Grey skies hung over a cold, windy and wet Thursday morning at Kinclaven Bluebell Woods; several miles north of Perth, Scotland. Despite the rain however, spirits were far from dampened as around 80 intrepid Carbon Capture eco-warriors took to the fields, to plant trees with the Woodland Trust.
On Thursday 12th March Premier Paper joined their customers (and their clients), as well as the Woodland Trust to plant 3,700 saplings at the Trust’s Kinclaven Bluebell Wood site. Throughout the day oak, rowan and Scots pine were amongst the species of tree being planted; the Woodland Trust are aiming to plant around 10,000 trees at this particular site by March 2021. Hussein Ismail, Premier Paper’s Marketing Manager remarked, “Kinclaven Bluebell Woods is an amazing, stunning location and we were so happy that we could invite our Carbon Capture customers to return to the site to plant some trees. Despite the weather everyone got stuck in and worked tirelessly to ensure 3,700 new native trees were planted. We want to say a big thank you to everyone who attended.”
As the name suggests, Kinclaven Bluebell Woods is particularly famous for its widespread carpet of bluebells which flower around May. The woods were acquired by the Woodland Trust in 2017 and extensive work has been undertaken to restore, grow and develop this ancient woodland site. According to early maps, Kinclaven Bluebell Woods is thought to date back at least as far as the 1700’s although some parts seem to predate this. The area was heavily wooded until the 1950’s, when a lot of the trees were felled for timber.
Since 2017 the Woodland Trust has been working hard to restore the woods and replant native trees at the site. As part of their project the Trust have been removing invasive species such Rhododendron Ponticum (thought to have been introduced to the area by the Victorians), a lot of time has also been spent clearing away rubbish such as old pheasant cages. A lot of time has also been spent creating safe pathways for walkers to enjoy the woods without endangering any of the local wildlife or indeed themselves.
Kinclaven Bluebell Woods is home to many different species of wildlife including red squirrels, pine martens, deer, woodpeckers, pied wagtail as well as countless insects and fungi. As time goes on, the continued work of Premier, their customers and the Woodland Trust at the Kinclaven site will help to provide a bountiful habitat for these species and of course for people to enjoy for many years to come. What an incredible legacy to leave behind for future generations.
This tree planting event was put together by Premier as part of their Carbon Capture programme, the industry’s leading environmental marketing initiative; to discover more about Carbon Capture, how it works and how it can benefit your business as well as the environment visit https://www.paper.co.uk or contact carbon.capture@paper.co.uk
For more information on the Carbon Capture programme, view our information pack here.