Creating a living legacy in late Queen's name in Kintyre

More than 100 pupils and teachers from six Kintyre schools planted more than 700 trees at Machrihanish Airbase Community Company (MACC) Business Park on Tuesday as part of The Queen's Green Canopy.

 

The unique national tree-planting initiative was created to mark the Platinum Jubilee of the now late Queen Elizabeth II earlier this year.

 

Pupils and staff from Castlehill Primary School, Dalintober Primary School, Drumlemble Primary School, Rhunahaorine Primary School, Carradale Primary School and Campbeltown Grammar School took part.

 

Of the trees planted, 420 native hardwoods were supplied by the Woodland Trust, with a further 150 trees by one of the MACC directors.

 

Each school erected a plaque in recognition of their support and each child received a pencil that can be planted to sprout one of many different types of flowers or herbs.

 

Campbeltown Community Windfarm Fund supported the project by covering some of the direct costs, while Campbeltown Community Gardens supplied essential tools of the trade, trowels and spades, and Kintyre Firewood provided the hardwood used for the plaque stands.

 

"attachment_826372" "aligncenter" "227"] Tim Bailey of MACC Developments, left, with Archie Millar, a trustee of Campbeltown Community Windfarm Fund which provided funding for the project.

 

On the day, a representative from Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust visited the site and gave the children a talk about the importance of people in restoring and protecting Scotland’s natural environment.

 

Tim Bailey, project manager at MACC Developments, the trading arm of the company, said: 'It was very rewarding to be a part of a project that helped facilitate, in a practical sense, such an important and relevant topic such as climate change.

 

'Everybody wants clean air and oxygen to breathe, wildlife need safe places to live, and we all need peace and quiet in an ever-increasingly busy and stressful world.

 

'Trees do so much; with the children picking up a trowel, getting dirty and planting 700 trees, they were the super stars of the day and got us all closer to achieving those basic requirements for life.

 

'I was very impressed with how the children conducted themselves, how engaged they were, the speed at which they picked up the planting technique, enthusiasm they had for digging holes and appetite they had for hot chocolate!

 

'I feel confident that they have left with a greater appreciation of the value that trees play in our delicate ecosystem. Maybe they will look twice at the tree that they pass every day going to school.'

 

"attachment_826375" "aligncenter" "300"] Pupils from Drumlemble Primary School hard at work planting trees.

 

It is hoped the trees planted on the business park will create natural habitats for birds, animals and insects, and provide natural wind protection and aesthetic screening.

 

It will be an ongoing project, with a further 600 trees to be planted at the business park in March 2023.

 

Native woods and trees are one of the best ways to tackle the climate crisis, with the Committee on Climate Change recommending an increase in woodland cover from 13 per cent to 19 per cent.

 

With the commitment and support from the local community, MACC is proud to say that it is helping to achieve this goal.