From Harris to Inchinnan, communties work to restore Scotland's nature

But while it has a wealth of beautiful natural features, what it doesn’t have are many trees.

That, however, is set to change. For lush woodlands with towering birch, richly coloured rowan trees bursting with ruby red berries, aspen – their delicate leaves rippling in the wind – and the fluffy catkins of the willow tree will soon become a new and rather striking feature of the island landscape.

Tens of thousands of saplings – grown from the seeds of the handful of native trees found on the island - are being planted in a community effort to rewind time to when lush woodlands thrived on the fringes of the Western Isles.

Following planting on a mammoth scale, it’s hoped that as the trees take root, they’ll recreate patches of the thick forests across the now almost tree-less landscape.

As well as providing a haven for wildlife and nature, the island’s new forest will give islanders that rare treat that mainland dwellers may take for granted - the simple pleasures of a woodland walk.

The work is being carried out by the North Harris Trust (Urras Ceann a Tuath na Hearadh) across the sprawling 65,000 acres estate that has it’s held in community ownership since 2003.

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Efforts are currently focused on planting 188,000 saplings – just over 22,000 were planted during the winter months – at a site east of Tarbert on the eastern shores of Loch Aird in Gleann Lacasdail. It is one of a number of sites identified for new woodlands.

According to NHT Ranger Fañch Bihan-Gallic, the hope is to return parts of the North Harris landscape to how it once was.

“There were massive woodlands across the Western Isles at the end of the last Ice Age,” he explains. “But change of climate led to most of the woodland failing; what was left was very limited patches which was then affected by grazing animals.

“We have some remnants on hills or small groves, in out of reach places where you might find 20 or 30 trees remain.”

Seeds have been collected from the few remaining native trees, often tucked away in gullies, on crags and islands where sheep and deer can’t easily reach.

Because they come from birch, rowan, aspen and willows that have clung on for generations, it’s hoped they will have developed particular traits that help them cope in the harsh North Harris climate.

Other species which have long since vanished, are also being nurtured for replanting.

“We know oak trees existed as well as alders and Scots pine,” he adds. “If you dig deep enough into the peat, you’ll find the tree stumps.”

It is not, he stresses, ‘rewilding’. “The land here is not wild – nowhere in the Scottish Highlands is – everything is part of what we call dùthchas, the way in which culture, heritage, and the environment are intimately linked in Gaelic indigenous traditions.

“The Gaels have taken care of their environment for many long generations, and this project is part of that history. This is all part of our dùthchas.”

The project is just one of a number of community-run nature-based projects which share a passion for the landscape and are also boosting biodiversity and helping offset climate change.

Nearly 250 miles south, beneath the roar of engines from overhead planes arriving and leaving Glasgow Airport, Inchinnan Development Trust (IDT) has taken over a wood that has been such a feature of the area that locals had assumed it was already owned by the community.

When they realised Teucheen Wood, stretching 14.45 acres on a hill overlooking the airport, was for sale, they feared it would be flattened to make yet another housing development.

Their hastily formed trust raised just over £70,000 to take it on. Since then, it has also regenerated nearby playing fields and hopes to take over a ‘sister’ woodland thought to harbour relics from the 12th century Battle of Renfrew.

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Maggie Morrison, IDT Senior Development Officer, says the wood is important on many levels – from heritage to health and supporting biodiversity.

“As the word of the sale spread amongst the villagers, so did the anger.

“We had to save Teucheen Wood. Living beside Glasgow airport, its trees are Inchinnan’s lungs. Without them our air quality would be much poorer because of the airport.

“But it was about more than that. An important battle was fought there over nearly 900 years ago, and as long as anyone can remember the chestnut, sycamore, beech and oak that have been growing.

“These trees give shelter to precious wildlife,” she adds. “Eight out of 10 of our most endangered bird species are found in the wood. There are bullfinch and great spotted woodpeckers. Below them roe deer, foxes, voles, newts, are at home. Just last week our wildlife expert came across a stoat. The first seen here for a long time.”

The trees tell a story of Inchinnan, she adds: “There are five big old chestnut trees, one was hit by lightning and is a large scar down the middle, and a limb that came off in a storm.

“The wood is surrounded by houses – not everyone understands its value, the leaves fall and blow into gardens, and branches come off.

“But when you lose it, it’s gone forever.

“And if we don’t look after the wood and the natural life it supports, nobody will.”

Ailsa Raeburn, chair of Community Land Scotland, which helps communities buy land and buildings for local use, says there are many examples of communities stepping up to take on similar projects.

“When local residents decide to buy their land, it has never been about carbon credits or green washing. It is about retaining population and protecting the environment that makes their place special to them,” she says.

“They have been well ahead of the curve.

“They aren’t driven by the same financial motivations as many private landowners who see the nature and climate crises as a way to increase the value of their asset.”

At wetland marshes 20 miles from Selkirk, 130 acres Ettrick Marshes, owned by Ettrick and Yarrow Community Development Company (EYCDC), teems with life.

Areas of ancient birchwood and wet willow habitat are a hotspot for moths: the last survey identified 33 species including the tiny and rare Apotomis infida, their only site in the UK.

Native trees at the edge of the marshes harbour dozens of species while, should the River Ettrick flood, the marshes slow the flow of the excess water reducing the flood risk downstream.

Routes through the marshes enable visitors to see the biodiversity the flood plain supports, from bilberry and bog mosses; to otters and red squirrels; ospreys to rare butterflies and almost  80 different species of small birds.

The community acquired the site in May 2021 from Forestry and Land Scotland, and more recently took on a ten-acre stand of commercial timber in Gamescleuch Forest, as part of the asset transfer deal.

It will be felled this year and replanted with native broadleaved trees.

Project manager Vicky Davidson says community ownership empowers local people to make a difference.

“Access to Ettrick Marshes was closed for years until the community gained ownership.

“Now local people can act together to improve their own local environment.”