ALMOST 3.5 million new trees have been planted over the past nine years, under a woodland creation project aimed at improving Scotland's environment.
Scottish Forest Alliance figures reveal the area of new woodland is more than one and a half times the size of Inverness.
The SFA is a joint initiative between conservationists and businesses to regenerate woodland sites.
Under the project, wh
ich was launched nine years ago, the equivalent of 1,059 trees have been planted or allowed to naturally regenerate every single day. Funding for the project includes £10 million from BP.
Andrew Fairbairn, development manager at the Woodland Trust Scotland, said: "This successful project is playing a major part in creating significant new areas of native woodland. Across Scotland, we have planted millions of trees and encouraged many more to naturally regenerate.
"We have also enabled hundreds of thousands of people each year to enjoy the outdoors by improving public access to some of our most important and beautiful woodland areas.
"This in turn has a positive spin-off for biodiversity and wildlife, as well as tourism and local communities."
Areas covered by the project include the banks of Loch Katrine, the eastern shores of Loch Lomond, the Ochil hills and Skye.
Almost 59 kilometres of new paths – the distance between Edinburgh and Stirling – have been created and maintained.
Some 2,469 hectares has been planted with new native trees and a further 828 hectares have been allowed or assisted to regenerate with wild native trees.
It is projected that, over the full ten years of the project, almost 8,500 hectares of new tree cover will be created. Tim Smith, external affairs director for BP in Scotland, said: "The Scottish Forest Alliance is an innovative partnership between the public, private and voluntary sector and I am delighted to see that this unique approach is having such a direct and positive impact on Scotland's economy, our quality of life and our environment.
"An important element of all SFA projects is long-term research to gain a wider understanding of the role that reforestation plays in carbon sequestration and biodiversity."
