 The final item of business this evening is a member's business debate on motion 11728 in the name of Arrian Burgess on celebrating Scotland's national native woodlands. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, I'd invite members wishing to participate to press the request-to-speak buttons and I call on Arrian Burgess to open the debate around seven minutes. Thank you Presiding Officer and I'd like to thank my fellow MSPs who are joining me in this debate this evening. I also want to thank the organisations mentioned in my motion that are working passionately to protect and restore our precious native woodlands. Trees for Life, the Woodland Trust, Plant Life, Arcade Community Forest, the Langholm Initiative, the Highland Perthshire Community Land Trust, Argyll and the Isles Coast and Communities Trust and as a whole the Community Woodlands Association. We've just faced two back-to-back storms that wreaked havoc on people's travel and businesses and lives and even took human lives. These were not the first like this and they will certainly not be the last. So we should remember that healthy native woodlands help protects us from extreme weather events like this by protecting soils from erosion and communities from flooding. Native woodland restoration is not a nice to have, it is an essential part of the response to the climate emergency that is playing out right in front of our eyes. This evening's debate marks the 10th anniversary of the Scots pine becoming our country's national tree. That was announced at a parliamentary reception on 29 January 2014 following a nationwide consultation in which thousands of Scots backed our native pine for this honour. This tree is a symbol of Scotland with a rich and storied history. Pine candles were used in wedding rituals in fishing communities believed to bring prosperity and luck. In Orkney people would circle a pine candle three times around a mother and newborn child. Scots pines marked the burial places of warriors, heroes and chieftains. When wearing tartan was outlawed after the Jacobi uprising, the McGregor clan wore the Scots pine as their plant badge in a gesture of defiance. As the largest and longest-lived tree in the Caledonian forest, Scots pine is a symbol of durability, and as the Gallic Proveb, Cwri Marrhywch, Buon Marrhym Gwis, hard as Heather, lasting as the pine, Caledonian pinewoods now cover less than 2 per cent of their original area in Scotland. Scientists say that many of these remnants may not survive without urgent action. Turning to Scotland's temperate rainforest, the situation looks similar. This beautiful ecosystem that survives in fragments along the west coast and on the inner isles covers less than a fifth of its former area. Both types of woodland support a wealth of biodiversity and can help reduce the impact of climate change. Globally, Scotland is one of the last bastions for these important habitats, so we have a special responsibility to protect and restore them. Fortunatly, many community groups and third sector organisations are making a valiant effort to do just that. Early on, as an MSP, I visited Arcade community forests, which boasts both Caledonian pinewoods and temperate rainforest. I was so impressed by the multifaceted projects, including a native tree nursery, a community venison project and a forest school. More recently, young chairperson Liam McLoone wrote to me explaining how the woods are bursting with opportunities. In his words, he said, "...we regularly visit our woods, both individually and as community, to experience the wildlife within and connect with our heritage. Our woods also contribute towards our community in the form of timber production, venison produce, craft materials, ecotourism and conservation jobs." I got involved with our community wood to learn more about the forest and I am proud now to be involved in the management and restoration of this iconic place. That demonstrates how important people are to our native woodlands and how important our native woodlands are to people. Without increased effort to save them, they could be lost forever. A recent RSPV report found that 40 per cent of our rainforest shows a very high level of grazing, mainly by deer, which prevents or limits its long-term survival. Deer also propose a serious threat to scots pine, especially now that many of the fence is built to protect these woods in the 1990s have fallen into disrepair. I was heartened by the cabinet secretary for rural affairs commitment last year that by 2026 we will have taken steps to further protect and restore our iconic Atlantic rainforest and ancient Caledonian pine woods. I know that the groups and organisations that I have mentioned would like those steps to include exploring new technologies such as drone and thermal surveys, developing a community-based approach to deer stocking and adding deer management as a cross-compliance condition for farm support. Landscape scale deer management is the all-important tool in the woodland recovery toolbox. In Straths Bay and Upper Deeside land managers worked together on deer management across the landscape, allowing the pine woods to recover without the need for fences to remain in place. That is why it is so welcome that the Minister for Biodiversity is consulting on modernising deer management for climate and nature and that the Agriculture and Rural Communities Bill creates powers to support co-operation between people working in rural areas. Stakeholders have proposed a summit to discuss how working together across public and private and third sectors could save Caledonian