Jennifer White
Woodland Trust
Location: Edinburgh
The trustees donated funds towards improving and promoting Edinburgh’s cycle ways. The project involved working to improve the visual appearance of the network (including a map shown above) and funding was used towards benches, artworks and bike parking.
Location: Edinburgh
Amongst the first of the Trust’s supported projects was Charles Jencks’ Landform, a landscape sculpture at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art on Belford Road. The sculpture is world renowned, having won the Gulbenkian Prize (now known as the Museum of the Year award) in 2004.
Location: Highlands
Loch Arkaig forest, situated near Spean Bridge in the Highlands, is one of Scotland’s most iconic landscapes. The Mushroom Trust donated funds towards the woodland restoration project, which requires the extraction of 50,000 tonnes of timber. The Woodland Trust is purchasing and restoring Loch Arkaig Pine Forest. Over time they will welcome visitors with nature trails, way markers and interpretation; the old forest of Coille Ghrubhais in the west will be carefully restored as a native forest reserve, its diverse habitats safeguarded for the future. The Arkaig Community Forest (ACF) aims to restore and expand these native woodland habitats, to bring ecological, economic and social benefits to the area, and reconnect people with the land.
The Impact
In 2017, with the help of the Mushroom Trust and other supporters, the Woodland Trust purchased Loch Arkaig forest, one of the most significant fragments of ancient Caledonian pinewoods remaining in Scotland. Sadly, much of the original Loch Arkaig ancient Caledonian pine forest is degraded. Clear-felled in the 18th century and planted with acres of non-native larch, spruce and lodgepole pine, it will be one of the Trust’s largest ever ancient woodland restoration projects. Over the next 20 years, we will gradually remove non-native species, increasing the resilience of the forest and its chance of survival.
The long term project will cost £4.5 million to complete, and will result in the restoration of 2,700 acres (over 1,000 hectares) of ancient Caledonian forest. This is all part of the Woodland Trust’s vision to see a UK rich in native woods and trees for people and wildlife, and we are thrilled that the Mushroom Trust is supporting us in this exciting venture.
Jennifer White
Woodland Trust