Wonderful woods worth a visit
WHEN my elder daughter was a toddler, her aunty Betty retrieved a pip from an apple she was eating and made a game of planting it in a jam-jar.
They had great fun watching it grow until they ceremoniously planted it in the back garden.
Today, the apple tree and my daughter are both over 40 years old, considerably taller, stronger and flourishing.
East Lothian’s tree cover is less than the Scottish average. The trend over the last decade was downwards, with woodland cover decreasing by more than 100 hectares, mainly due to felling for windfarm and golf course development.
Work is in hand to reverse this.
late Queen Elizabeth II’s Green Canopy Platinum Jubilee tree-planting initiative was a nationwide initiative to replant lost trees. Last year, honouring His Majesty’s coronation year, in partnership with Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust and funded by the Royal Warrant Holders Association, communiSince ties and local schools continued this programme.
The tree and woodland council strategy for East Lothian is focused on continuing maintenance and replanting. The intensive plantings around the everincreasing newbuild housing projects in the county are substantial. All these initiatives will serve future generations, counteracting climate change, enriching social spaces and improving biodiversity. But there will be a bit of a delay while they grow.
Fortunately, we have many beautiful woods, thriving and full of mixed species, wildflowers and wildlife. Woodhall Dean, tucked away in the Lammermuir Hills, is a wonderful old oakwood, a precious remnant of the ancient woodland which once covered most of Scotland. Butterdean, Gosford and the fairy wood walk at Pressmennan, near Stenton, are all wonderful to visit and easily accessed.
Other uses of our woods like Binning Memorial Wood is a wonderful initiative. Visiting a loved one’s resting place in the heart of nature can be a tranquil and personal place to reflect.
And if long ramblings are not your thing, choose a wood like Smeaton Lake or Gifford Community Wood, where you will be near an excellent cafe for a welcome rest.