Reviewing a stunning year of growth

Just the gist

Short on time? Here's what you need to know this month:

This year Future Forest planted over 18,000 trees, and bought over 2,700 acres of land.
The team, now up to 11 people, aims to plant 1 million trees in 2021.
The woolly piglets aren't letting the cold weather get them down. Many have grown large enough to leave their indoor shelter and trot about the estate independently.

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This not-so-little piggy is intoxicated by her newfound freedom.

The Future Forest Company, our project partner, just celebrated their first New Year.

After acquiring thousands of acres of land, and growing their team to 11 people, they now have everything in place to ramp up their CO2 removal, by planting millions of trees. They hope to have planted 1 million trees by the end of this year.

Here's an update from their two locations: the Brodoclea forest and the Glenaros Estate. The team have mainly been taking care of the animals, and preparing to ramp up tree planting in the Spring.

Between the trees – Brodoclea Forest:

The woolly pigs are vital to the agroforestry effort at Brodoclea.

They eat weeds and invasive species and fertilise the land with their manure. Their thick coats of fur usually provide enough protection from the freezing Scottish temperatures. But when the winter wind gets up, a wool coat isn't enough.

That's why Andy and Ken have been constructing pig arcs. These cozy dwellings have space to shelter the pigs from even the most biting Scottish winds. In the arcs, there's enough room for all the pigs. When a storm comes, the team makes sure that no pig is left outside.

This cylindrical arc provides a prime spot for pigs to seek refuge from fierce Scottish gales.

Over the sea – The Glenaros Estate, Isle of Mull:

This month, the team has added yet another member to their growing numbers. Meet Alison!

Alison's smiling at the rare Scottish sun. She's transporting the puppy because it hurt its foot.

Alison is looking after the holiday cottages on The Glenaros Estate. She's only been with the team for a few weeks, but is already hard at work preparing the cottages for guests. There's a lot to do: right now she spends most of her time clearing dirt and scrap from the cottages and sheds.

Before moving to the Estate, Alison was taking care of Erchless Castle, another magnificent holiday getaway in Scotland. With her experience, she'll have the cottages fit for a king in no time.

With luck, you'll be able to stay on the Glenaros Estate this Summer.

The black Shag is native to the isle of Mull. It dives for it's dinner, and has been known to dive over 30m in search of eels to eat! Picture courtesy of Isle of Mull.

In other news, the airways above the isle of Mull are home to even more biodiversity than the team realised.

The ancient oak woods are home to Wood Warblers, Willow Warblers, Blackcaps, Redstart, and several species of owls. The moors host Curlews, Golden Plovers, Hen Harriers, and at least two kinds of eagle. The team are looking forward to finding more species of bird as they continue to reforest the Estate.

To keep these birds safe, the team are working closely with an officer from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Dave. Dave is ensuring birds of every feather will have a home on the isle of Mull.

That's all from me this time! If you have questions or feedback, please reply directly to this email. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

– Thomas Hollands

PS - People often ask us how they can help us keep growing. Firstly, you're awesome, thanks for asking! Secondly, Its easy–just tell your friends! In fact, you can even send referrals directly from your profile page.