January 2012 started off with a devastating storm on the 3rd which caused damage to buildings and trees alike in The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. We went for a walk in the garden with David Knott, who is Curator of the Living Collection at the Botanics to see the damage for ourselves and to see how the clearing up was coming along. Over 120 trees were affected by the storm, including two that might have been 150 to 200 years old. Listen to our podcast and take a look at our photos and video below. We hope you will appreciate the extent of the damage caused, even from the comfort of your armchair.
Part of the effect of the damage this year might mean that the trees in the garden are more vulnerable to high winds in future, as gaps have been formed which will allow the wind to funnel through. Planting programmes will be implemented which will go some way to replace the trees but of course this will take time. The gardens have plants which are already collected and ready to be planted in the gardens, but they will have to upscale it to fill the gaps in the garden caused by the storm.
The trees have caused collateral damage to shrubs or smaller trees underneath them. This means that some areas of the gardens are out of bounds to visitors for the time being until the gardens staff get time to tidy up the mess. They are limbing trees which have fallen and then chipping the branches for mulch. The trees themselves will be used in the gardens, including some which will be used in the reconstruction of Botanic Cottage which is to be moved from Leith Walk.
So what can you do to help? You can log on to the RGBE website and offer a donation, however small, which will be used to fund the remedial work.
