BrewDog confess Lost Forest bid in tatters after half of trees die

Scots beer giant BrewDog has confessed that their plan to save the world is in tatters after half of the trees they planted in the Highlands died.

The brewers, from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, were paid more than £690,000 in public cash to plant saplings at the 'Lost Forest' on the site of the Kinrara Estate near Aviemore, Inverness-shire, reports Aberdeen Live.

But they have now confessed that they were caught out by the "extreme" conditions, with it being estimated that over half of the Scots pine they planted, and nearly all of the oak trees, had died.

Government agency Scottish Forestry told how the firm may have to take action fast to keep up its end of the deal.

A spokesman said: “The level of loss here is higher than normal which may be down to climatic factors after planting.

"The agent/owner will be required to replant the failed sections as a condition of the Forestry Grant Scheme contract to ensure that it is a fully stocked woodland at establishment."

Brewdog co-founder James Watt boasted that he was willing to see the beer firm go bust in his efforts to save the planet. He said he’d spent £8.8million buying the 9,300-acre estate and wanted to plant more than a million trees to soak up carbon and was going to lose cash in doing so.

Forestry Scotland handed over cash to pay for fences and also to cover the cost of the first planting phase. However, staff discovered that up to 56 percent of the Scots pine trees had died. This is estimated to be at least 92,436 trees.

They also noticed that 95 percent of the native broadleaved oaks had not survived - thought to be at least 42,712 trees.

It’s reported that Scottish Forestry will keep an eye on the project to ensure Brewdog plant the trees they agreed to.

Brewdog, revealed they planted more than 438,000 trees last year.

Taking to LinkedIn, James Watt said: "Standing up to climate change can be an incredibly daunting task and it would be all too easy to disengage; to decide to leave it to others and even to deride the efforts of those who choose to fight.

"But if everyone did that, there’d be no hope for humanity. So, we stay the course, and we don’t let setbacks, such as the one we’re currently experiencing, dishearten us.

"Last year we planted 500,000 trees in partnership with our friends at Scottish Woodlands. But then came the fifth hottest Scottish summer on record. An incredibly hot and dry summer was followed by a harsh winter as savage gales and sweeping frosts hammered the Scottish Highlands.

"Woodland projects of this scale are always a challenge. You know that some saplings won’t survive, and you plan for it from the outset. But last summer’s extreme conditions resulted in a higher-than-expected failure rate, particularly Scots Pine, which is one of eleven native species we planted.

"It’s disappointing. Our partners have estimated that around 50% of the 500,000 saplings planted did not survive their first 12 months.

"We have done a full assessment with Scottish Woodlands Ltd and two weeks ago we began replanting the failed saplings in earnest and we have already replaced 50,000 of the baby trees that did not survive the winter."

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