Home-grown Christmas tree brightens up St Andrew's House

The 7ft Nordmann Fir was sourced from Stirlingshire by RTS Forestry, which manages sustainable woodland throughout Scotland.

It was presented to the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands Mairi Gougeon MSP and Director of Environment & Forestry Diarmuid O’Neill by Jackie Arbuthnott of RTS Forestry and Eleanor O'Neill from forestry and wood trade body Confor.

Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon said: “It’s great to see St Andrew’s House decorated with this beautiful homegrown Christmas tree, right from the heart of Stirlingshire.

“This has been another successful year for Scotland’s forestry sector with the highest woodland creation figures for 34 years. We know future years will be challenging but we have been able to increase our budget to support forestry in Scotland and I am committed to working closely with all interested stakeholders to expand our forests and woodlands.

“I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year.”