Trees for Life
746. Fay Blackburn
Fay Blackburn, from Findhorn, has been volunteering with the charity ‘Trees for Life’ for over 20 years.
‘Trees for Life’ aims to promote conservation in the Caledonian Forest, through natural regeneration, planting native trees and removing non-native species. Fay is their longest serving volunteer group leader and has led 450 volunteers on 225 trips to the forests of Scotland, helping to conserve and regrow areas of the Caledonian. Each trip takes 10 volunteers on a week-long expedition to a cottage in Glen Affric, where the team plants up to 4,000 trees. Over her time, Fay has directly facilitated the planting of around 180,000 trees, helping to rebuild the great tree populations in Scotland and preserve the beautiful landscapes for future generations.
In a personal letter to Fay, Prime Minister Theresa May said:
“Your dedication to ‘Trees for Life’ means that you have had a huge impact on the forests of Scotland, helping to conserve and regrow areas of the Caledonian Forest in particular. Your work is helping to rebuild tree populations and preserve these beautiful landscapes for future generations.”
Fay said:
“I’m quite taken aback that our voluntary work has been noticed, but I think it’s really brilliant that it has been as it makes a huge difference to the organisation and everyone involved – we really couldn’t survive without volunteers. I’m so pleased that the project has received some recognition and it’s wonderful that I could be a part of it. I believe that you’re never too old to volunteer – I’m 75 next month and regularly volunteer with an 81-year-old!”