pine woods. If we all work together across the different locations, vocations and policy spheres, we can save our globally important locally precious native woodland so that they can endure for centuries more and create livelihoods that keep people in our Straths and Glens. This debate feels especially pertinent as we weather the 10th named storm of this winter, storm Jocelyn, with we are facing mass disruption and power outages. Weather is becoming more extreme and it cannot be denied that climate change is playing a huge role in this. Biodiversity loss and climate change are twin crises. Climate change fuels biodiversity loss but healthy natural habitats are important in removing carbon from the environment. Although woodlands in general can help to support biodiversity, Scottish Forestry says that native forests will contribute the most. In her motion, Ariane Burgess rightly highlights that many of Scotland's native woodlands will not survive without urgent action. I thank Ms Burgess for bringing this important debate to the chamber today. An example of such action can be seen in the work of the woodland trust, which spent five years searching for the wild native crab apple, one of Scotland's rarest trees. It is amazing now that in my constituency we are hosting an orchard of 59 of those trees. The site on the shores of Loch Fennacar is a genetic refuge for a tree that could otherwise have been lost forever. The orchard sits within Glenfinglas, a hugely significant woodland regeneration project overseen by the woodland trust. The work here is repairing years of damage from over exploitation and will give wildlife more adaptability against climate change. Hosting a range of research from PhDs and wild cat counts to experiments on the impact of grazing. That site has a national impact, too. It is part of the Great Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve, which sees collaboration between the Scottish Forestry Alliance, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, the Woodland Trust, the RSPB and Forestry and Land Scotland. The project will have a 200-year lifespan and will become one of the largest native woodlands in the UK. That collaboration has already had great success. In the first 10 years, more than 2.5 million trees have been planted, creating a connected corridor of woodland. I would like to hear detail from the Government on how ambitious projects such as this one will be encouraged. The project in Glenfinglas has had huge input from committed volunteers, as Ariane Burgess pointed out earlier. In fact, many conservation projects do, from smaller projects to larger projects on community woodlands. Many of the achievements in native woodlands would not be possible without them. I would like to thank them for their work and call on the Government to consider support to making volunteering accessible, especially as the cost of living crisis continues to have a negative impact on volunteers and their time. The Scottish Government has been ambitious in its aims, for example, to create 3,000 to 5,000 hectares of new native woodland per year and restore 10,000 hectares. It also recognises the environmental benefits that forests and woodlands provide. As the climate crisis becomes more and more acute, I would like to see the Government's support and empower volunteers, organisations and communities to meet those goals. I welcome today's debate, which is brought forward by Ariane Burgess, which highlights the important role of groups such as the Woodland Trust and community woodland associations right across Scotland in their efforts to restore Scotland's native woodlands. Tree planting is a vital part of the Scottish Government's commitment to net zero and biodiversity. In my region of south Scotland, native and non-native woodlands play a vital role in local tourism and in bringing communities together. Community woodlands such as the Gifford community woodland, which my garden opens into, have helped to bring people together and to create spaces for visitors and for residents to enjoy. I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Woodland Manager, Neville Kilkenny and the trustees for all their efforts and for delaying any noisy work on a Sunday morning to give me an extra 30 minutes at rest. The Woodland Trust has also supported tree planting activities in Butterdeanwood and Prestmeninwood in East Lothian, which I have been delighted to visit since becoming an MSP. In the Scottish Borders, where I represent, three of Scotland's 11 heritage trees are located at Doig Botanical Garden, which attracts tens of thousands of visitors into Tweeddale and the Scottish Borders. Scotland's formal target is to plant 18,000 hectares of new woodland every year, and that equates to at least 40 million trees planted for new woodland creation. Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to visit Rodney and Craig Shearer at Elsam's Trees outside Haddington in East Lothian. After only two years, Elsam's is now one of the UK's leading independent seed specialists and a native plant breeder. However, during my visit, I was told of the devastating consequences that the Scottish Government's 41 per cent cut to the Scottish Forestry Grant will have on local jobs, as well as the delivery of important environmental and biodiversity targets. I wish Rodney and Craig well as they develop the business and contribute both to the local economy and to the Scottish environment. However, I have also heard from Albatres, another East Lothian-based nursery, who employ around 100 people locally and grow 20 million trees every year. They, too, are concerned about the significant cut to the funding proposed in the budget for 2024 and 2025. Make no mistake, that will come as a major blow for the industry and could undermine our forestry goals. The proposed woodland creation budget is assessed by Scottish Forestry as being able to fund only 9,000 hectares of new planting, which is only half the annual target. That contrasts with an expected planting figure of around 13,000 hectares over the past 12 months. Both companies have also raised concerns about the administration of the grant, which does not accommodate for the planting seasons or address the production of trees, which takes between two to three years. This year, tree nurseries will collect those seeds for trees that will not be planted until 2026. It would be worth looking at the administration of the Scottish Forestry Grant, which operates on a calendar year basis and is subject to over-demand and over-application, which means that there are currently trees being cultivated that may not be purchased or sold. Actual planting numbers over recent seasons have been erratic and fell to 8,190 hectares of new planting last year. That downturn was caused by a number of different factors, but not by any lack of the availability of trees. Nurseries took a huge hit in that season, and millions of viable trees had to be disposed of. The impact of reducing new woodland creation in 2024-25 will be to see a figure of between 10 and 20 million trees go to waste and potentially being destroyed, which in a climate change emergency minister makes absolutely no sense and it will cost jobs and impact the environment. That seems a tragic outcome for trees that have been grown to fulfil a national purpose and would play a key role in helping Scotland meet its net-zero commitments. Scotland should be rightly proud of our native woodlands, but it needs minister-careful management and it needs considered long-term financial support. That is why the Government should therefore reconsider the savage cuts to the forestry budget, for it will undoubtedly have a negative impact across Scotland. I thank Ariana Burgess for her motion. It provides a timely opportunity to celebrate our national native woodlands but also an opportunity to recognise a perilous state of our native species and a chance to highlight the urgent action that is needed to save and restore them. As we have heard Scotland's native woodlands face a range of challenges that unsustainably high levels of grazing from wildears, pests, disease, the impact of climate change, invasive non-native species, including from poorly planned commercial forestry planted in the 1960s to the 1980s. I recognise that the huge importance of commercial forestry, if we are to meet growing demand, creates important jobs. I see that in Dumfries and Galloway, where forest and woodland covers 31 per cent of my home region, making it the most forested part of Scotland. I support our increase in tree planting targets, but we need to ensure that those targets are met, which they have not been and, as we have already heard, they will not be following the cuts and grants that are announced in the budget. We need to deliver the right mix of trees in the right place. That means a better geographical spread to ease the pressure on many communities who have seen an excessive tree planting in their area and the use of more trees sourced and grown in the UK and Ireland, and a better focus on restoration through natural regeneration. We know from Woodland Trust landmarks state of the woods and trees report 2021 that ancient woodlands in Scotland hold an average 30 per cent more carbon compared to the average carbon stocks for other woodland types. As we see those planting targets increase, we not only need an increase in trees to meet timber demand, but significant woodland expansion and restoration through native species. There are many examples of projects playing their part to achieve that, and I want to highlight just one that is mentioned in Ariana Burgess' motion. Tucked away in the beautiful S valley and the muckled tune of Langham in Dumfries and Galloway, we have seen what has been a quiet land reform revelation take place. Langham Moor sits on the doorstep of the former textile town, and until recently it was part of the large land portfolio of the Duke of Beclu. When the Beclu estate's efforts to revive growth shooter in the Moor were unproductive, it declared the land as surplus and promptly put it up for sale. The Moor's dramatic hills, the native woodland and habitat with amazing ancient oaks and alders, and the stunning river valley are home to Henharriars and Curlew and map the historic boundaries of the common land for over 250 years. It is a little wonder therefore that the tight-knit community did what Beclu failed to and recognised the real opportunities that lay in the land. Against the odds that a bold fundraise and effort was launched by the Langham initiative that put the town on the map, it captured international attention and it raised a remarkable £6 billion from thousands of online crowdfunding donations around the world to £1 million from the Scottish land fund. In Scotland's biggest community by out of 10,000 hectares, that's over five and a half thousand football pitches of the Duke's land, came under the protection and ownership of the people, those who live and work the land. Now known as the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve, the community's owners, brilliantly led by the estate manager Jenny Barlow and the amazing staff and volunteers are pushing the boundaries of ecological