Scottish Water has planted a new “wee woodland” of native broadleaf trees on land at one of its key sites near Falkirk.
A total of 3,300 oak, birch and rowan saplings have been planted over a two hectare area at Dalderse Waste Water Treatment Works, which sits adjacent to the Kelpies sculptures at Helix Park, as part of a wider woodland creation programme that Scottish Water is delivering across the country.
The project will help improve biodiversity at the site, as well as locking up around 1,340 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the next 60 years – the same as 285 return flights from Glasgow to Singapore.
Scottish Water project manager Steve Garbett said: “We have significantly increased the scale of our woodland creation programme across Scotland over the last couple of years, ensuring that we are managing our land responsibly in the face of increasing biodiversity and climate change crises.
“These smaller woodland schemes – or ‘wee woodlands’ as we are calling them – can be sited in more industrial areas and we hope they will act as a critical habitat, providing food, shelter, and breeding sites for a variety of species, and acting as a stepping stone for wildlife movement.”
General Manager Zero Emissions at Scottish Water, Elise Cartmell, added: “Over the last planting season, we planted almost three times the amount of new woodland as we did the previous year and we are looking forward to delivering many more projects around Scotland this year too.
“While we are doing all we can across the business to reduce our carbon emissions through our operational activities and capital investment programme, these woodlands will be key in helping to lock up carbon within our landholding and support our journey towards net zero by 2040.
“It is brilliant to see these new woodlands – both small and large – being brought to life at various Scottish Water sites.”
