Trees

It is difficult to overstate the benefits of trees. Trees help prevent flooding, clean pollutants out of the air, provide a home for wildlife, reduce stress, raise property values and produce food. Increased urban tree cover has even been linked to a decrease in crime rates . Trees also sequester carbon dioxide - a single hectare of reforested land in the UK can lock away between 600 and 1350 tonnes of CO e over its lifetime .

In the UK around 13.2% of the land area is covered in woodland. Only half of this is native species, with the other half being mainly commercial conifer plantations. Ancient woodland covers just 2.5% of the UK land area .

Woodland area in Fife stands at around 5%, well below the UK average. The villages of Elie, St Monans, Pittenweem and Anstruther all have poor or very poor access to high quality woods and green spaces, so there is a great need for more trees and green corridors to improve and link up existing woodland in the East Neuk .

East Neuk Woodland Development Group

The Woodland Deveploment Group is a collaboration between Footprint East Neuk, The Manx Beauty Restoration Project, Fife Council, the Community Councils, local landowners and local residents. Our aim is to increase community woodlands in the area and involve local communities in their creation. If you would like to get involved in our tree-planting events then follow us on Facebook or contact us for the latest information.

If you have an area of land of any size that would be suitable for tree-planting then please get in touch with us. We can source funding and organise tree-planting events on your behalf.

Grow your own trees

Collecting and growing acorns, conkers, beech nuts and other tree seeds is a great activity for children and adults alike. Simply plant the seeds in a pot of soil and leave them outside over winter. Some species, like hawthorn, take two years to germinate so you will need to be patient! Think about where you will plant the trees when they start to grow as some species can get very big.