Blaeberry Park, Whitburn
West Lothian Council is delighted to have been awarded funding from Future Woodlands Scotland's Urban Forestry Programme
West Lothian Council is delighted to have been awarded funding from Future Woodlands Scotland's Urban Forestry Programme.
West Lothian's funding is for the: "Trees and Woodlands in the West" project. This funding will help the council to map and manage the council's existing trees and woodland and plant additional trees, in three council wards (Fauldhouse & the Breich Valley, Whitburn & Blackburn and Armadale & Blackridge).
Many of the towns and settlements in these wards have areas with low "Tree Equity Scores". This means that they have relatively little tree cover and also suffer from multiple deprivation. Research has shown that people's health and wellbeing tends to be better when they live in an area with plenty of trees and green areas.
The project will involve local schools and other groups working in the area, such as Whitburn Community Garden and Beechbrae at Blackridge, who recently helped volunteers and school pupils with replanting the woods at Blaeberryhill Park, Whitburn with more suitable tree species.
West Lothian Council's "Trees and Woodlands in the West" is one if 13 projects across Scotland to be awarded funding, as part of the latest round d of the Urban Forestry Challenge Fund. The programme is a partnership initiative between the charity Future Woodlands Scotland and JERA Nex bp. In just two years, this Urban Forestry Challenge Fund has awarded £1,369,000 across 25 projects, bringing the benefits of trees to communities from Aberdeen to Dumfries.
In West Lothian it builds on the "Urban Forest Project" in Livingston. This was awarded similar funding first tree planting, involving schools and other local groups, in Craigshill and Deans.
Further info:
The latest round of funding will see £740,000 invested in 13 projects through the Urban Forestry Programme's Challenge Fund. The programme is a partnership initiative between Future Woodlands Scotland and JERA Nex bp.
The fund supports projects that create, enhance and expand urban woodlands, helping to make Scotland's towns and cities greener, healthier and more resilient places to live. The 2026 awards span communities across the country, backing initiatives that aim to improve biodiversity, strengthen climate change resilience and bring more people into contact with nature in the places they live, work and play.
Since the first projects were funded in 2025, £1,360,000 has been invested, over 6,500 trees have been planted, engaging more than 320 volunteers, and four new urban forestry jobs have been created.
Among the projects awarded funding this year is FEL Scotland's 'Trees for Goals', which will receive £94,500 to support community sports clubs to plant and care for trees in and around their grounds.
The simple but powerful scheme began as a pilot with grassroots football team Alloa Saints where a tree was planted for every goal scored throughout the season. Enough goals were scored to plant around 2,000 trees, helping connect sport with practical environmental action. The programme has grown to include 16 clubs across Clackmannanshire, Falkirk and Stirling.
Clara Walker, Executive Director at FEL Scotland, said:
"This funding enables us to plant trees where they'll make the biggest difference, strengthening communities, improving local environments and inspiring climate action through the power of sport. By working with a range of local partners, we can grow greener neighbourhoods and ensure the impact makes a difference now and lasts well into the future."
Caption - "Replanting at Blaeberryhill Park, Whitburn assisted by volunteers from Whitburn Community Garden"
