Richard Bunting Trees for Life
Trees for Life was formed in 1993 to restore the Caledonian pineforest and its once resident, but now absent, wildlife. The charity is now recognised as one of the leading experts in wild forest restoration in Scotland. treesforlife.org.uk
“Tree planting is a hugely important part of Trees for Life’s work. Thousands of volunteers over the years have done a remarkable job in planting native trees to save and restore the Caledonian Forest. It’s work that offers hope for the future because by the early 1990s the forest (Scotland’s equivalent of a rainforest) had become one of the UK’s most endangered habitats, with many of its rare species in danger of extinction and the forest itself on the brink of being lost forever.
“Natural regeneration – nature’s way of allowing trees to regenerate and spread – is also an important part of our work, because this produces a far more biodiverse, species-rich habitat than tree planting alone. Trees will naturally disperse and regrow in a landscape that is suitable for them. This natural regeneration reduces costs and management and ensures the trees are a variety of age structures, as well as tending to be more resistant to imported tree diseases. You end up with better connected habitats, with the right species tending to be in the right place. But in upland areas such as the Highlands, there are many places where this won’t work and nature needs a helping hand with tree planting. When we’re planting, the seeds are gathered locally, grown into saplings in a specialised tree nursery and planted in as natural a way as possible.
“The forest ecosystem is made up of a variety of different trees. Scots pine characterises most of the Caledonian Forest and many species depend on it. Then there are others like rowan, aspen, juniper, hazel, holly and oak. You’ve also got montane species like dwarf birch and downy willow that grow at a higher level – they’re really tough, capable of growing near mountain summits despite the harsh conditions. So you end up with a gradation of suitable trees planted at the elevation where they’ll grow best with an understory of different vegetation types, and the wildlife which will benefit. Montane woodlands for example support species like golden eagles, mountain hares and ring ouzels.
“Another part of the dynamic is native species of wildlife. Some are ecosystem engineers and play a big part in helping the forest regenerate. Red squirrels are one example; they’re nature’s tree planters. Every autumn they gather seeds, bury them and forget where they’ve planted some of them. There are many native woodlands in the Highlands where red squirrels would thrive but they can’t get back on their own because these woodlands are fragmented and the squirrels don’t like crossing open spaces. So we’ve been working with local people to take a small number from thriving populations and relocate them to pockets of native forest.”