How tree planters turned a bare valley into a wooded glen
- Published
The Borders Forest Trust has boosted the ecology of parts of southern Scotland which were once bare
The Borders Forest Trust has planted nearly two million trees since it was set up 25 years ago.
Along the way its work has transformed one bare valley into a wooden glen which is "full of life".
Forest trust director Charles Dundas said their efforts at the Carrifran Wildwood near Moffat showed what could be achieved and he hopes to replicate that success elsewhere in years to come.
"You have to start the ball rolling - we are hopefully giving a kick start to the natural process," said Mr Dundas.
"At Carrifran, two decades on, you can see the difference that we have made to the landscape. The work that we do is our calling card.
"It is not like after 25 years we are looking to pack up shop - we have got a lot of work still to do."
This is how Carrifran Valley looked in 2004
The area has been transformed by the forest trust's tree planting work
Mr Dundas said there was a "really striking" difference which could be seen when driving down the Moffat valley to get to Carrifran.
He said the site was surrounded by bare valleys.
"You come around the corner and here is this wooded glen full of life and activity," he said.
"It has become something really quite special.
"My goal is to make as many other places across the Scotland as special."
Volunteers of all ages have planted the trees for the trust
One part of that process is to expand the work at Carrifran to nearby land.
"If we want it to survive and flourish, we need other habitats within easy reach," Mr Dundas said.
"At the moment, Carrifran is almost unique and that is not sustainable in future.
"We want lots of healthy, natural, native landscapes across the south of Scotland - now we need to find the land and landowners we can work with."
A single "survivor" tree has become a symbol of the trust's work
Carrifran is one of three BFT sites across what it calls the "wild heart" of southern Scotland.
The others are Talla and Gameshope, and Corehead and the Devil's Beef Tub.
Mr Dundas said that the Borders has one of the country's lowest percentages of land covered with native woodland.
The trust said that was down to the area being "degraded by centuries of grazing on fragile hill land".
"There is quite a lot of woodland overall, but the majority of that is 20th Century commercial plantations," said Mr Dundas.
"The Borders Forest Trust was formed 25 years ago to try to address that."
Hundreds of thousands of trees have been planted at Carrifran alone
However, he stressed it was not about trying to turn the clock back to how the landscape might once have been.
"We are going forward into the future," he said.
"What we are looking for is a healthy landscape and a healthy ecosystem - working with nature rather than against it.
"We want to get to the point where there is a critical mass that will be able to regenerate on its own."
Mr Dundas said it felt like there was now more momentum behind such rewilding projects than there was 25 years ago.
The trust says visitors have flocked to see the results of its work
"The mood is different now, there are a lot more people talking about it," he said.
"We are rushed off our feet showing people around Carrifran.
"We don't pretend we were the first but I like to think we were one of the pioneering projects. You do it because you hope there will be lots of others."
The BFT is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a conference which will take place in Newtown St Boswells and online on Friday.
It will showcase the work it has carried out, alongside what needs to be done in future.
That could mean millions more trees across southern Scotland in the years to come.
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