Support the Glen Rosa woodland project
Be part of creating Glen Rosa’s future woodland! If you can’t get to the regular volunteer tree planting days with the National Trust Rangers, you can now dedicate a tree in support of the transformational habitat revival project. The emergent native woodland will increase biodiversity in the glen as well as provide a safe haven for one of the world’s rarest trees, the Arran whitebeam. The National Trust for Scotland’s ‘Dedicate a Tree’ appeal provides an opportunity for supporters to protect Scotland’s woodlands for generations to come. Read on to find out more, and see the NTS website for further details.
From an article by Sarah Burnett, February 2024, at NTS Scotland
We are asking the public for support to protect and enrich Scotland’s woodlands, including helping to save a rare native species. The Catacol whitebeam (Sorbus pseudomeinichii) is one of the most endangered species in the world, with just two remaining trees thought to be growing in the wild – in Glen Catacol on the Isle of Arran. The island is also home to two other rare and endangered species of tree: the Arran whitebeam (Sorbus arranensis) and the cut-leaved whitebeam (Sorbus pseudofennica). Our charity is working with other organisations, community groups and tree specialists to rescue the species and boost their numbers. To do so, we need your help.
Kate Sampson, the National Trust for Scotland’s Senior Ranger at Brodick Castle, Garden & Country Park and Goatfell, on the Isle of Arran, said: ‘Glen Rosa is a fabulous iconic Highland landscape in the heart of Arran, which has been depleted of trees since humans came here around 4,000 years ago – by people building roundhouses and shielings, then by sheep, and now by deer.
‘People have had huge impacts on this amazing landscape – and of course on other landscapes around Scotland – and now our supporters at the National Trust for Scotland have been working to put back these trees. To date, we’ve planted around 39,000 native trees in Glen Rosa, thanks to generous support from donors and players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, which allowed us to fence off a large area from deer.’
“When you put back trees, you also put back biodiversity. This year we’ve had a plant here in Glen Rosa – a globe flower – that has not been recorded in Arran since around 1769!”
Kate continued: ‘We hope that our members and supporters will continue to back our wonderful woodland regeneration projects and progress – on Arran and the other wonderful and important landscapes supported by our charity’s Dedicate a Tree appeal. Even a few pounds, donated at nts.org.uk/trees, can help us breathe new life into Scotland’s woodlands.’
On Arran, we are planting native birch, sessile oak, hazels, aspen, willow and alder in a 400-hectare site in Glen Rosa, as well as working with other organisations to protect the future of endangered whitebeam species. Having already planted around 39,000 native trees in the glacier-carved glen, the Trust is aiming to plant 5,000 more trees, including the rare Arran whitebeams, with support from donors to our Dedicate a Tree appeal.
Featured image shows a volunteer planting native trees in Glen Rosa. All image credits: NTS / Arran Ranger Service.
