Highland Council has take a first step towards pursuing a massive tree planting programme in Highland, with a view to turning it into a national ‘carbon sink’.
Councillors Denis Rixson and Trish Robertson raised a motion at yesterday’s full council meeting asking the council to pursue government funding for a major tree planting campaign in Highland’s wide open spaces.
Mr Rixson told councillors today’s desolate landscape is a modern symptom, not the natural state of the Highland, and that trees were a natural salve to combat climate change.
The motion found approval with the majority of councillors.
Afterwards Mr Rixson said: “We already have a City-Region deal which draws investment from the Scottish & UK governments, so give us a Carbon-Sink deal for Highland,funded by the Scottish and UK governments.
“Let’s involve all our citizens and children in planting trees to help heal our planet.
“Let’s encourage everyone – landowners, public agencies, woodland trusts, community enterprises – to set themselves a target of planting a specific number of trees. Be practical, get advice, consider the difficulties and knock on doors.”
Mr Rixson said the first task would be to make an approach to the Scottish and UK governments for financial support.
He said: “Having passed the motion we now need to sit down and consider how best to do this.
“Having a new climate change panel should help.”
