Let your love grow

Your love will help restore the ancient Caledonian Forest

I saw an article in The Guardian a few months back that made me realise that I could do something positive about the impact of climate change.

Trees for Life bought the Dundreggan Estate in Glenmoriston more than a decade ago. The 40,000 acres of hill ground had been nibbled bare first by sheep and then by red deer for centuries, and there was little growing there but bracken. Since then, the charity has planted more than two million native trees, and they hope to plant more to restore the ancient Caledonian Forest that once covered most of Scotland: mostly birch, rowan and Scots pine.

Photo courtesy of The Guardian and the brilliant photographer, Murdo MacLeod

Anyone can sponsor a tree at Dundreggan, so I decided to start a grove of my own – it’s very small right now, but you can visit it here. My promise is simple: from now on, for every couple whose wedding I conduct, I will plant a tree.

I love the thought that hundreds of years from now, some of them may still be standing and I can’t think of a better and more enduring testament to love: the love we have for one another, and the love we have for the fragile planet on which we live.

My first tree was planted for Carla Sives & Cristophe Berra, whose wedding I conducted at The Balmoral on the 3rd of January, and I’ll be adding more as the year goes on.

I hope you like the idea: if it inspires you to do the same, please drop me a line and let me know!

Update, 16th January: I’m delighted that my friends and colleagues at Celebrate People have embraced this idea. From now on, we’re going to plant a tree for EVERY CEREMONY WE CONDUCT, and you can visit our grove here

  1. Lois Combe left a comment on January 15, 2020 at 11:12 pm

    Hi Tim , this is a lovely idea , well done.

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