A national shortbread company and a conservation charity have marked their woodland partnership with a special tree planting ceremony in Strathspey.
Members from Walkers Shortbread came to RSPB Scotland’s Abernethy nature reserve following an agreement to give 10p from every promotional pack of shortbread to the native forest regeneration work being done by the charity at Abernethy.
Jacqui Walker, who is the great-grandaughter of the company founder, Joseph Walker, was among the group taken on a tour by site manager Desmond Dugan.
The itinerary included a visit to the reserve’s tree nursery and a trip to see spawning salmon on the River Nethy.
RSPB Scotland is planting thousands of native broad-leaved trees on the reserve to increase its biodiversity and restore the forest to its original condition. It is part of RSPB Scotland’s 200-year vision for the future of the reserve.
Jacqui Walker said: “Planting an aspen tree in such a wild environment made it a really special day. The fact that it was blowing a gale with a fair amount of rain mixed in did nothing to dampen the atmosphere. In fact, it positively added to it.”
Alistair Gronbach, Walkers Shortbread head of marketing said: “Walkers Shortbread is itself more than 100 years old – just like the RSPB. And, like the RSPB, we like to look to the long-term, therefore RSPB Scotland’s 200-year vision for the reserve really appealed to us and is a cause that we wish to support not just for ourselves but for the generations to come in the future.”
Desmond Dugan said: “It was a real pleasure showing the folk from Walkers around the reserve. In fact they proved to have a very good knowledge of the local wildlife and particularly enjoyed seeing the hen salmon on station above her redd (nest) in the river.
“It was interesting to discuss how important maintaining the quality of the environment is in Strathspey. It’s important for nature and it’s important for local businesses like Walkers and their employees. Walkers have a keen interest in making their business as environmentally sustainable as possible and that, of course, is something that the RSPB enthusiastically supports.”