Forth Valley u3a Tree Grove

Forth Valley u3a member Nicoll explains why members of their u3a decided to support a Forth Valley u3a Tree grove.

With the COP26 global conference on climate change being hosted in Glasgow late last year, several members of Forth Valley u3a were inspired to support a project that is dedicated to the rewilding of the Caledonian Forest in the Highlands of Scotland.

Parts of Scotland have been described as a “wet desert”. The landscape today bears no relation to what it used to be. Only 1% of the original Caledonian Forest remains but there are efforts to rebuild this landscape. Trees for Life is a registered Scottish charitable organisation whose vision is “of a revitalised wild forest in the Scottish Highlands, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive.” To date, through donations and volunteer activity, Trees for Life has planted nearly two million trees.

Research highlighted during COP26 shows that for over 800,000 years the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has never exceeded 280 parts per million (ppm). When most of us in the u3a movement were born the level was about 310 ppm and in 2022 it is 417ppm and still rising. Whilst there is much to be done, one element of reducing CO2 in the atmosphere is to plant trees – lots of them!

Some 37 members of Forth Valley u3a funded a tree grove with Trees for Life. The Forth Valley u3a Grove is a continuous project that allows new trees to be added by anyone at any time. Visit the Forth Valley u3a Grove page to find out about this project.

The tree grove is located on the Dundreggan estate, just to the northwest of Fort Augustus and the southern end of Loch Ness.

If you’d like to learn more about Trees for Life, there is a short video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0pJuQkQStQ) to introduce you to their activities.