Burns Grove Celebrates 250th Anniversary of Poet’s Birth

Forres, United Kingdom, January 23, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Award-winning conservation charity Trees for Life is encouraging people to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns on 25 January by supporting the creation of a Burns Grove of native trees in Scotland’s Caledonian Forest.

“This is a fantastic way to honour Robert Burns during 2009, his 250th anniversary year. His work is full of a love of nature and we are sure he would have strongly supported the restoration of the Caledonian Forest,” said Kerrigan Bell, Trees for Life’s Marketing Manager.

“We are asking people to help us create a Grove worthy of this great poet. It will be a memorial that will become a vital habitat and help to tackle climate change.”

People will be able to contribute to the Burns Grove throughout 2009. Every £5 donated will allow Trees for Life to plant another tree in the Burns Grove, boosting the charity’s drive to plant 250,000 native trees during 2008 and 2009. More information is available at http://www.treesforlife.org.uk/groves/robert_burns.html.

Only one per cent of the Caledonian Forest survives. People can help Trees for Life to restore it through tree dedications and Groves to celebrate special occasions, as well as by joining the charity’s Conservation Volunteer Weeks in the Highlands.

For more information or to support Trees for Life call 0845 458 3506, email trees@findhorn.org or visit www.treesforlife.org.uk.

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Notes to editors

Trees for Life aims to restore the Caledonian Forest to an area of 1,500 square kilometres in the Scottish Highlands west of Inverness. For further details please see www.treesforlife.org.uk

Since planting its first trees in 1991 in Glen Affric, Trees for Life has planted over 650,000 trees. Its awards include 1991 UK Conservation Project of the Year and the Millennium Marque in 2000.

On World Environment Day 2008 (5 June), Trees for Life pledged to plant 250,000 trees by the end of 2009 as part of the UN Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign. The charity exceeded its 2007 pledge of 100,000 trees by over 9,000 trees.