Reports  Penny Cousins The vision The Millennium Forest for Scotland is a unique and visionary initiative to celebrate the new millennium by encouraging the long term, sustainable management of our native woodlands with the aim of creating social and economic benefits for all sections of the community. The rationale The Millennium Forest for Scotland initiative was designed to mark the turn of the 21st century as a point of real change in the fate of Scotland’s native woodlands. These woodlands are distinctive and unique, representing scarce remnants of the vast natural forests that once stretched across the western fringe of Europe. Yet only around 1% of the original woodland cover now remains - some 2% of our total land area, amounting to about 150,000 hectares, and much of this is in poor condition. The loss of these forests represents a real reduction in biodiversity. In addition, the value of the woodlands as an economic, cultural and social resource has been largely forgotten over the years so that by the end of the 20th century there was little recognition of their importance. By the early 1990’s it has become apparent that urgent action was required if the continuing spiral of decline was to be halted and the process reversed.

Millennium Commission In 1994 the newly formed Millennium Commission put out a call for imaginative ideas to celebrate the dawn of a new millennium. In Scotland, a group of organisations with environmental interests agreed that this presented an exceptional opportunity to raise the profile of the country’s native woodland heritage and encourage a more integrated and sustainable approach to its restoration. A “Public Declaration of Support” was launched and in just three months 67,000 individual signatures were gathered in support of the concept of a Millennium Forest for Scotland. Scope of the initiative The aim of the Millennium Forest for Scotland is to celebrate the new millennium by restoring and regenerating Scotland’s native woodlands, bringing them back into long term management for the widest possible public benefit. This is being achieved by: encouraging and supporting practical work designed to extend the cover of native trees and improve the stewardship of native and other woods; helping to re-establish social, cultural and economic links between communities and their local woodlands, thereby promoting an interest in and commitment to the sustainable management of native woodlands in the long term; assisting in the development of a strong network that will continue to promote and support native woodland restoration well into the next century.

Project development Towards the end of 1994 the Millennium Forest steering group invited organisations throughout Scotland to submit project proposals for assessment. Workshops were held in different areas of the country to publicise the initiative, supported by media coverage and journal articles. Project proposals needed to meet the Millennium Commission’s key criteria: demonstrating significant levels of public and partnership support; looking back over the last millennium and forward into the new one; being of high environmental quality; and likely to be seen by future generations as marking a significant moment in local or national history.

More specifically, the Millennium Forest principles required projects to make a meaningful contribution to native woodland restoration, enhance public access and interpretation and create identifiable community benefits. All applicants had to demonstrate local support for their project together with a real need for millennium funding. In total over 400 applications for capital projects were received during the early years of the initiative, indicating an overwhelming level of interest and support for the Millennium Forest for Scotland concept.

Woodland context The publication of A Forest Habitat Network for Scotland by Scottish Natural Heritage in 1995, provided a valuable rationale for the assessment of applications, helping to confirm that the emphasis should be on improving and expanding existing remnants of native woodland rather than creating isolated new woods. The value of core forest areas was identified together with the desirability of encouraging linkages between existing woodlands and along riparian (riverside) and other natural corridors.

Project timescales The time available for implementation of Millennium Forest for Scotland projects has been extremely short, particularly for the final batch of projects that was approved in late 1999. The process of securing partnership funding and the necessary access and planning permissions can extend over a considerable period, particularly if wide-ranging consultation is involved. The completion of work on the ground can also suffer unexpected delays, for example due to adverse weather conditions, difficulties in attracting volunteers or, more recently, the outbreak of foot and mouth disease. The fact that so many projects have been delivered successfully within the Millennium Forest umbrella is a real tribute to those responsible for their management and implementation.

Scale of the initiative The Millennium Forest for Scotland is one of the largest environmental initiatives ever to be undertaken in Scotland, representing a network of over 80 woodland restoration projects on more than 400 sites. Projects have been located throughout the length and breadth of Scotland, from Dumfries and Galloway to Shetland, and from the heart of Edinburgh to rural Argyll. Together these projects have secured the restoration of some 22,257 hectares of native woodland and created or restored over 200 kilometres of footpaths. The total value attributed to this work exceeds £30 million.

Sustainability The completion of projects is not, however, our only concern. We must also take steps to safeguard the outputs of these projects for future years. This has been tackled in two ways. First, grant conditions have been applied with recipients liable to pay back grants if the quality of their projects is not maintained over the long term. Second, every grant recipient is required to prepare a management plan for each of their Millennium Forest sites setting out the policies and work programmes necessary to secure long term objectives. Provision has been made for the periodic review of each Plan and the Trust has sought to ensure that every project has sufficient resources to carry out the work that will be required.

Millennium Award Scheme Complementing the woodland projects, a Millennium Forest for Scotland Millennium Award Scheme has provided grants to over 270 individuals who, working together or in small groups, have undertaken personal projects reflecting the aims of the Millennium Forest for Scotland and which have also provided personal development and created community benefits. The range of projects undertaken by Award recipients has been enormous, reflecting the wealth of opportunities that are presented by our woodland environment. Recipients have been drawn from all walks of life and are based in all parts of Scotland. Broadly, their activities have fallen into three main categories:

practical woodland management and the creation or improvement of woodland access, including such activities as horse logging, tree surgery, permaculture, the establishment of tree nurseries and community orchards, hedgerow restoration, and the creation of wildlife habitats; arts and crafts, including chainsaw sculptures, rustic furniture, living willow sculpture, willow weaving, woodturning, the creation of large structures (cruck-frame barn, log cabins, yurts and a Hebridean galley), music, theatre, dance, storytelling and song – all inspired by the heritage and beauty of our native trees and forests; research and education, encompassing woodland history and archaeology, habitat and wildlife studies, use of timber in traditional building structures, the production, use and marketing of woodland products (blaeberries, wild mushrooms) and the dissemination of this knowledge through the creation of websites, CD-ROMs, teaching resource packs, videos, books, leaflets and photographs. Some Awards have been particularly geared to address the needs of disabled people, providing funds for training, materials and support services to enable recipients to create woodland gardens and access facilities such as paths and sensory trails, and participate in activities and events related to local woodlands.

Looking to the future It has been an immensely rewarding experience to play a role in the development and delivery of the Millennium Forest for Scotland initiative although, working with a new source of funding and with such a large number of individual projects it would be impossible not to admit to some frustrations and regrets as we draw to the end of the initiative. In particular, we were sorry that our application for further funding to support a third phase of project work was not granted so that our portfolio of projects has been necessarily curtailed. However, as we demonstrate in this final review, a huge amount has been achieved over the past seven years and there are few areas of the country that have not been involved in some way in the Millennium Forest for Scotland. This, combined with the enormous enthusiasm that we have encountered amongst members of the public, community groups and those taking part in the Millennium Award scheme, fills us with confidence that the initiative truly has “made a difference” and that the woodlands, paths and social networks we have helped to create will continue to grow well into the future.

Thanks I should like to take this opportunity to extend my personal thanks to every one of the Millennium Forest for Scotland Trustees and staff who have given their services in support of the initiative. Without their energy and commitment this immense vision would never have been realised and my own task would have been very much more difficult. We have also greatly valued the support of individual staff and Board members within the Forestry Commission and Scottish Natural Heritage at various critical stages in the delivery process. Finally, my thanks to all those who have contributed time and effort to bring Millennium Forest for Scotland projects to successful completion, whether through the capital programme or the Award scheme. Every one of these projects represents a local contribution to the national network that is the Millennium Forest for Scotland and we hope that the original inspiration will live on to bring benefits for many future generations.