The joint initiative between Trees for Life and Woodland Trust Scotland was launched in 2023 with the ambitious aim of gathering one million seeds over three years.
Instead, thanks to the dedication of around 100 volunteers, the project has collected enough seed to grow an estimated 7.8 million native trees.
The volunteers have travelled to remote parts of western Scotland and its islands, carefully collecting seeds by hand from species that are often difficult and expensive for commercial nurseries to access. These include hazel, oak, dwarf birch, willow, juniper, birch, wild cherry, wych elm, yew and elder.
What makes these seeds particularly valuable is their genetic heritage. Many come from trees that have adapted over thousands of years to the unique conditions of Scotland's west coast and temperate rainforest. Their resilience offers a stronger chance of surviving future threats such as climate change, extreme weather and disease, making them an invaluable resource for woodland restoration.
Once gathered, the seeds are carefully checked at Trees for Life's Dundreggan rewilding estate near Loch Ness before being distributed. Many are donated to more than 20 accredited Scottish tree nurseries participating in the Woodland Trust's UK and Ireland Sourced and Grown Assurance Scheme, ensuring future planting uses locally sourced native stock.
The project is helping tackle a long-standing shortage of native trees with traceable local origins, particularly for the Western Isles, Northern Isles and Scotland's west coast.
Project Officer Roz Birch described the work to That's Green as "about hope", praising the volunteers whose shared passion for nature has helped transform the initiative into one of Scotland's most successful seed collection programmes. Its success has already secured an extension beyond its original three-year timescale.
The need for projects like this has never been greater. Scotland remains one of Europe's least-wooded nations, with only around four per cent of its native woodland still surviving. Less than two per cent of the once-vast Caledonian Forest remains, while only around 30,000 hectares of Scotland's internationally important rainforest survives on the west coast.
By safeguarding the genetic diversity of native trees today, projects like this are planting the foundations for healthier forests, richer wildlife habitats and landscapes that will be better equipped to withstand the environmental challenges of tomorrow. It is a powerful reminder that restoring nature often begins with something as small as a single seed.
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