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News
Edinburgh Treefest and Wood Market Bigger and Better
13 May 2005
Edinburgh Treefest & Woodmarket is a great fun day out for the family and a brilliant opportunity to buy some of the best wooden products in Scotland.
The free two-day event on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June in Inverleith Park (opposite the Botanical Gardens) is massively popular with over 10,000 people expected to join in a feast of activities, exhibitions and events. One of the highlights for this year will be an extreme mountain bike display organised by Forestry Commission Scotland's 7stanes biking team.
An added attraction to all the fun and frolics is the Wood Market which shows off a huge range of wooden products including indoor and outdoor furniture, tree houses, oak wine, Scots pine ale, wooden pens, tepees, sawn wood, carvings, crafts, shaker boxes, play equipment and baskets. It's a once in a year opportunity to buy unique Scottish forest products.
The whole event will open with local schoolchildren in costume injecting a carnival atmosphere by launching the event with the Carnival of the Trees Procession on Saturday morning leaving from Inverleith Park at 11am. More than 100 children will be led through Stockbridge by a horse-logging team, and joined by other festival participants, including the popular Woodland Puppets.
At the park itself, attractions will include:
- extreme mountain bike display;
- the new Wood Market;
- axe-throwing, including the Scottish Open Championships;
- a new skateboard ramp;
- horse logging demonstrations, in which horses are used to pull logs out of woodlands;
- chainsaw demonstrations;
- a wide range of displays, sales and demonstrations of woodcrafts and woodland products of all sorts in tepees and marquees;
- opportunities for visitors to try their hand at wood and other crafts;
- activities and entertainments, including puppet shows, story telling, music and a grand raffle; and
- refreshments and beer tent.
Organiser Carole Fraser of the Four Winds Inspiration Centre said,"It is a great pleasure organising this festival - there is a such a brilliant range of demos, activities and products, and first class entertainment and refreshments. Because of the enthusiasm, talents and professionalism of those involved it is always an excellent event with something for everyone!"
This year, Forestry Commission Scotland is promoting their Active Woods campaign aimed at getting more people off the sofa and out to the forest for a healthier and more active lifestyle. Part of their promotion is to bring the 7stanes mountain bike display team to Edinburgh. Julie Snodgrass from the Commission said:"The event is going to be brilliant this year as we have so many activities on the go. For the first time we are bringing an extreme mountain bike display team to the park, so be prepared to watch expert bikers balance on timber see-saws and dropping off 10 foot ramps. It's all about getting the message across that forests and woodlands are great places for exercise and to get that feel-good factor."
Edinburgh Treefest & Wood Market is the Lothian & Borders Treefest Partnership’s flagship event. Lothian and Borders Treefest chairman John Blyth said,"This is a great opportunity to show off all the fantastic benefits that Scotland's forests and woodlands have to offer. A big thanks must go to Forestry Commission Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, the European Regional Development Fund, Four Winds and other Treefest partners, as they've laid on an amazing day out which is free to the public."
Edinburgh Treefest & Wood Market runs from 11am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday. Inverleith Park is immediately west of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and is bounded by Inverleith Place, Fettes Avenue, Arboretum Place and the Edinburgh Academicals' sports ground and Grange cricket ground. It is accessible on several bus routes, and paths in the park are mostly paved and negotiable by wheelchairs and baby buggies.
Further information about Edinburgh Treefest is available from Carole Fraser on 0131 332 2229. Further information about other woodland events throughout Scotland this year is available by visiting www.treefestscotland.org.uk/events or by phoning 0131 314 6444.
For more information about the Forestry Commission Scotland's Active Woods campaign log on to www.forestry.gov.uk/active
Notes to Editor:
1.Edinburgh Treefest was first held as part of Treefest Scotland 2002, a Scotland-wide series of events throughout the year to celebrate Scotland's trees, woods and forests. The Lothian and Borders Treefest partnership comprises a wide range of organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors who come together to promote tree and woodland related events in the region.
