28th October 2022: Sustainable Scotland: Storm-damaged trees sunk in River Dee to boost nature and help save wild salmon

Around 50 trees which survived last year’s devastating Storm Arwen have been relocated and dug into the banks and bed of one of Scotland’s most famous salmon rivers to boost the survival chances of the ‘king of fish’.

The pioneering work is part of wider conservation efforts being carried out on the Dee. Beltie burn, in the upper reaches of the river catchment, has already been ‘renaturalised’ by reinstating natural bends and meanders, planting new native trees, restoring dried out wetlands and reconnecting salmon breeding grounds.

Now, as part of a second major phase of work aimed at restoring biodiversity and boosting resilience to climate change at the award-winning site, 50 mature trees from Scolty Forest in Aberdeenshire which were damaged by the powerful storm last November have been embedded along the watercourse.