5 APRIL 2007
Scouts For Trees Receives Lottery Funds
This year marks 100 years of the Scouts. Over the coming year the Woodland Trust and the Scout Association will create 100 new woods, 9 of which are in Scotland, providing a lasting legacy for the Scout Association’s centenary year.
The project - Scouts for Trees - in Scotland has received a boost thanks to a grant of £40,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding will help to protect Scotland’s natural heritage by planting thousands of native trees across the country. In addition, the project will provide a new impetus to the Scouting movement by creating a series of meaningful conservation activities which Scout leaders can use to help scouts get their badges
Making the environment inspiring and fun for people of all ages is the Trust’s ethos and its one that fits with Lord Baden Powell’s own ideas. He once remarked that “the open air is the real objective of scouting” and that Scout leaders “must have the capacity to enjoy the outdoors”
Rebecca Whitley, Project Officer, Woodland Trust Scotland said “We are honoured that the Scouts have agreed to mark their centenary year by planting trees. We hope that we can encourage Scouts to appreciate and enjoy the outdoors and the funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund should make it a year to remember.”
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Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact: Jacqui Morris on 01355 578777 or mobile 07979 706675
The Woodland Trust: The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters. The Trust has four key aims: i) No further loss of ancient woodland; ii) Restoring and improving the biodiversity of woods; iii) Increasing new native woodland; iv) Increasing people’s understanding and enjoyment of woodland.
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres).
In 1984, the Trust acquired its first wood in Scotland. Today the Trust owns 79 sites across Scotland covering 7,600 hectares. Further news can be accessed via www.woodland-trust.org.uk
