Planting Trees In The Scottish Highlands

Lock away carbon and boost nature 

Working with Mossy Earth, we’re restoring the Caledonian Forest in the Scottish Highlands, to help to lock up carbon and bring the landscape back to a wilder state with every booking. 

Click below to hear from Hannah, a conservation biologist, as she shares the types of trees planted, why it’s important and the impact made so far. 

To find out more about how your booking can make a difference and to hear about the other Climate Hero projects we support click the button below.

Not all tree planting is equal

When it comes to tree planting people often talk about capturing carbon to fight climate change. But the reality is tree planting can have a large carbon footprint itself. 

Large scale reforestation can disturb the soil and release large amounts of carbon in the process, it can then take decades to sequester that carbon again. 

Tree planting can even make climate change worse. 

• Planting mass numbers of a single tree species is known as a monoculture forest. They are favoured by some for their low cost and rapid growth. These types of forests degrade the land and can negatively impact the soil.  
   
• Planting non-native tree species leads to a forest that doesn’t support the ecosystem and local wildlife. It creates a forest that isn’t diverse at all. 
   
• Unsuitable locations or in other words planting trees in the wrong place still happens today. For example, in Scotland, there are large numbers of peatlands, which store huge amounts of carbon. Did you know? Peatlands cover around a fifth of Scotland's total land area, they store 25 times more carbon than all the vegetation of the UK! There have been cases (including some airlines) when these precious bogs are drained in order to plant trees, which releases huge amounts of carbon in the process. 
   
• Follow through and transparency is key. GPS coordinates or the location of where the trees are planted should be expected. Even today not all tree planting initiatives provide their supporters with this. Did you know? A 2017 European report discovered that 85% of carbon offsetting schemes don’t follow through on what they promise and the carbon calculations varied widely. You can find out more about why carbon offsetting is fraught with problems here.
   

After all this, you may view tree planting in a bad light, like anything in life it can be misused but it can also be done correctly. 

Our partner has done a great video here on this, explaining what tree planting done correctly can look like.  

By asking ‘why are these trees being planted?’ is a great question and starting point.   

Help reverse centuries of ecological damage

Historically, much of the Scottish Highlands were covered in a forest of majestic Scots pine and colourful trees, home to a diversity of plants and animals. Today, the landscape is empty of these unique woodlands and many of the species that once thrived here have been lost. 

When choosing to book with us/me you can help to undo some of this damage and restore the empty glens and rewild the Scottish Highlands.

Forests are a fundamental component of our planet's recovery. They are the best technology nature has for locking away carbon and they are centres for biodiversity.

- Sir David Attenborough

Thank you to all our customers who are continuing to make this work possible by choosing to book with us. You can click below to make an enquiry today.