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.

Problematic plant reduced to charcoal in bid to help environment in Wester Ross

The National Trust for Scotland has taken a usually problematic plant and turned it into a helping hand as part of a conservation project in Wester Ross.

The team is currently working at an estate in Inverewe, where they are using a special kiln to turn the rhododendron ponticum plant into charcoal.

This is used as an additive – called biochar – to compost used for planting and will help to improve the soil quality in the area.

The kiln is used to reduce to problem plant to biochar which can be used as a source of nutrients and minerals for the soil.

Biochar is used to replenish the carbon levels in the soil, improving the health and regenerative properties of the ground.

The main benefit of the process is to eradicate the invasive species while uprooting it clears the way for other species to grow.

‘Trying new and different approaches that will help protect our natural heritage’

As with many projects of this nature, one of the aims is to help tackle climate change by encouraging better plant growth while removing invasive species.

Project Wipeout, carried out by the Trust with help from the People’s Postcode Lottery, has been eradicating rhododendrons in several areas of Scotland as well as the Japanese knotgrass and American skunk cabbage.

However, the rhododendrons are not all bad. The groundskeepers at the Inverewe gardens tend to some of the most impressive species in controlled environments but in the wilder areas of the estate it has become a nuisance.

The Rhododendrons are carefully cultivated in the estate’s inner gardens however the plant has become wide-spread in wilder areas. Picture supplied by National Trust for Scotland.

The Trust’s natural heritage advisor, Rob Dewar, said: “All over Scotland, we’re seeing the impact of invasive species crowding out our native flora.

“At Inverewe, the team have taken a really creative approach to turning this problem into a solution and it benefits the environment in so many ways.

“As the realities of climate change become ever clearer, it’s great that our charity, supported by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, is trying new and different approaches that will help protect our natural heritage.”