<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/29/growing-the-future-volunteers-help-save-scottish-rainforest-collecting-seeds>
"A small band of volunteers has helped to grow nearly 8m native trees in
Scotland, crucial to efforts to restore lost parts of the Atlantic rainforest,
after collecting 11m seeds by hand.
About 100 volunteers, including retired teachers and doctors, office workers
and young families, have spent tens of thousands of hours venturing into often
remote woods in the western Highlands and islands to search out seed-bearing
trees.
They have used detailed maps compiled by NatureScot and Scottish Forestry that
identify pockets of ancient woodland, often in exposed, challenging locations,
scrambling up hillsides to find the right specimens.
They search for a select range of trees, known to have colonised Scotland after
the last ice age: hazel, sessile oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild
cherry, wych elm, yew and elder.
The ecologists involved said these trees have inherited the genetic resilience
to survive in specific microclimates and soil types along Scotland’s Atlantic
coast – an advantage non-native trees would lack, particularly as the climate
changes."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
