Trees of Edinburgh

The garden was a surprise. The Port of Leith is lovely of course: the water, cobbles, bridges, cafes – but you don’t expect a garden. Hidden like an emerald between flats, unbuilt flats, roadworks, and a car park, I stumbled upon a treasury of hedges under a vault of trees. The garden was built along with Ocean Terminal and has matured along with the rejuvenation of Leith Docks. Planted in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh, it celebrates the Scottish plant hunters who sourced the colours and textures of our gardens from across the world. "I went there sometimes to eat my lunch and read. It was a wee oasis of peace." After 20 years, the low hedges and plants are spectacular. Escaping across the tram terminal construction works, the weary visitor can meander along paths which seem to cut through a billowing green sea. You can brush your fingers through verdant waves, patterned with a myriad of leaf-shapes diverse planting scheme. Over your head, the green o...

Edinburgh's parks and greenspaces are in huge demand for events, and trees are crucial to giving these outdoor venues their magic. Yet the volume of events held in our parks in recent years, and the often clumsy way in which trees are treated by event organisers, is slowly killing one of their greatest assets. To help safeguard our trees, Trees of Edinburgh have produced this guide describing simple measures which should be taken at every event. It is free to distribute to event organisers, contractors, and members of the public either as a leaflet or displayed as a poster at event sites. Download the leaflet here (pdf) We are grateful to the Edinburgh International Book Festival for their support in producing this leaflet.

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Trees of Edinburgh is a campaign to increase Edinburgh’s tree cover, by growing appreciation and knowledge of trees throughout Edinburgh society. Everyone loves trees, but most of us take them for granted. After thinking about this for some years, we decided to launch this campaign following the felling of over 50 trees in Princes Street Gardens in October 2018. Our aim is share our knowledge and networks to build a society which knows more about its trees, their management, and the benefits they deliver. Our hope is that this will result in a city which cares better for its existing trees, and plants more. Eleanor Harris was born in Edinburgh, is an environmental campaigner and historian of Edinburgh, and is currently Policy Researcher for Confor: promoting forestry and wood around the UK. Andrew Heald is a forester with over 20 years experience in forest management and sustainability certification, and is currently Technical Director for Confor and works with WWF promoting ...