Right Tree Right Place

My family has been farming on the Kinloss Estate in Fife for generations – my greatgrandfather bought the property in 1887 and in those days it was mainly down to grass but my father started to actively farm in the mid 1960s which I have continued, along with my wife Margo. We now use farm contractors as opposed to direct employees and we also let out holiday cottages. The farm has hosted the Fife Show for 20 years which attracts about 10,000 people on the third Saturday of May.

We have tried to encourage wildlife for many years, having already created water habitats and planted hedgerows. There is a burn which runs through the farm and an old mill pond (the farm used to be a mill) which we restored in the 1990s.

We recently planted 1,000 new trees with a subsidy from the Woodland Trust’s MOREwoods scheme.

wildlife habitats helps to restore and preserve biodiversity, allowing movement between important habitats to maintain genetic diversity in wildlife populations.

I heard about MOREwoods through Lloyds Bank, which helps fund the scheme for the Woodland Trust. In particular the low levels of bureaucracy for the MOREwoods scheme appealed to me, unlike many other such initiatives.

The long term survival of trees is the key issue so to protect saplings from being eaten by grazing animals, tree guards were used.

We are able to inspect the site at least once a fortnight to carry out repairs to the protective tubes as required. We are now into the second growing season and there is at least a 99% survival rate! It really has worked for us and I would definitely recommend it as a way to increase nature on your land.

Chris Addison-Scott

07774 788 854 chris.addison-scott@galbraithgroup.com

Several years earlier we had sown an area of canary grass and it so happened that this area connected a large area of existing woodland on a couple of neighbouring estates to our own policies. By planting more trees on this area it has created a perfect and permanent wildlife corridor, linking perhaps over 100 acres of diversified cover.

Wildlife corridors are important as they bridge the gap between habitats which otherwise would be small and isolated and joins them together. Linking core

Sarah Unia, who promotes the MOREwoods scheme for the Woodland Trust, said:

“It’s inspiring to see what Chris has done on his farm. These trees will be essential for so many reasons – not least for boosting biodiversity and combating climate change. Our MOREwoods scheme is an easy, effective and low cost way for landowners to bring more nature to their land.” n

For more information about MOREwoods visit: www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/plant