The Galbraith forestry department has given away almost 1,500 trees to members of the public in the past three years, enough to cover 2.4 acres, or a hectare of new woodland.

The forestry team regularly attends events and open days, where carefully wrapped, native cell-grown trees from Alba Trees provide an excellent promotional gift with an environmental conscience.

A total of 1,500 saplings have been distributed, which if planted would create a woodland the size of four supermarkets, one and a half football pitches, or a car park for 360 cars!

James Reid, a forester with Galbraith in Inverness, said: "Trees as a gift provide a fun way to engage with people and get them thinking about the difference they can make in their local community whether it is planting a tree in their own garden or volunteering to help in a local woodland project. Even a small number of trees in an urban environment can make a huge difference – providing habitat for wildlife, cooling the air in the summer and absorbing carbon dioxide."

A mature tree can absorb up to 150kg of CO2 a year, making a valuable contribution to combating the effects of greenhouse gas emissions. The Galbraith promotional trees would absorb 225,000kg of CO2 if all grow to maturity, equivalent to taking 117 cars off the road each year.

Galbraith manages over 30,000 hectares of woodland across Scotland and Northern England and also advises on new woodland creation, forest certification, grants and licences, timber harvesting and marketing, carbon audits, biodiversity and habitat restoration.