Some 5000 years ago much of Orkney was covered in woodland dominated by Downy Birch, Rowan, Aspen, Hazel and Willows. The introduction of grazing animals and mis-use of fire saw the gradual decline in woodland cover until the present day when only tiny fragments of native woodland remain. This project has established a small area of native woodland on the RSPB’s Birsay Moors Reserve, which is located in the north west of Orkney Mainland. This has been achieved by creating a stock fenced exclosure within which trees grown from seed collected at Berriedale (Britain’s most northerly native woodland and part of Millennium Forest Project 1/95) were planted. The project is used as an educational resource and has been visited by a number of local school groups. Local conservation volunteers have carried out most of the work.

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