Tree Planted in Memory of One of Scotland’s First Female Foresters

PERTH, Scotland - Nov. 24, 2014 - PRLog -- A rare conifer has been planted as a living memorial for one of Scotland’s first ever female foresters, Rena Tarwinska, who passed away suddenly last year. Rena retired in 2012 after 33 happy years with the Forestry Commission Scotland.

Rena’s sister, Wanda Drysdale, planted the rare and endangered Serbian spruce in one of Rena’s favourite forests, Craigvinean near Dunkeld. The Serbian spruce will be the final tree in a grove planted from seeds collected from remnant populations in the Balkans, where the species is threatened with extinction.

Following Rena’s passing, Wanda made a very generous donation of £1000 in her sister’s memory to The iCONic Project, a Perthshire Big Tree Country initiative dedicated to helping save some of the world’s most threatened conifers. The gesture was in recognition of Rena’s great love of trees. The donation has gone towards funding a programme of tree planting in the Dunkeld area, part of Perthshire Big Tree Country.

Charlie Taylor, Forest District Manager and Chair of the iCONic Steering Group, said:

“Many of us at Forestry Commission Scotland have fond memories of Rena and we were very touched by the donation made to The iCONic Project by her sister Wanda in her memory. Planting this rare tree seems a fitting way to remember Rena – a beautiful tree, in a forest that she loved.”

Wanda added:

“Although Rena worked in a few different areas in Scotland, her heart was very much in Dunkeld, so this rare spruce is being planted somewhere that was very special to her. I am privileged to be able to plant this in her memory.”

Wanda planted Rena’s Serbian spruce at Craigvinean Forest on Monday 24^th November.

To find out more about The iCONic Project please visit www.iconictrees.org

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For further information please contact Tricia Fox, Volpa, Tel: 07989 955039 or 01738 658187, Email: t.fox@volpa.co.uk