Species Champion Ash Denham Stands Up For Ash Trees

Ash Denham MSP, the Scottish Parliament Species Champion for the Ash Tree, is standing up for trees by raising awareness of ash dieback disease.

The Ash Tree is one of the most common trees in Scotland and can grow to be 400 years old, but these beautiful trees are now under threat due to a disease called ash dieback which causes an Ash Tree to lose its leaves and for its crown to die back, usually resulting in the tree's death.

A loss of the species on a large scale would be devastating to the Scottish landscape and our environment, and could carry a predicted financial cost of £15bn to the UK as a whole.

However, the Woodland Trust, the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom, is one of the organisations at the forefront of the fight against ash dieback by supporting researching into resistant strains and campaigning for better biosecurity. The Edinburgh Eastern MSP said: "I'm proud to be the Species Champion for my namesake, the Ash Tree, one of the most beautiful trees we have here in Scotland, and known in Norse mythology as the 'Tree of Life'.

"It's a great shame that these graceful trees are under threat due to ash dieback, but it means we must now work to do all we can to preserve this species by ensuring that they are managed properly and when they are removed from our woods, roadsides, towns or cities - like in my Edinburgh Eastern constituency - that they are replaced with the right species for the right place.

"The spread of ash dieback was sped up by importing plants to Scotland which were infected with this disease and so it's really important that when we buy plants for planting we're aware of where they come from in order to prevent any future diseases, like ash dieback, from harming our plants and trees in Scotland."

The Woodland Trust's Matt Elliot added:

"Woodland Trust Scotland is pleased to work with Ash

Denham MSP to raise awareness of this devastating disease at the Scottish Parliament level. Caused by a fungus, the disease can result in a tree’s death, leading to the loss of many trees across Scotland and the UK. This already has a profound impact on our landscapes and on our biodiversity.

"The good news is there is new hope now in safeguarding ash populations with new genes identified which can give trees tolerance to ash dieback, but improved biosecurity measures are all the more important in the current context of climate and biodiversity emergencies."