theclearances.org: Trees for Life

Trees for Life

The Clearances removed people from Scotland but the coming of sheep also drastically changed the Highland landscape. It dramatically accelerated the loss of Scotland's woodland with the result that 99% of the original 'Great Wood of Caledon' is now gone. We cannot restore the people but with your help we can make a significant difference to the Highland environment while, at the same time, you commemorate a loved one or an ancestor with a living, growing memorial.

In association with the Scottish conservation charity, Trees for Life, a remote area of 918 square miles north of the Great Glen is being replanted with native species.

A donation of £30 (approx US $45) or more will be shared with Trees for Life and a tree will be planted for the person or family you wish to commemorate. You will receive a frameable certificate with details of where the tree was planted and the people you are commemorating. You will also have the satisfaction of contributing to both the ecological preservation of Scotland and, through the support of theclearances.org, the preservation of its cultural heritage.

'Our vision is one that we ourselves will never see completed. It will take at least 250 years, the average lifespan of a Scots pine, to be fully realised, but that is also part of its power. It is something much larger than us and we are privileged to help make it a reality.'

Alan Watson Featherstone
Founder and Director of Trees for Life

The memorial text, and information about the associated tree, will also be included in our Book of Remembrance.