Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) tree planting programme at the Rest and Be Thankful is taking shape. The first phase of planting, funded by Transport Scotland, saw 160,000 native species of trees planted on land purchased by Transport Scotland specifically for that purpose, says The Herald Scotland.

FLS has now augmented that by planting a further 241,500 native trees on adjoining land that is under its management.

The young trees have started the slow, steady work of binding the hillside to reduce the number of landslips and protect the carriage way from landslips.

James Hand, FLS’ Operations Forester in the area, said:

“It’s great to see how well the young trees are doing. The deer fencing has certainly helped and the shrub shelters  have been providing that little bit of extra time for the roots to get a good hold.  Now that most of the trees have established the shrub shelters are being removed from site and recycled.

“There’s a great mix of local sourced species in there – downy birch, aspen, oak, blackthorn, hawthorn, alder, hazel, juniper and Scot pine. They are not only adapted to the area but they are species that are also most likely to be resilient to future climate changes.

“They’ll do amazing things for the landscape in general but will really increase the range of habitats and biodiversity.”

As the trees continue to grow their root systems will bind and anchor the soil, gradually improving the integrity of the hillside.  However, this will take time.

Angus Corby, Landscape & Biodiversity Manager at Transport Scotland, said;

“This has been a challenging woodland planting project to deliver due, primarily, to the nature and characteristics of the steep, exposed slopes above the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful.

“The fact that the trees are now establishing well is a testament to the time and efforts of the team involved, and the excellent partnership working between Transport Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland.”

(Pic: BEAR Scotland)