The remaining forests, such as in Glen Affric, are amongst our most fragile and endangered habitats.

Trees for Life is a leading conservation volunteering charity that 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, and this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The charity was kindly nominated for the European Outdoor Conservation Association funding award by Northshots Photography.

For more details about how to vote, please see www.treesforlife.org.uk/voteTFL or call 0845 458 3505.

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25 Years Of Action Celebrated at ‘Lost World’ Estate

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May 302014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

A quarter century of pioneering conservation action was marked by Trees for Life on Sunday 25 May 2014.
A celebration open day was held at the award-winning charity’s Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, Inverness-shire.

Dozens of supporters and local people gathered at the acclaimed biodiversity hotspot near Loch Ness for a day of activities, and to celebrate Trees for Life’s first 25 years of restoring the ancient but endangered Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

Moray MSP Richard Lochhead, the Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, planted the final tree of Trees for Life’s ‘Celebrate’ project, through which volunteers have planted 6,500 trees, one for each athlete at the Commonwealth Games.

Special guest BBC presenter, writer and Trees for Life Patron Vanessa Collingridge planted the charity’s 25th anniversary tree. Drew Hendry, Leader of Highland Council, planted a tree to commemorate the dedication of the charity’s thousands of volunteers.

Cyclist Tim Judge arrived from London by bike, after cycling 600 miles in six days. The gruelling journey was part of Tim’s challenge of cycling 5,000 miles on his bike Issy to raise £1 per mile for Trees for Life.

Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, said:

“These magnificent Caledonian woodlands, which to many people are synonymous with Scotland, are one of our most highly prized natural assets, and conserving and expanding these beautiful woodlands is vitally important for the integrity of our landscape and the vitality of our biodiversity.

“Trees for Life has played an important part in that conservation effort and 25 years of restoration is certainly something to celebrate, especially in this Year of Homecoming that focuses on Natural Scotland.

“I would also like to think that planting a tree for every Commonwealth Games athlete will encourage some of them – and the many thousands of visitors who will be joining us – to take the time to experience Scotland’s woodlands for themselves.”

Drew Hendry, Leader of Highland Council, said:

“I was delighted to plant one of the commemorative trees at Dundreggan Conservation Estate. Trees For Life’s work at this flagship project on natural regeneration and biodiversity aligns very well with the Highland Biodiversity Action Plan, and with Highland Council’s long-term commitment of achieving a carbon neutral Inverness in a low carbon Highlands by 2025 – our Carbon CLEVER Highlands initiative.”

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

“During the past 25 years, thousands of volunteers and many generous donors have helped us to breathe new life into Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest. More than a million trees have been planted or regenerated, more than 10,000 acres of new forest created, and hundreds of lives transformed through the benefits of time spent carrying out positive conservation action in green places.

“I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this remarkable achievement, and everyone who will help us in the future as we expand and extend our innovative work to restore the world-class wildlife and landscapes of the Highlands.”

The celebration day included guided walks to explore ancient woodlands and spot wildlife, opportunities to meet and feed wild boar and learn about their role in restoring the forest, and children’s activities including animal tracking, pond dipping and games.

A new Trees for Life exhibition ‘From Caledonia to the Commonwealth’, a stunning photographic exploration of ancient forests across the Commonwealth, was officially launched by Vanessa Collingridge. The exhibition is part of the charity’s ‘Celebrate’ project, funded with support from the National Lottery funded Celebrate programme.

Dundreggan is Trees for Life’s flagship project. The 10,000-acre estate has been described as a Highlands “lost world”, with more than 3,000 species identified so far – including 10 species never recorded in the UK before.

With the Caledonian Forest being one of the UK’s most endangered habitats and with many of its rare species in danger of extinction, Trees for Life aims to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration, by 2018. People can help by becoming a member, carrying out conservation action, sponsoring trees for special occasions or sponsoring an acre of native forest. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

Tim Judge can be supported in his cycle challenge at www.justgiving.com/GingerBittersOnABike. Tim’s progress can be followed at www.strava.com/athletes/gingerbittersonabike.

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Unique Community Purchase For Highlands Project

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May 232014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Plans for a major new pinewood restoration project in the Scottish Highlands have been given the go-ahead, after Forestry Commission Scotland agreed to sell 1,086 hectares of woodland at Glen Mallie and South Loch Arkaig in Lochaber to a Highland community group which is working in partnership with the conservation charity Trees for Life.

This marks a major milestone in efforts to restore the ecologically important but rare native Caledonian Pinewood habitat.

The Achnacarry, Bunarkaig and Clunes (ABC) Group and Trees for Life now have 18 months to raise £500,000 to buy the land, following which they will begin a process of native woodland restoration and of restoring the links between the local community and the wild and remote country on the south side of Loch Arkaig.

