Learn more about how Aberdeenshire Sma Wids started

Following a visit to East Aberdeenshire in October 2021, the then His Royal Highness,The Duke of Rothesay, had a conversation with Sandy Manson, Lord-Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire, regarding how we might encourage more tree and hedgerow planting in the open landscape of this particularly arable part of east Aberdeenshire, known as Buchan. Approximately 25% of Scotland’s arable land lies in Aberdeenshire.

A series of exploratory conversations took place during 2022 with various stakeholders to establish the level of interest and viability of setting up a suitable scheme. The first formal meeting of the various interested parties, including Aberdeenshire Council, The Royal Countryside Fund, Scottish Forestry, Scottish Woodlands, The Woodland Trust, NFU Scotland and local farmers, took place in Spring 2023 where a plan was agreed on how to design and roll out a new and innovative planting scheme in Aberdeenshire.

There was a clear desire to create an accessible, targeted and simple grant scheme to help deliver more trees and hedgerows. There are no grants available for plantings below 0.25Ha and therefore it was decided that the scheme should focus on encouraging small plantings primarily of native hardwood species and try and engage primarily the farming community in the biodiversity and landscape benefits of planting trees and hedgerows on less productive land.

An Advisory Group was formed in 2023 comprising representatives of the various parties to progress the design and implementation of a scheme. Fiona Chirnside, Environmental Planner, Aberdeenshire Council, showed exceptional leadership in pulling together the blueprint for the scheme including the necessary documentation. Fiona’s energy and dedication has been central to the design and creation of the scheme throughout. The initiative at this stage had no funding but it did have a pledge from Scottish Woodlands to donate trees to the project.

The Advisory Group agreed that a pilot project would be run during the 2023/24 planting season and this resulted in six farmers in Buchan planting 10 areas of 0.25Ha (comprising 4,000 trees). The pilot project was considered a success and provided a number of valuable insights.

Therefore the decision was taken in Autumn 2024 to gear up to officially launch a new planting scheme by setting up a Scottish charity which adopted the distinctive Doric name of “Aberdeenshire Sma Wids”. The Aberdeenshire Sma Wids scheme was formally launched at the “BeefTech” event in Buchan in May 2025 with some very helpful accompanying publicity.

The aims of the charity were initially to raise sufficient funds to plant trees and hedgerows for the 2025/26 and 2026/27 planting seasons (resulting in an equivalent of approximately 16,000 trees being planted in addition to the 4,000 planted during the pilot project). The scheme will fund all the establishment costs for each applicant and the applicant only has to plant the trees or hedge and thereafter maintain them appropriately. Keeping the “paperwork” to a minimum means the applicant only has to sign a pledge that they will plant and maintain the trees/hedgerow. The scheme is also looking to provide assistance to applicants with weeding. To date the level of funding has exceeded initial expectations and this will now allow the project to continue beyond the two years initially planned.

Establishing an Advisory Group

Recruiting a Project Officer to Launch the Project in 2025!

In September 2025, Aberdeenshire Sma Wids recruited the services of a Project Officer, Claire Hodge, to make it all happen on the ground and for the first official planting season of 2025/26, 19 applicants signed up to take part in the scheme, comprising; 14 farmers, three private land-owners and two businesses, including a distillery. Six applicants had never planted trees before.

The main objectives of the scheme is to improve biodiversity and the surrounding landscape.

The 2025/26 plantings comprised 47% small woodlands (<0.25Ha), 32% hedgerows (<100m), with the remaining sites, comprising, pasture planting, cluster planting and a small scale agro-forestry site. To aid applicants, a collection of tools were purchased to create a 'tool library' to assist with preparation and planting using best practice guidance.

A mixture of mainly Scottish Native Species were supplied along with guards and supports. The most prevalent species included; Hawthorn, Rowan, Blackthorn, and Birch sp., and on wetter riparian sites; Grey and Goat Willow, Wild Cherry, Hazel and Alder. During 2025 Goat Willow was recognised as a priority species in the North-East of Scotland.

While it is still early days and the scheme will learn with each planting season, it is clear that there is a genuine appetite and enthusiasm for the Aberdeenshire Sma Wids scheme, partly due to its simplicity and low cost requirement, but most importantly because it makes a meaningful contribution to the local environment and landscape in the Buchan area.