A Tree for Scotland…or may be that should be The Tree of Scotland

A little snippet of news had passed me by till I spotted a mention on a blog yesterday.  It seems that the Scottish Government has decided that it should consult on the issue as to whether Scotland should have a National Tree……and importantly if the consensus is yes,  which tree would be the most appropriate.  They have enlisted the Scottish Forestry Commission to help promote the issue and more information and a ink to the Scottish Governments consultation forms can be found at Scotland’s National Tree  http://www.forestry.gov.uk/scotlandsnationaltree. 

From what I can gather three species of tree seem to be toping the list of suggestions……  Pine, Rowan and Birch.   I suppose if Scotland desires an iconic tree symbol then these three are all worthy contenders.  Birch for me represents the Lochs and Rivers of Perthshire, the Rowan a glowing beacon in many Glens and the Scots Pine are the Caledonian Forests of the north.  My money is on the Scots Pine and high time it is given a helping hand to rejuvenate the the long lost forests of the Highlands.

One organisation that has been working hard for over three decades to re-establish these Highland Forest is the charity ‘Trees for Life’.  Their project for the Caledonian Forests, linking woodlands from coast to coast across the highlands, is a daunting but inspirational task.  It is a project that by its very nature will take many more generations to complete.  More information on the charity and its projects across the north can be found at http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/  well worth a look and may be even a donation*.

It will be interesting to see if Scotland’s Government does embrace a tree…..I hope it will be the Scots Pine.

24th November

© David Oakes 2013   * Note – I have no connection to, or involvement with Trees for Life…But I feel they deserve all the support we can manage to give.