Visit Inverness Loch Ness (VILN) has planted over 4,000 trees over the last few weeks to increase biodiversity.
The Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) was awarded £8,000 thanks to funding from The Highland Council’s Nature Restoration Fund and used the money to plant birch and cherry trees along the South Loch Ness Trail.
The project has been delivered in partnership with chartered surveyors Bowlts, who assisted with procurement and project management.
Speaking about the initiative, Bryony Beck, Destination Development Manager at VILN, said:
“If everything goes to plan then we’ll start to see the trees this time next year.
“The birch and cherry trees will not only greatly enhance the area along the South Loch Ness Trail, but they will also increase biodiversity which is so important.”
The tree planting is the latest initiative from VILN which prioritises the environment.
VILN became the first Business Improvement District in the UK to become carbon neutral and is also a signatory of the Glasgow Declaration Climate Action in Tourism and Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency, both of which commit the organisation to accelerate climate action in tourism and reach net zero emissions before 2050.
VILN has also developed a carbon tracker which can be used to monitor the organisation’s carbon footprint on a monthly basis.
The tracker will be a central tool going forward to trigger the implementation of other carbon neutral measures such as using renewable energy in addition to the continued programme of tree planting as the organisation works towards reducing carbon emissions by 50% by 2030.
To find out more about Visit Inverness Loch Ness, please visit:www.visitinvernesslochness.com