This is believed to be the first time that a conservation charity has partnered with a community group to purchase surplus Forestry Commission land under the National Forest Land Scheme. The scheme, administered by Forestry Commission Scotland, gives communities and non-governmental organisations the opportunity to acquire state-owned forest land which has been declared ‘surplus’ by the Forestry Commission.

Gary Servant of the ABC Group said:

“This is a great opportunity for the local community to secure real benefits in terms of sustainable rural development, to support local land-based jobs and livelihoods whilst at the same time helping to protect, restore and expand these important remnants of native Caledonian Pine Forest.”

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

“We are delighted that Forestry Commission Scotland has approved the bid to purchase this native pinewood site, which is rich in biodiversity and historical importance. We now have a unique opportunity to take a significant step forwards in achieving our vision of a renewed Caledonian Forest in the West Highlands, while bringing real social and environmental benefits to the remote rural Lochaber community. Our challenge now is to raise the funds required to make this vision a reality.”

He added:

“This exciting project offers a unique opportunity to pioneer an innovative partnership between a conservation charity and a local community group, which could be a valuable model for efforts elsewhere in the Highlands to achieve native woodland restoration on a significant scale whilst at the same time securing substantial rural development benefits for local people.”

The Glen Mallie and South Loch Arkaig forests contain iconic native pinewood remnants that were damaged by fire during Commando Training in the Second World War, and were subsequently acquired by the Forestry Commission and underplanted with commercial conifers in the 1970s.

The long-term aim of Trees for Life and the ABC Group is to restore the native pinewoods and other natural habitats of the area to the benefit of both people and biodiversity.

The forests were declared ‘surplus’ by Forestry Commission Scotland in September 2013 as part of its national repositioning strategy. The ABC Group formally applied to purchase the land in February 2014, after completing a draft business plan, with support from the National Lottery ‘Investing in Ideas’ fund, and conducting a postal ballot of local residents.

Trees for Life was invited to become a key project partner due to its expertise in native pinewood restoration and in actively promoting practical action for woodland conservation. Forestry Commission Scotland then held a 28-day open consultation, for the public to comment on any aspect of the proposal. An independent panel of experts made a detailed evaluation of the project and has now recommended its approval.

Award-winning Trees for Life already owns and manages a significant area of woodland, having purchased the 10,000-acre Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston near Loch Ness in 2008.

Today only a fraction of the former native Caledonian Pinewood habitat survives in the form of around 80 pinewood remnants in the north and west of Scotland, but Trees for Life has planted more than a million trees and has created 10,000 acres of new forest.

The charity aims to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018, creating expanded habitats for Scotland’s remarkable and rare wildlife, including species that are in danger of extinction.

Throughout this year, Trees for Life is celebrating 25 years of pioneering conservation action. People can support the charity by becoming a member, carrying out conservation action, sponsoring trees for special occasions or sponsoring an acre of native forest. See www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

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‘Lost World’ Open Day Celebrates 25 Years Of Conservation Action

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May 162014

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Moray-based conservation charity, Trees for Life, is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a special celebration open day at its acclaimed Dundreggan Conservation Estate in Glenmoriston, to the west of Loch Ness, Inverness-shire on Sunday 25 May 2014, from 10.30 am – 5.00 pm.

Members of the public are warmly invited to attend the free event and to join BBC presenter, and Trees for Life Patron, Vanessa Collingridge for a day of activities at this renowned biodiversity hotspot, as the award-winning charity marks a quarter century of restoring the ancient but endangered Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands.

An exciting programme of entertainment includes guided walks to explore ancient woodlands and spot wildlife, opportunities to meet and feed wild boar and learn about their role in restoring the forest, and children’s activities including animal tracking, pond dipping and games. There will be talks on conservation, a barbeque and all-day refreshments.

A new Trees for Life exhibition ‘From Caledonia to the Commonwealth’ – a stunning photographic exploration of ancient forests from countries across the Commonwealth – will be exclusively launched. The exhibition has been made possible by support from the National Lottery funded Celebrate programme.

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

“Everyone is invited to join us for a great day out to celebrate our 25th birthday and the world-class wildlife and landscapes of the Highlands.”

The 10,000-acre Dundreggan estate is Trees for Life’s flagship project. It has been described as a Highlands “lost world”, with more than 3,000 species identified there so far – including 10 species never recorded in the UK before.

Over the past 25 years, Trees for Life has planted more than a million trees and created 10,000 acres of new forest. The charity aims to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018, creating expanded habitats for Scotland’s spectacular and rare wildlife.

For details about the celebration open day, see www.treesforlife.org.uk/celebrationday/index.html or call 0845 458 3505. Dundreggan is located approximately one hour southwest of Inverness, on the A887.

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New Action For Threatened Woodlands And Species

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Mar 202014

Pine Marten. © Laurie Campbell www.lauriecampbell.com.

