CHRISTMAS TREES RAISE THE SPIRIT OF YOUNG AND OLD

This Christmas, trees from Tentsmuir Forest are at the heart of a project that is giving hope to disadvantaged young people from Dundee whilst brightening the lives of other members of the community.

A group of young people on a Fairbridge Trust works skills program visited the Forestry Commission Scotland woodland, selected and cut down suitable pine trees, then made decorations and delivered the trees to a variety of homes around Dundee.

The project is part of a long-standing collaboration between the Fairbridge Trust, which supports inner city youth, and Forestry Commission Scotland, which is keen to encourage more people from urban areas to visit and enjoy the nation’s woodlands.

The relationship began a few years ago when youngsters on a Fairbridge independent living skills course used Tentsmuir to learn survival skills, before spending two days on an island in Loch Tay.

Over the years, Fairbridge groups have worked in Tentsmuir on a number of specific tasks, such as fencing or making gates and benches. The participants are 13 to 25-year-olds who are not in education, training or employment, or who have been identified as being at risk of dropping out. They often face a range of problems, and may be without the support of their family or on the margins of their local community.

Fairbridge Operations manager, Martin Cooper, explained the benefits they gain from their work in the woods:

“It helps the young people’s personal social development and encourages them to look at themselves and how they work in a team and relate to others. It also fosters their work skills, as they experience working to a deadline, completing a task to a certain specification and working for an employer. These skills can help them progress to mainstream employment or further education.”

To provide the Fairbridge groups working in Tentsmuir Forest with shelter, Forestry Commission Scotland has recently acquired a Scandinavian-type of tepee where they can take breaks and have lunch.

Forest ranger John Montgomery who, along with Alex Eason works with the groups, explained:

“Before they were using a minibus, which was an environment where they could revert to old habits. Now we can keep them all day in an outdoor environment and at breaks they have to sit in a circle and look at each other and interact. The older ones even bring a stove and cook their own lunch.

“The experience must make a lasting impression on them, as we often see youngsters who we have worked with coming back with friends or relatives and showing them around the forest.”

Each of the Christmas trees cut in Tentsmuir this year has a double benefit. As well as giving a sense of purpose and achievement to the young people who select them, they have all gone to very good homes where they brighten the lives of others.

Once they had decorated them, the young people delivered the glossy-needled pines to Hillcrest Advice Centre, East Port House, the Salvation Army, Henry Boot, Positive Steps, the Cyrenians and Cyrenians Fair Share, Action Team for Jobs and the children’s charity, NCH.

Anyone interested in knowing more about Forestry Commission Scotland’s involvement in the project can contact John Montgomery at Tentsmuir Forest on 07713 053591 or Mike Flinn at Tay Forest District, Inverpark, Dunkeld on 01350 727284. For more on the Fairbridge Trust and its courses, contact Martin Cooper at Fairbridge, Dundee on 01382 451500.

Notes to Editor:

Forestry Commission Scotland serves as the Scottish Executive's forestry department. It manages almost 667,000 hectares of national forest and other land owned by Scottish Ministers, supports other woodland owners with grants, felling licences, regulation and advice, and advises Ministers on forestry policy. For further information, visit www.forestry.gov.uk/scotland.

The three photographs attached show:
- IMGP0579 – Youngsters on the Fairbridge Trust work skills course discuss their choice of Christmas trees beside the tepee in Tentsmuir Forest.
- IMGP0583 – A youth on the Fairbridge Trust course with a pine tree just cut in Tentsmuir Forest as a Christmas tree for one of the charitable organisations in Dundee.
o DSCF0317 – Youngsters on the Fairbridge Trust work skills course load a decorated tree from Tentsmuir Forest into a van for delivery to one of the charitable organisations in Dundee.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

� Diana McGowan, Forestry Commission Scotland press office, tel. 0131 314 6507, email: diana.mcgowan@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

� Mike Flinn, Tay Forest District, tel. 01350 727284, email: mike.flinn@forestry.gsi.gov.uk.

� John Montgomery, Tentsmuir Forest, tel. 07713 053591, email: john.montgomery@forestry.gsi.gov.uk.

� Martin Cooper, Fairbridge Operations manager, Dundee, tel. 01382 451500, email: Martin.Cooper@Fairbridge.org.uk.

e-mail: diana.mcgowan@forestry.gsi.gov.uk