Guests boost tree preservation

Gleneagles Hotel managing director Bernard Murphy has been presented with the 1,000th tree to be planted as part of the Perthshire Conifer Conservation Programme (PCCP).

The tree was grown from a seed of a 1,000-year-old Japanese cedar growing at a temple above Hiroshima in a collaboration with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

As part of the PCCP, Gleneagles Hotel helped found a network of landowners providing safe havens for threatened trees in the historic gardens and estates of Perthshire.

In addition to contributing to a global effort to save some of the world’s most threatened species, the 1,000 trees planted by PCCP are helping to restore Perthshire’s world-renowned historic collections.

The trees planted are primarily threatened species, including coast redwood from the USA, Atlas cedar from North Africa and the monkey puzzle from Chile. The tally equates to more than 110 endangered trees planted a year – about one every three days.

Mr Murphy said: “Having provided sanctuary in our estate for the first tree on this important conservation programme, we’re delighted to commemorate the success of the scheme by accepting the 1,000th tree.”

Gleneagles guests have donated £230,000 to Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust, which manages the PCCP.