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

With concerns over the state of many Scottish woodlands, and fears for the long-term survival of iconic species including red squirrel, pine marten and capercaillie, the conservation charity Trees for Life is marking its 25th anniversary this year with a significant expansion of its forest restoration work across the Highlands, and with new projects focusing on the recovery of endangered species.
Trees for Life is now extending the geographical range of its forest restoration activity, from its previous project area of 1,000 square miles west of Inverness and Loch Ness, and is exploring opportunities to restore neglected and derelict Caledonian pinewoods in other parts of Scotland.

At the same time, the charity is developing a wider range of ecological initiatives to conserve forest species.

New projects will deliver practical field research, habitat assessments and species relocations to aid the conservation of key species such as pine marten, red squirrel and wood ants.

Trees for Life’s Executive Director Alan Watson Featherstone commented.

“Without urgent action, key parts of Scotland’s ancient Caledonian Forest could be lost forever, and forest-dependent wildlife such as the Scottish wildcat and capercaillie could become extinct in the UK,”

“As we celebrate 25 years of pioneering conservation action, including the planting of more than a million trees by our volunteers, and the creation of 10,000 acres of new Caledonian Forest, we aim to increase the impact and scale of our work. We want to ensure that our children and grandchildren also have the opportunity to enjoy Scotland’s wild landscapes and its rare and spectacular wildlife.”

Less than half, 46 percent, of Scotland’s native woodlands are in “satisfactory condition for biodiversity” and much must be done to reverse centuries of damage, according to Scotland’s first complete survey of these important habitats, published by Forestry Commission Scotland last month. The report found that natural regeneration of native pinewoods is scarce.

Following a long history of deforestation, the Caledonian Forest reached a critical point some 200 years ago, with too few remaining trees and too many deer eating seedlings – leaving ‘geriatric’ forests of old trees. Today, only a fraction of the former forest survives, with 35 isolated remnants of native pinewoods.

The need for concerted conservation action, and the lack of young trees to replace mature specimens when lost, is also being exacerbated by the threats posed by climate change and extreme weather, and the risk of disease affecting the Scots pine, which forms the forest ecosystem’s ‘backbone’ and on which many species depend.

“We want people to get involved through volunteering or financial support, to help restore Scotland’s threatened habitats and species. Wildlife tourism generates millions of pounds every year, so bringing new life to impoverished woodlands and barren glens can bring economic as well as environmental benefits,” said Alan Watson Featherstone.

The charity’s plans for 2014 include an ambitious project at Trees for Life’s flagship Dundreggan Conservation Estate, a biodiversity hotspot in Glenmoriston near Loch Ness. They paln to convert a 300-hectare commercial plantation of non-native trees planted by a previous owner back to native woodland. This will involve the felling of the alien conifers and a pioneering mire restoration scheme, funded by a grant from Scottish Natural Heritage. The whole project will take over 10 years to complete.

Dundreggan is also home to one of Scotland’s greatest concentrations of the nationally scarce dwarf birch, Betula nana.

An area will be fenced off for restoration of these ‘wee trees’, as part of a broader plan to create a woodland link between Glen Affric and Glenmoriston, and to expand this habitat for species including black grouse, ptarmigan and golden plover.

A programme of research on forest ecology will also be carried out at Dundreggan, and the estate will host a 25th anniversary open weekend on 24th – 25th May.

Meanwhile, a new tree planting project will begin in a Caledonian pinewood remnant at Culligran in Glen Strathfarrar in the autumn.

Trees for Life has pledged to establish one million more trees by planting and natural regeneration by 2018, creating expanded habitats for wildlife including strawberry spider, wood ants, red squirrels, rare sawflies and ospreys. Over the past year, the charity has expanded its volunteer Conservation Weeks and Conservation Days, offering more opportunities for people to gain conservation experience.

Trees for Life’s story began in 1986 when Alan Watson Featherstone made a commitment to an environmental conference at Findhorn to launch a Caledonian Forest restoration project. Practical activity began in June 1989, with tree guards used to protect Scots pine seedlings in Glen Cannich from being eaten by deer. In 1991, volunteers began planting some of the first new trees to grow in the forest for 200 years.

Trees for Life has grown into an award-winning, leading conservation volunteering charity, with a dedicated staff team and thousands of supporters and volunteers. Wildlife film maker Gordon Buchanan planted the charity’s millionth tree at Dundreggan in 2012, and Trees for Life played a key role in the successful campaign for the Scottish Parliament to name the Scots pine as the country’s national tree.

People can support Trees for Life by becoming a member, carrying out conservation action, sponsoring trees for special occasions or sponsoring an acre of native forest. See www.treesforlife.org.uk.

Trees for Life’s awards include UK Conservation Project of the Year, Millennium Marque, Top 10 Conservation Holidays worldwide, Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Environment Award (2012) and RSPB Nature of Scotland – Outstanding Contribution to Nature Award (2013).

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