Team Challenge Projects

New Caledonian Woodlands is playing a role in the movement to replant and restore native species woodland throughout Scotland.  More than 80% of Scotland used to be covered in native species woodland, yet today that figure is less than 10%, one of the lowest rates in Europe.  More positively, Scotland is one of the few nations in the world where the percentage cover of native species woodlands is actually growing. 

The benefits of planting trees as part of a well managed and well designed woodland regeneration project are significant and wide-ranging.  These benefits have a great deal of relevance to many of the issues that our society faces today and include:

• enhancing biodiversity;
• providing a beautiful and uplifting settings;
• minimising the extent of climate change through:
  • sustainable use of a valuable resource by increasing the use of wood instead of materials with higher embedded energy, such as coal and cement,
  • sequestration of carbon dioxide alongside greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

A volunteering day on this type of project would tend to involve one or more of the following activities:

• planting new native species tree saplings at one of our sites (October to March);
• management of young woodlands by pruning off lower branches of trees and taking away smaller trees using bowsaws and loppers;
• removal of invasive species within woodlands that threaten biodiversity, such as rhododendron and laurel.

Some of our current projects:

Couston Woodland project, Couston Woods, Fife

Falkland Centre for Stewardship woodland project, Falkland

Garvald woodland project, Biggar

Gordon Community Woodland, Gordon, Scottish Borders

Hopetoun House rhododendron management project, South Queensferry

Inzievar Community Woodland project, Inzievar Community Woodland, Fife

Oakbank Woodland project, Oakbank Woodland, Livingston

Wildlife gardens are an important teaching asset within both primary and secondary school settings.  Fitting in with the ‘Responsible Citizenship’ capacity of the Curriculum for Excellence, wildlife gardens provide a setting in which children can learn through practical activity about our environment and about the nurture and responsibility needed to look after it.  Wildlife gardens also fit well with the Eco-Schools programme, which engages children and young people in key issues including the environment, sustainability, global citizenship and the value of a low carbon future.  Over 2,700 schools in Scotland are now registered with the Eco-schools programme.

A volunteering day on this type of project would tend to involve one or more of the following activities:

• Building raised beds for growing vegetables and wildlife friendly plants;
• Building a footpath;
• Painting a mural;
• Building a plastic bottle greenhouse;
• Painting lines of the playground for games;
• Creating an outdoor classroom;
• Building living willow structures.

There are currently a number of schools across central Scotland who would like help from us and from you – please get in touch if you would be interested in your team volunteering on a project like this.

Horticulture is increasingly used as a therapeutic intervention for tackling poor mental health and promoting mental well-being.  This is not a new theory, and as such, many hospital sites from the Victorian era are situated in leafy areas with large outdoor spaces.  Therapeutic horticulture is a practice that to some extent fell from favour and is now experiencing a resurgence, so there is a lot of work to do to get all those leafy green spaces ready for use by clients of NHS services.

The aim with volunteering days within these settings is not to do the actual gardening work, but to create infrastructure within the garden spaces.  This then allows NHS staff and clients to use the garden spaces more effectively for therapeutic gain.  

A volunteering day on this type of project would tend to involve one or more of the following activities:

• Building seating areas;
• Building a footpath;
• Building raised beds for growing vegetables and wildlife friendly plants;
• Building living willow structures;
• Creating flower beds and meadow areas.

Some of our current projects:

Marchhall Centre therapeutic garden project, Edinburgh

There has been a huge growth of interest in people growing their own food and also in playing a role in the management of local green-space.  In tandem with this, community gardening is a growing phenomenon, particularly in urban areas where greenspace is at a premium and many people do not have a garden, making it attractive to work in partnership with others to great garden spaces and grow food.  Projects like this also bring with them a lot of social benefits, from increased community cohesion to increased mental wellbeing among participants. 

We think this is great, as these activities all fit well with environmental sustainability, so we are keen to support projects like this when we can, usually by helping with infrastructure improvements such as footpaths and fences.

A volunteering day on this type of project would tend to involve one or more of the following activities:

• Building raised beds for growing vegetables and wildlife friendly plants;
• Building a footpath;
• Creating flower beds and meadow areas;
• Putting up fences to protect spaces against grazing from deer and rabbits.

Some of our current projects:

Gorgie War Memorial Hall garden project, Edinburgh

Gartmore walled garden project, Gartmore

Hermitage of Braid Community Garden project, Edinburgh