2. The 7stanes is the name of a mountain bike project led by Forestry Commission Scotland and a number of partners. The project is building seven mountain bike centres across the south of Scotland. Log on to www.7stanes.gov.uk.
Media Contact:
Four Winds Inspiration Centre - Carole Fraser, 0131 332 2229;Forestry Commission Scotland – Steve Williams 0131 314 6508
Woodworkers Wanted
10 May 2005
Woodworkers and those promoting forest products can show off their goods at this year's Wood Market which is part of the massively popular Edinburgh Treefest event.
Edinburgh Treefest and Wood Market attracted over 10,000 people last year, and is being held again in Inverleith Park, Edinburgh, (across from the Botanic Gardens) on Sat & Sun 11th -12th June.
Following on from the success of last year's first Wood Market, the organisers are looking to expand the showcase for a wide range of forest product businesses ranging from furniture makers, saw millers, basket weavers and wood craftsmen to wine and play equipment makers.
Organisers are particularly keen to hear from those involved with previously under represented products such as flooring, charcoal, wood fuel, boats, musical instruments, forest foods, fencing, decking and tree nurseries.
Iain Laidlaw of Forestry Commission Scotland said: "Edinburgh Treefest is increasingly popular and the successful Wood Market provides a tremendous way for businesses to promote their products directly to the public in the heart of the capital city. I would encourage anyone who is adding value to Scotland's tree or forest related products to take part."
The free festival will also host Xtreme mountain biking displays, axe throwers, horse-loggers and chainsaw demonstrations, as well as entertainments, crafts, activities, and refreshments for all the family.
Anyone wanting further information on exhibiting should get in touch with Carole Fraser at Four-Winds Inspiration Centre who is helping to organise the event. Woodworkers should contact Carole as soon as possible as the cut off date for entries is 25 May. Tel 0131 332 2229 or E-mail: carole@four-winds.org.uk
Edinburgh Treefest & Wood Market 2005 is organised by the Treefest Scotland Partnership, Forestry Commission Scotland, City of Edinburgh Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and Four Winds
Inspiration Centre, with additional funding from the European Regional Development Fund.
Media Contact:
Forestry Commission Scotland press office 0131 314 6508.
New Book Celebrates Scotland’s Most Special Trees
29 September 2003
A new book to celebrate 100 of Scotland's most remarkable trees was launched by Forestry Minister Allan Wilson at the William Wallace Yew in Elderslie, Renfrewshire today. (Monday 29 September)
Lavishly illustrated with professionally taken colour photographs and other illustrations, "Heritage Trees of Scotland" records the stories of Scotland's loveliest, tallest, widest, rarest, oldest, weirdest and most interesting trees, and many with important historical and cultural associations.
It includes the Fortingall Yew, which at more than 3000 years old is Europe's oldest living thing; trees associated with heroes and monarchs such as William Wallace, Robert the Bruce and Mary, Queen of Scots; and trees from which criminals used to be hanged or to which they were shackled and publicly ridiculed.
Welcoming its publication, Mr Wilson said,"I am sure this beautiful book will become an indispensable item for everyone who loves trees and who loves Scotland.
"Heritage Trees of Scotland has been a great hit with the public since it was launched last year as an Internet promotion for Treefest Scotland 2002, the year-long festival of events to celebrate our wealth of trees, woods and forests.
"Scores of members of the public contacted the Forestry Commission Scotland to tell us about some memorable trees that we didn't know about, and as a result we have built up an impressive inventory of special and remarkable trees that are as much part of our cultural heritage to be admired, protected and promoted as our rich heritage of historic buildings.
"Most of these trees are accessible to the public, and many are in rural areas with fragile economies. Therefore I'm particularly pleased to support this effort to promote these trees to visitors from Scotland and further afield and in this way, to bring economic benefits to local communities."
