Lochaber musician and local shinty legend Gary Innes was on hand for a special moment in Glen Nevis last week, when he planted the 10,000th tree as part of a forestry project, writes Mark Entwistle.
The tree planting milestone was a culmination of four-and-a-half years of the Future Forest project, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage, with support from landowners Jahama Highland Estates, and overseen by the Nevis Landscape Partnership.
Nevis Landscape Partnership is a Heritage Lottery-funded organisation in the form of an innovative collective steered by five key organisations, which share a passion to protect and enhance the unique landscape and biodiversity of Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis through community engagement. ‘Being from Fort William originally, we thought it would be appropriate to ask Gary to come join us for this milestone,’ said the Partnership’s conservation off cer, Rowan Doff . ‘Gary had his accordian on standby but in true Lochaber style, the weather did now allow for a musical interlude. Despite the rain, he was undeterred and happy to get a bit muddy for the tree planting cause.’ Beginning in 2014, the Future Forests project started the process of restoring the native woodland in Glen Nevis.