Nairn Clunas Reservoir part of woodland restoration project as Scottish Water plants more than 1800 native saplings
Hundreds of native trees have been planted near a reservoir in a bid to protect water quality.
The initiative, which saw more than 1800 native broadleaf saplings — such as ash, oak and birch — planted at the Clunas Reservoir is part of a wider woodland creation programme that Scottish Water is delivering across the country.
According to the public company, this will help protect the source water quality at the reservoir in the face of climate change by helping to stabilise the soil surrounding it, resulting in less organic material being washed into the reservoir and making the treatment process simpler.
It is also aimed at improving biodiversity at the site, while helping to lock up around 657 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent over the next 60 years.
Scottish Water project manager Steve Garbett said: “We have significantly increased the scale of our woodland creation programme across Scotland this year, helping to ensure that woodland and natural habitats across Scottish Water land are thriving.
“Not only is this essential to tackling the biodiversity crisis, it also helps to lock up carbon and maintain the quality of our water supplies by stabilising the soil surrounding our lochs and reservoirs.”
General manager Zero Emissions at Scottish Water, Elise Cartmell, added: “Over the 2024 to 2025 planting season we have planted almost three times the amount of new woodland as we did the previous year and it is brilliant to see more of our projects being delivered at a local level across Scotland.”
Clunas Reservoir is also among the first locations where Scottish Water is trialling the use of fungal pellets, which aim to produce more resilient forests, increase carbon capture potential and reduce the need for fertiliser.
A proportion of the trees planted at the site have had pellets planted alongside them, to create a symbiotic underground nutrient network that helps both trees and fungi to flourish and will be monitored against the growth of the trees without them.
Mr Garbett added: “We are excited to trial the use of these innovative fungal pellets, which have been produced by Rhizocore Technologies, and will continue to monitor how the trees are developing across the site in the coming years.”
