Join us in planting a Grove of native trees in honour of Robert Burns - acknowledging his love of and connection to the land he celebrated through poetry and song.

He was a great patriot and his love for Scotland has kept alive the belief that we are a Nation of Worth and Honour:

"The Cotter's Saturday Night."

"From scenes like these, old Scotia's grandeur springs,
That makes her lov'd at home, rever'd abroad..."

"O Scotia, my dear, my native soil!
For whom my warmest wish to Heaven is sent,
Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil,
Be blest with health, and peace, and sweet content."

He was a lover of Nature, feeling compassion for all forms of life.
The trees will encourage a return of wildlife to a natural habitat.
Robert Burns among other things wrote about the mouse, the wounded hare and the deer:

"My Heart's In The Highlands"

"My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here
My heart's in the Highlands a-chasing the deer,
A-chasing the wild deer and following the roe
My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go!"
The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear."

He was a lover of Nature, and could easily identify Scotland's wild flowers.
The trees will encourage a carpet of flowers to thrive under their shelter.
He wrote, mentioning only a few, of bluebells, the daisy, hawthorn, woodbine, lilies, and the primrose:

"The Posie"

"The woodbine I will pu' when the e'ening star is near,
And the diamond draps o' dew shall be her een sae clear!
The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear -
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May! "

"The hawthorn I will pu', wi' its locks o' siller gray,
Where like an aged man, it stands at break o' day;
But the songster's nest within the bush I winna tak away -
And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May! "

Ah, the songster's nest.
He was a lover of Nature, and mentioned many birds.
The trees will encourage a return of birds both large and small to their natural habitat.
Some of the birds which Robert Burns mentions are the linnet,
blackbird, the lapwing, the thrush:

"The Birks Of Aberfeldie"

"The little birdies blythely sing,
While o'er their heads the hazels hing,
Or lightly flit on wanton wing
In the birks of Aberfeldie! "

He was a lover of Nature, and what is more apt for this project than
his love of trees.
Without tree the landscape has little life.
Without trees the landscape is bare.
Without trees the landscape is silent.

One of his enduring legacies was to write a poem titled,
"The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Athole."
This poem is written from the point of view of the river which argues
that its banks need decorative and protective foliage. Burns called the river
"exceedingly picturesque and beautiful" but it needed trees and shrubs.
This suggestion was later acted upon by the Duke.
He encouraged the Duke of Athole to do what "Trees for Life" is doing,
reforestation:

"Would, then, my noble master please
To grant my highest wishes,
He'll shade my banks wi' tow'ring trees
And bonie spreading bushes.

The sober laverock, warbling wild,
Shall to the skies aspire;
The gowdspink, Music's gayest child,
Shall sweetly join the choir;
The blackbird strong, the lintwhite clear,
The mavis mild and mellow,
The robin, pensive Autumn cheer
In all her locks of yellow.

Here shall the shepherd make his seat
To weave his crown of flow'rs;
Or find a shelt'ring, safe retreat
From prone-descending show'rs.

Let lofty firs and ashes cool
My lowly banks o'erspread,
And view, deep-bending in the pool,
Their shadows' wat'ry bed:
Let fragrant birks, in woodbines drest,
My craggy cliffs adorn,
And, for the little songster's nest,
The close embow'ring thorn! "

We know, for certain, that Robert Burns would be behind Trees for Life's important work.
Let us make the Robert Burns Grove worthy of Scotland, worthy of the man himself and worthy of his love of Nature.

David Sibbald
www.robertburns.plus.com