The book was written by East Lothian woodland consultant and Heritage Trees project officer Donald Rodger, who is an authority on veteran trees, with assistance from Jon Stokes of the Tree Council and James Ogilvie of the Forestry Commission Scotland, who is chairman of the Heritage Trees initiative. The foreword was written by the Duke of Buccleuch, owner of three of the trees.
The 100 trees in the book were selected by an expert panel of judges from more than 150 candidates compiled during Treefest. Mr Ogilvie chaired the judging panel, and said, "The selection of these 100 does not imply that other trees on the 'shortlist' were in any way unworthy. Because we were considering such an embarrassment of riches, we found it extremely difficult to select the final 100.
"We continue to promote all the candidate trees on the Heritage Trees of Scotland website, and in fact we believe there are many more special trees out there that we don't know about yet. I would therefore invite anyone who knows of any other special trees in Scotland that are not featured on the Heritage Trees of Scotland website to write in and tell us about them."
The address to write to about other potential heritage trees is: Heritage Trees of Scotland, C/o James Ogilvie, Forestry Commission Scotland, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 7AT; e-mail:james.ogilvie@forestry.gsi.gov.uk The information should include a precise location (an Ordnance Survey reference is best) and the reasons why the trees are special.
The book costs £9.99 and is available by mail, phone, fax or e-mail order to Forestry Commission Publications, P.O. Box 25, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7EW; telephone: 0870 121 4180; fax: 0870 121 4181; e-mail: forestry@twoten.press.net Cheques, made payable to the Forestry Commission, should be included with mail orders.
The Heritage Trees of Scotland website is www.treefestscotland.org.uk/heritage
Notes to Editors:
- "Heritage Trees of Scotland" was published by a partnership of the Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Tree Council. It is a companion publication to "Great British Trees", which features 50 of the United Kingdom's most remarkable trees and was published by the Tree Council in 2002 to mark the Queen's golden jubilee.
- The initial, Internet-based Heritage Trees of Scotland promotion was a Forestry Commission Scotland contribution to Treefest Scotland 2002.
- Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Scottish Executive's forestry department.
Media Contact:
Charlton Clark, Forestry Commission Scotland press office, 0131 314 6507; mobile 07810 181067
Scotland's Top 100 Heritage Trees Named
23 December 2002
Trees used to hang criminals, trees that are weird, twisted or lonely, trees planted by Kings and Queens, and a tree that was already ancient when St Andrew was a disciple of Jesus...
Such trees are among the "100 Heritage Trees of Scotland", named after a year-long quest by the Forestry Commission to find Scotland's most special and remarkable trees.
Featuring some of Scotland's oldest, rarest, tallest, widest, weirdest, most interesting, and historically or culturally most significant trees, "Heritage Trees" is an Internet-based promotion as part of Treefest Scotland 2002, a festival of more than 800 events held throughout Scotland to celebrate trees, woods and forests. The trees are promoted on the website www.treefestscotland.org.uk/heritage
Congratulating the Commission and its Treefest partners, Forestry Minister Allan Wilson said,
"Scotland can be proud of its extraordinary legacy of heritage trees, which are a national treasure unrivalled in Europe.
"It reminds us what a timeless link many trees are to our rich and colourful past when we reflect that at least one of these trees was already alive when Scotland's patron saint, St Andrew, became a disciple of Jesus and Christianity was founded.
"The Heritage Trees of Scotland initiative, and indeed the whole Treefest programme, have been an excellent and imaginative approach to helping Scotland’s people and visitors learn about and appreciate our country’s special heritage of trees, woods and forests.
"Most of these wonderful trees can be visited by the public, so I would encourage the people of Scotland, and our visitors, to go and marvel at them and enjoy Scotland's countryside at the same time. By visiting the countryside we help sustain good health, and at the same time we help sustain vital rural businesses and communities."
The Heritage Trees promotion has proved to be one of the most popular Treefest programmes, with dozens of members of the public from all parts of Scotland contacting the Forestry Commission to nominate candidates for the accolade.
