The Millennium Forest for Scotland project was an initiative created by the

Millennium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

and funded by the National Lottery of the United Kingdom to celebrate the turn of the

New Millennium In contemporary history, the third millennium of the anno Domini or Common Era in the Gregorian calendar is the current millennium spanning the years 2001 to 3000 ( 21st to 30th centuries). Ongoing futures studies seek to understand what is l ...

. Conceived in 1994, the project's ambition was to restore and maintain a significant amount of the forestry in the Scottish environment, and secondly to reestablish the link between local communities and the environment that surrounded them. The project's nationwide appeal led to many local communities, farms and established natural projects (such as the

National Trust for Scotland The National Trust for Scotland for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, commonly known as the National Trust for Scotland ( gd, Urras Nàiseanta na h-Alba), is a Scottish conservation organisation. It is the largest membership organ ...

and the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...

) investing time and money in restoring and maintaining many areas of natural importance throughout Scotland. As a result of the initiative, it is estimated that the project has restored over 22,000 hectares of forest and natural land and created 200 kilometers of new hiking trails. Some locations that the project has helped include: *Angus Millennium Forest,

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

*Balmaha Millennium Forest Park,

Balmaha Balmaha (Gaelic: ''Baile Mo Thatha'') is a village on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond in the council area of Stirling, Scotland. The village is a popular tourist destination for picnickers and day trippers from Glasgow as well as walkers on ...

*The Millennium Forest,

Borgie Borgie ( gd, Borghaidh) is a hamlet in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. Historically it was part of the Tongue estate with shooting rights, and it contains the Borgie Lodge, now a bed and breakfast. Borgie is noted for its salmon, which are caught ...

Sutherland Sutherland ( gd, Cataibh) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the Highlands of Scotland. Its county town is Dornoch. Sutherland borders Caithness and Moray Firth to the east, Ross-shire and Cromartyshire (later ...

Mugdock Country Park Mugdock Country Park is a country park and historical site located partly in East Dunbartonshire and partly in Stirling, in the former county of Stirlingshire, Scotland. It is around north of Glasgow, next to Milngavie (from which the park is easi ...

Milngavie Milngavie ( ; gd, Muileann-Ghaidh) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland and a suburb of Glasgow. It is on the Allander Water, at the northwestern edge of Greater Glasgow, and about from Glasgow city centre. It neighbours Bearsden. Milngav ...

*Cashel Millenium Forest,

Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; gd, Loch Laomainn - 'Lake of the Elms'Richens, R. J. (1984) ''Elm'', Cambridge University Press.) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault, often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Ce ...

*Craigrostan Woods,

Inversnaid Inversnaid (Scottish Gaelic: ''Inbhir Snàthaid'') is a small rural community on the east bank of Loch Lomond in Scotland, near the north end of the loch. It has a pier and a hotel, and the West Highland Way passes through the area. A small pas ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

(urban forest project) Although the project was aimed for the turn of the millennium, the efforts and investment in the project lasted over a period of 12 years, with many of the benefits still being felt today. The project ceased to exist following the winding-up of the

Millenium Commission The Millennium Commission, a United Kingdom public body, was set up to celebrate the turn of the millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery to assist communities in marking the close of the second millennium and celebra ...

in 2006. As seen above, many signposts and markers symbolizing the initiative's legacy can still be seen around Scotland.

References

{{Reflist NatureScot Defunct public bodies of the United Kingdom Turn of the third millennium

See also

References