Elgin glasshouse could help grow up to 19 million trees a year

Forestry and Land Scotland have received the keys to their new multi-million-pound tree nursery glasshouse.

The 12,000m2 glasshouse will be about the size of two football pitches and can grow up to 19 million trees per year under its roof.

Trees grown at Newton Nursery, near Elgin, will be planted out into forests all around the country as mature trees are felled.

The stock produced within the glasshouse will mostly be conifer species such as Scots pine, lodgepole pine, Sitka, and Norway spruce.

The new glasshouse is hoped to provide a protective and controlled environment to nurture seedlings.

It is anticipated there will be a significant boost in germination success rate, with the aim to achieve an impressive 80% germination rate for seeds.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) says the new facility will allow them to grow a greater variety of tree species.

This will provide greater diversity and build resilience in forests threatened by the impacts of disease and climate change events such as a rise in temperature, changes in rainfall and an increased frequency of wind and fire damage.

Initial nursery operations will commence during 2025 with the site being fully operational by the end of the year.

Cabinet secretary for Rural Affairs, Mairi Gougeon, said: “This site handover marks a key milestone in Forestry and Land Scotland’s drive to become ‘fit for the future’.

“The modernisation of Newton Nursery – which includes technology to allow for the planting of one million tree seedlings in a single day – will help the organisation improve operational efficiency and flexibility.”

The modern nursery will be a hub for innovation and will harness the benefits of cutting-edge technology such as mechanised tree planting and other process improvements to reduce manual labour inputs.

Energy and resource efficiency have been core to the redevelopment: local Scottish timber has been used in the construction of the office building, boreholes will supply water to irrigate the seedlings, and low energy use technologies have been incorporated into the building design, while solar panels will supplement electricity use.

“Growing trees from seed inside the glasshouse instead of outdoors in fields, will allow FLS to have much better control over the growing environment, meaning the seedlings are less vulnerable to damage from extreme weather events, herbivore browsing and competition from weeds,” said Ms Gougeon.

“Planting and growing more young trees in Scotland will underpin FLS’ contribution to the Scottish Government’s ambitious target of net zero emissions by 2045.

“It will reduce the carbon footprint created from transport emissions and increase the number of trees we plant to absorb carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and end up as sustainable wood products,” said Ms Gougeon.

“The process of creating this supply of home-grown timber starts in Newton Nursery.”