Shetland has long been regarded as a treeless landscape but archaeological evidence shows that at one time there was a fairly extensive tree cover of birch, hazel, rowan, aspen and willow. With the principal aim of significantly increasing the area of woodland in Shetland, this project has established four small community woods on the mainland of Shetland. SAT intend that these will be the start of a network of new woodland areas throughout the islands. As there were insufficient birch and aspen remnants to provide a sufficiently large genetic base, seeds were obtained from biogeographically similar locations such as Orkney, Iceland and Norway, and then raised in SAT's own tree nursery. The four new woods have been stock fenced and planted with informal paths provided. An education programme with schools and community groups will be encouraged as an important means of raising the awareness of local people as to the value of trees and opportunities will be provided for involvement in the management of the woods.

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