Perthshire, home of Big Tree Country, is known and loved for its wonderful trees. From the Tay Forest Park to Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park, they are a key part of our outdoor spaces and provide benefits for people and wildlife alike. PKCT wants to make sure that these benefits continue for generations to come, which is why we have launched our new education project – A Tree for Every Child in Perthshire.

This project will cover the importance of trees, tree planting sessions, and the aftercare needed to ensure the trees survive and thrive through a series of workshops.

Where possible, the workshops will take place outside, using nature to enhance the learning experience for all. In its initial pilot phase, the project is working with four schools and Pitlochry Festival Theatre, throughout the autumn and winter of 2022/2023. It is hoped that the project will grow and continue in future years, culminating in thousands of trees for all the children of Perthshire to enjoy.

As well as providing every child with the chance to experience tree planting and to make connections with their local nature, this project has a direct impact on conservation. Planting native species helps to combat both climate change and biodiversity loss – trees lock up carbon and a diverse woodland provides numerous benefits to other wildlife, supporting greater biodiversity. This is before we even mention all the added benefits that trees provide, sometimes known as nature-based solutions, such as flood prevention, reducing soil erosion, and cooling the surrounding air temperature.

All of our groups have worked with us to identify sites, develop their planting ideas and order their trees through the Woodland Trust. The first workshops will begin this month (September,) and all being well the planting will take place in November and December. All of the trees planted this year will also count towards the Queen’s Green Canopy – an initiative that encourages people to plant trees for the Queen’s platinum jubilee. It will be so exciting to see everyone’s plans and learning coming together later this year – we can’t wait to get started!