On 3rd December 2023 we had our first tree-planting at Bowbridge Alpaca Farm, near Peat Inn. The weather was brisk to say the least, with the car thermometer dropping below zero as we approached the farm, but the still air and sunshine made it a beautiful day for planting nevertheless.
We were delighted by the large turnout of volunteers, despite the cold weather. Over 100 people joined us throughout the day and helped to plant around 780 trees, including several hundred meters of hedgerow. Perhaps a field full of friendly alpacas helped to draw the crowds! A cute robin kept us company and sang beautifully all day as snow fell from the sky - magical.
At this tree planting we also began trialling more sustainable tree guards. We love planting trees, but worry about the amount of plastic we are putting out into the world in the form of tree guards. So this time we invested in some more sustainable options, including cardboard guards from Bio-Earth and biodegradable plastic guards from Tubex. We will monitor these guards for the next few years to see how they perform in the 'wild' Fife weather, and hopefully transition to more sustainable guards with our future tree planting projects.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers who came along on the day, and to the University of St Andrews Community Fund for providing funding for the event.
