Scotland’s tree planting initiative reaches 1.5 million milestone Achi-News

It is a huge milestone to reach before July 28, the annual worldwide day for raising awareness about the importance of protecting natural resources and ecosystems on the planet.

The sites include Dumyat, Brisbane Mains, Pleasantfield, Mill of Plunton, Montegreenan, Carston and Leadloch and all the trees planted are between one and three years old. They are planted by hand to ensure the best chance of survival and are maintained and monitored by the Future Forest Company to replace any that fail when necessary.

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It comes despite problems in Scottish forestry. A group of campaigners, the Stobo Residents’ Action Group, has obtained a judicial review to challenge Scottish Forestry’s decision to allow a plan to build 700 hectares of mainly Sitka spruce on the John Buchan Road to proceed without an Environmental Impact Assessment.

Forest Research statistics show that more than 15,000 hectares of new woodland has been created in Scotland during the 2023/24 planting period and includes 8,720 hectares of healthy conifers alongside 6,320 hectares of broadleaf planting.

The Future Forest Company’s contribution to this included a total of 327.4 hectares of new woodland, consisting mainly of native species such as oak, birch and hornbeam.

The numbers are still not at the level the independent Climate Change Committee advises for Scotland, with advice of 18,000 hectares of new woodland a year by 2025 to combat the damaging effects of climate change. The UK is told to plant 30,000 hectares as part of the same plans.

Jamie Adcock is the Future Forest Company’s Senior Forest Manager and admits it is a great milestone but insists the work needs to be done and celebrated throughout the year and not just on World Conservation Day, although that is a good opportunity to remind people of the importance of fighting climate change.

He said: “World Conservation Day is a great opportunity to celebrate and contribute to protecting our natural world. This day reminds us of the vital role that every individual, community and business plays in protecting the environment for future generations.

“But our work at the Future Forest Company does not focus on just one day of the year. We work tirelessly throughout the year to support the environment and our natural habitats, and we are proud to announce that we have reached yet another milestone in our efforts to plant trees.

“Currently the Earth is facing many challenges such as climate change, loss of habitat for wildlife, deforestation, and more due to the increasing pollution and heavy use of non-renewable resources.

“By planting more trees, not only can we help restore and protect natural habitats and endangered species, but we can also help fight climate change. I would like to say a big thank you to the support of our corporate tree planting partners, individual sponsors and volunteers for all their efforts to help us reach this milestone.”

Around a quarter of all UK Biodiversity Action Plan priority species are associated with trees and woodland, and the Future Forest Company’s projects are vital habitat for a wide variety of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, plans and fungi, and each will of which contribute to the continued good health of forests throughout the country.

Considering the issues already mentioned regarding the proposed plans for the John Buchan Road, one of the promises of the Future Forest Company is to engage with the local community throughout the design and planting process and they will attend personal events and collect feedback on- line on the plans. for each site.

Reforestation and biodiversity experts at the company also work closely with residents and organizations in the surrounding area to have a positive impact on the local community and wider users of each of their woodland sites.