SCOUTING FOR TREES
Scouts plant trees as part of Woodland Trust’s ‘Tree For All’ campaign
Alva and Dollar Scout groups teamed up with the Woodland Trust Scotland, part of the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity, to plant over 700 trees at Arndean Estate last weekend to mark the Scouts’ Centenary year.
The Scouts planted a mixture of tree species including oak, ash and willow on the site, owned by Lt Col Sir Robert Stewart.
In addition to the tree planting, Ardroy Outdoor Education Centre demonstrated a number of bush crafting skills including friction firelighting, mallet-making and how to create table legs with pole lathes.
The planting is one in a series taking place across Scotland as part of a UK wide initiative between the Woodland Trust and the Scouts. This partnership “Scouts For Trees” will give each of the 28,000 Scouts in Scotland the chance to plant a tree to mark the Centenary of Scouting . The initiative also provides Scouts and young people with the opportunity to learn about and engage in, woodland conservation.
The joint venture is part of the Woodland Trust’s Tree For All campaign, the biggest ever children’s tree planting operation, which aims to involve one million children in planting twelve million trees across the UK – the equivalent to one tree for every child under the age of sixteen. Already over 3.5 million trees have been planted as part of Tree For All.
Rebecca Whitley of the Woodland Trust comments: “Tree For All is a call to action in a time when the protection and planting of new woodland is becoming increasingly important as our natural world comes under siege. ‘Scouts For Trees’ is a great opportunity to get involved with a UK wide organisation to help us reach out to more and more young people. With the help of the Scout Association we aim to plant 100 Centenary Groves across the UK– these will be new areas of native woodland, each made up of thousands of trees.”
Eleanor Lyall MBE, Scout Commissioner said: “Scouts For Trees is vital in enabling Scouts in this country to have the chance to enjoy the great outdoors. 100 years ago this was a crucial part of Scouting and it will continue to be so as it remains second nature to our members.”
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Notes to Editors
For media enquiries only contact:
Jacqui Morris on 01355 578777 or mobile 07979 706675
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 80 sites across Scotland covering 8,100 hectares. Further news can be accessed via www.woodlandtrust.org.uk
Arndean Estate:
Arndean Estate is the family home of Lt Col Sir Robert Stewart and is situated at the foot of he Ochil Hills near Dollar and straddles the border between Clackmannanshire and Perth and Kinross
The Scout Association
For information about “Scouts for Trees” activities visit www.treeforall.org.uk/scouts
or www.scouts.org.uk/2007
There are opportunities for people to support The Scout Association by becoming volunteers. For more information visit www.scouts.org.uk
For further information about the Scout Association and the Centenary celebrations
Please contact the Scout Association Press Office on 07977 539 630 or at www.scouts.org.uk
Centenary of Scouting
• 2007 marks a hundred years of scouting, and will see nearly 500,000 young people in the UK joining in the Centenary celebrations. Events will run throughout the year at local, regional, national and international level. A key element of the celebrations will be 40,000 Scouts from over 200 countries meeting at the World Scout Jamboree in Essex on the 1st August.
• Across the world, 2007 is likely to be the largest ever example of youth cooperation and one of the biggest global celebrations since the turn of the Millennium. The Centenary will signal a new age in Scouting, and will provide an opportunity to reflect on how the movement was founded, what is has achieved, but also where it is going.
About Scouting
• Adventure is at the core of Scouting. The Scout Association passionately believes in helping their members fulfil their full physical, intellectual social and spiritual potentials by working in teams, learning by doing and thinking for themselves. The Centenary year will provide even more opportunities for members to do this, and to continue to take risks in a safe environment, and have their first taste of responsibility.
• Over 200 activities are offered by Scouting around the UK, made possible by the efforts of 100,000 voluntary adult leaders. This has helped make Scouting the largest co-educational youth Movement in the country.
• Scouting is the largest co-educational youth Movement in the UK
• Adults working in Scouting contribute in excess of 364 million hours of voluntary work each year to their local communities.
• The number of volunteers working for Scouting is bigger than the combined workforces of the BBC (24,000) and McDonalds (67,000) put together.
• Worldwide Scouting has 28 million Members both male and female and operates in nearly every country in the world.
Scouts for Trees:The project in Scotland has received funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. The funding will help protect Scotland’s natural heritage by planting thousands of native trees across the country.
