This year has been a challenging time for everyone, especially small community groups like ours. With the support of Mull and Iona Community Trust, our funders and Forestry and Land Scotland we have made great progress to create the Community Tree Nursery.

The aim of the project is to collect seeds from local native trees and cultivate them to produce seedlings. There is a big demand from community woodlands, private estates and from Forestry and Land Scotland sites as well as many individuals keen to help preserve our native trees.

Forestry and Land Scotland offered a great site adjacent to Dervaig Community Orchard under a simple permission arrangement and MICT agreed to support us by signing up to this on our behalf.
MICT helped us by securing grant funding from EB Scotland for the costs to develop the site and to buy a polytunnel and the equipment and materials we need to get started.

Just prior to lockdown in March, TSL carried out the ground works which involved de-stumping, levelling the ground, and creating a new access track and a small parking area. Local fencing contractor, Guy Bolton, then installed a deer and rabbit proof fence and gates around the site, to protect the seedlings from browsing damage … More in the Magazine