"Although we already knew about many of our most special trees, we were delighted to receive information from the public about some real gems that had been unknown or forgotten," Heritage Trees chairman James Ogilvie said. "This resulted in a short list of more than 150 special trees being compiled."
The expert panel of judges met in the autumn to decide which 100 of them most deserved to be singled out as Heritage Trees of Scotland.
"The choice of 100 does not mean the other trees nominated are in any way unworthy," Mr Ogilvie said. "All of the nominated trees are noteworthy specimens, and we will continue to promote them alongside the 100 trees named. In fact, we believe there are other remarkable and unusual trees still out there that we don’t know about, and we would still like to hear about them."
Many of the Heritage Trees are accessible to the public. The following are highlights of the list of 100 (groups of trees count as 1):
- Perth & Kinross has the greatest number of any Council area, with 22, followed by Highland with 12 and the Scottish Borders with 11;
- oaks are the most common species of Heritage Tree, with 17, closely followed by yew, with 15; both (except a solitary Holm oak) are native to Scotland;
- Sycamore is the most-represented non-native species, with 9, followed by sweet chestnut and beech with 8 each, and Douglas fir with 7;
- Scotland's rarest trees, a sub-species of whitebeam that exists only on Arran, are on the list;
- Europe's oldest living thing, the Fortingall Yew, near Aberfeldy in Perthshire, is included;
- the surviving original specimens of three sub-species that originated in Scotland, the Camperdown Elm of Dundee, the Corstorphine Sycamore of Edinburgh and the Dawyck Beech of Peebles, are included; and
- the tallest tree in Britain, a Douglas fir called Dughall Mor in Reelig Glen, near Beauly, is included.
Anyone who knows of other potential "Heritage Trees of Scotland" is invited to write to James Ogilvie at the National Office For Scotland, Forestry Commission, 231 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 7AT; e-mail: james.ogilvie@forestry.gsi.gov.uk , giving as much information about the trees as possible, including why they are remarkable and exactly where they are (preferably including an Ordnance Survey grid reference).
Notes to Editors:
1. The 100 Heritage Trees of Scotland are listed below, organised by Council areas in alphabetical order. For detailed notes on each tree or group of trees, visit www.treefestscotland.org.uk/heritage or see "Media contacts" below.
Aberdeenshire: Leith Hall Dule Tree, near Huntly; The Queen of the Firs near Aboyne; the Twin Trees of Finzean; and the Drumtochty Sitka near Fettercairn;
Angus: Glamis Castle Horse Chestnut, and The Dibble Tree in Carnoustie;
Argyll & Bute: Sutherland's Grove in Barcaldine Forest; The Wishing Tree near Oban; the Inveraray Castle Lime Avenue; the Ardkinglas Grand Fir and The Mightiest Conifer in Europe, both in Ardkinglas Woodland Garden near Cairndow; Robert the Bruce's Yew on west Loch Lomondside; and the Benmore Redwood Avenue in the Younger Botanic Garden near Benmore;
Borders: The Polwarth Thorn in Polwarth; the Kailzie Larch near Peebles; the Dawyck Beech and the Dawyck Silver Fir, both in the Dawyck Botanic Garden, near Peebles; the Traquair House Yews at Innerleithen; the Dryburgh Abbey Yew near St Boswells; the Posso Sycamore near Peebles; the Tinnis Ash near Selkirk; St Boswell's Apple, near St Boswells; and The Capon Tree near Jedburgh;
Dumfries & Galloway: the Drumlanrig Douglas and Drumlanrig Sycamore, both at Drumlanrig Castle, near Thornhill; and the Lochwood Oaks near Moffat;
Dundee: The Camperdown Elm;
East Ayrshire: The Auld Yew Trees of Loudoun;
East Dunbartonshire: The Duelling Trees at Clachan of Campsie;
East Lothian: The Whittinghame Yew near East Linton; the Act of Union Beeches at North Berwick; and the Great Yew of Ormiston at Ormiston;
Edinburgh: Corstorphine Sycamore; Stevenson's Yew in Colinton; and the Four Disciples at Malleny;
Falkirk District: The King Tree in Denny;
Fife: the Balmerino Chestnut near Newport-on-Tay; Queen Mary's Thorn and St Andrew's Holm Oak, both in St Andrews; Lady Miller's Beech near Auchtermuchty; and the Cockcairnie Sweet Chestnut near Aberdour.
