Campaign launched to support next generation of lone trees - Woodland Trust

Woodland Trust Scotland has launched a campaign to raise the next generation of lone trees and micro woods on farms and crofts.

Woodland Trust Scotland director Alastair Seaman said: "As in so many cases where our woods and trees are concerned, some of the big old ones are still going strong, but there are not enough young small ones coming up to replace them. I pass a beautiful old tree on my lunchtime walks. It stands alone in the middle of the field and has seen a thing or two in its time. It's where the sheep find shade on hot summer days and where the lambs bed down to escape the howling winds. Its decaying wood is home to fungi and minibeasts that in turn feed the birds. It is a treasured feature of the landscape and testimony to the foresight of farmers long-gone who planted and tended it. But unless things change, when it finally falls over, there will be nothing like it in the field. The Scottish Government is currently drafting the detail behind the Rural Support Plan that will boost financial help for farmers and crofters. For a healthy, prosperous future for business, community and nature, this must include support to plant the trees that are such a key part of the landscape."

Supporters are invited to back the Woodland Trust Scotland campaign online.

Despite our growing awareness of the importance of open field trees, and £755m of public funds for farming in Scotland this year, there is no grant support available for farmers to plant the next generation of these living legends. That's in stark contrast to England where farmers do receive support for such planting.

The catalyst for the Woodland Trust Scotland campaign is a joint report produced for the charity and Soil Association Scotland, which focuses on small-scale opportunities for tree planting outside the scope of the current Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS) agroforestry options.