Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Five-year scheme will help crofters to create woodland

Woodland on a croft
Woodland on a croft

Crofters are to be offered support to create new and maintain existing woodland as part of a new five-year initiative.

A partnership between the Scottish Crofting Federation, the Woodland Trust Scotland and Forestry Commission, will launch in August offering crofters free expert advice on woodland retention and creation.

The Croft Woodlands Project will employ up to three officers to provide crofters with advice on woodland design and the funding options available.

It aims to help crofters access funding through the Forestry Grant Scheme, which forms part of the new Scottish Rural Development Programme and offers funding until 2020.

“It’s tremendous to see this initiative supporting crofters who wish to plant or manage woodland as part of their business,” said the chairman of the Scottish Parliament’s cross party group on crofting, Jamie McGrigor. “Integrating woodland into croft management offers the potential to provide a whole range of benefits including shelter for buildings and livestock, a source of wood fuel, and new habitats for wildlife. All of these benefits support both the lives and livelihoods of both crofters themselves and the wider community.”

According to Eleanor Garty, of the Woodland Trust Scotland, crofting counties are some of the least wooded parts of Scotland. “Establishing woodland in very exposed areas such as Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles is difficult but in the right places and with the right mix of species trees can flourish,” she said.

“We know from previous work that there is a large and unmet demand from crofters to create new woodland that enhances their livelihoods, and for advice on managing existing woodland.”

The project would help overcome some of the big barriers facing crofters who want to plant trees, including the short-term finance needed and lack of training and specialist woodland knowledge, added Ms Garty.

Scottish Crofting Federation chief executive Patrick Krause said: “Trees work very well on crofts, offering many benefits such as a sustainable source of fuel and timber, and offering increased shelter for crops, livestock and structures, this project will act as a ‘lever’ helping crofters to source advice and funding.”