Glasgow city: the Pollok Park Beech;
Highland: the Dundonnel Yew near Ullapool; the Castle Leod Giant Redwood and the 1550 Sweet Chestnut, both at Strathpeffer; the Fairburn House Sitka at Contin; the Brahan Elm near Conon Bridge; Duncan Forbes's Oak at Bunchrew; Dughall Mor, a Douglas fir near Beauly; the Seer's Oak at Stromeferry; the Kilravock Layering Beech near Croy; the Great Fraser Yew at Stratherrick, Fort Augustus; the Seven Men of Moidart near Glenfinnan; and the Rannoch Rowan on Rannoch Moor;
Midlothian: the Dalkeith Park Oaks and Rizzio's Chestnut, both near Dalkeith; the Roslin Sweet Chestnut near Roslin; and the Prestonhall Beech at Prestonhall;
Moray:Darnaway's Champion Oak in Darnwaway;
North Ayrshire & Arran: the Arran Whitebeams on Arran; the Kelburn Yews and the Kelburn Weeping Larch, both at Largs;
North Lanarkshire: The Covenanters' Oak in Motherwell;
Orkney: The Big Tree in Kirkwall;
Perth & Kinross:near Aberfeldy are the Monster Cedar at Strathtay, the Cluny Giant Redwood in Cluny Garden, the Birks of Aberfeldy, and the Fortingall Yew at Fortingall;in or near Dunkeld and Birnam are Neil Gow's Oak, the Original Japanese Larches, the Dunkeld Douglas, the Dunkeld Pedestal Larch, the Birnam Oak; the Parent Larch, the Birnam Sycamore and the Hermitage Douglas;elsewhere in Perth & Kinross are Diana's Grove at Blair Castle; the Glen Lyon Ash; the Meikleour Beech Hedge near Blairgowrie; the Mother and Father Trees at Lynedoch; the Monzie Larch near Crieff; Eppie Calum's Oak in Crieff; the Pepperwell Oak at Methven Castle; the King of the Forest in Scone; the King James VI Sycamore and the Scone Douglas, both at Scone Palace;
Renfrewshire: The Dargarvel Hornbeam, near Bishopton; The Craigends Yew in Houston; and the Wallace Yew in Elderslie;
South Ayrshire: Robbie Burns's Sycamore in Alloway; and the Dool Tree at Blairquhan;
South Lanarkshire: The Cadzow Oaks in Hamilton;
Stirling District: The Poker Tree in Aberfoyle; the Inchmahome Veterans on an island in the Lake of Mentieth; the Great Yew at Broich, near Kippen; the Balmaha Oak at Balmaha; the Monster Scots Pine near Cambusbarron; and the Clachan Oak in Balfron;
West Dunbartonshire: the Strathleven House Oak near Dumbarton.
2. The judges were:
- James Ogilvie (chairman), Scotland operations manager for the Forestry Commission;
- Donald Rodger, an arboricultural consultant from Haddington, East Lothian, with a special interest in heritage trees, who was also the Heritage Trees of Scotland project officer;
- Kevin Hand, from the UK Tree Council;
- John Miller, an independent tree specialist, consultant and author, from Alness in Ross and Cromarty; and
- Michael Smith, an Edinburgh ecological consultant with a special interest in veteran trees.
Media Contact:
Charlton Clark, 0131 314 6507; mobile 07810 181067; e-mail: charlton.clark@forestry.gsi.gov.uk; or
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