and community restoration and they're improving the environment, seeking to build a better economic future by pursuing sustainable and responsible tourism. Their vision and their plans for the Moor are truly inspiring. With support from the Woodland Trust, we've seen the restoration and expansion of ancient woodland on the Moor, including mapping those magnificent trees to then undertake work to give them more space and light to thrive. There's also work to remove sicker spruce on the land and a native tree nursery has been established nearby. That work, the Tarras Valley Nature Reserve's vision, has really captured hearts across the world and it's work this parliament, the government, recognis and support. I, too, would like to thank Ariane Burgess for bringing this fairly important subject to the Parliament. I am going to be a little bit boring and go back on some of the things that I've done in my life but in 1996 I started a project with the landowner I was working for to replace 600 acres of Caledonian pine in the Cangorms. It was a big project. We collected seed, we grafted trees onto roots that have been specially prepared for them and we spent £20,000 of consultant's time to try and get the scheme through the local bodies that needed to be consulted and you thought it would be an easy thing in the Cangorms to get more pine trees, Caledonian pines, replacing the forests but it wasn't. It took nearly 10 years of my life and I'd probably still wear the scars of trying to achieve that. So I absolutely believe that if we're going to take this project on and do it properly, we need to make it easier and again people won't be, well might be surprised that I'm actually going to congratulate Fergus Ewing on something that he did in the last session of Parliament which was to try and speed up the process of getting consent and he went to Jim McKinnon who produced a report. I'm not sure that it's speeded up the process but we jolly well ought to speed up the process because we need these woodlands now, not tomorrow, not next year, not in 10 years time. We need to start building them now and regenerating the stock that we have and I would just say to the Government is that as part of this process you're going to have to do better with your planting targets than you've achieved. I think since 2016 you've only managed two years of actually achieving the targets you've set yourself even though you've adjusted them down and we've lost 17,000 hectares of trees that should have been planted and these could have been these Caledonian pines that we need to do. So I would urge the Government and I would urge all the organisations who are involved in it to set about more targeted zoning and planting of these trees, work out where we want them, work out how we're going to get them and then work out how we're going to get people to invest in them because, as Colin Smyth has said, there are people out there who want to invest in them. And I would also say that, as I think Craig Hoy has mentioned, the issue of planting grants is a real issue. Reducing the planting grants by 41% just doesn't really help. That's 30 million pounds off the budget. That is not going to get us more of these forests or protect the forests that we need to do. And I'm going to agree with Colin Smyth about deer control and probably Ariane Burgess about deer control. We need to do a more significant job on deer control and I spoke against the minister when she came in and produced a plan to kill more male deer. It's not male deer that propagate the population, it's female deer and we need to get on top of those, which is why I've asked the minister and I hope maybe in her summary today she'll respond whether she's happy to come to the hill with me and some stalkers to see what the real problems are with deer control. I think I've offered you an open invitation on any date that suits you to come and talk, so I hope you'll find time to do that. Through the tear, Mr Mountain, please. Sorry, sorry. I hope the minister would do that. I apologise, Presiding Officer. And the other thing I would say on deer control, Presiding Officer, is the importance is that we work together, because it is deer migrate from one estate to another. And my view and my understanding is, is you can get deer numbers down one year, but they sure as hell pop up the next year if you don't make sure you've controlled them. Now it would be remiss of me if I didn't mention just before I come to closing. One of the things I found most difficult is the introduction of beavers into the Cangorns national park. The reasons why I find it difficult is because they will eat the very trees that I have spent a huge amount of my life trying to popgate and move out into the Cangorns. I have consigned and I'm happy to admit consigned by signing off stalkers to kill deer probably in the region of 25,000 to 30,000 red deer in Scotland. And then having done that to protect the trees, we've then introduced a species that lives on trees and eats them and fells them and uses them for their advantage. I find that really difficult. So one thing I would say in closing, Presiding Officer, I respect the huge amount of work that all the organisations that Ms Burgess has mentioned have done, but there are other people out there, private landowners who are doing a huge amount of work as well. And we should encourage them and we should make sure they have the facilities to do the very job that we're asking everyone to do, which is to ensure that our Caledonian point would expand and not contract. Thank you, Mr Mountain. I now call Bill Kidd to be followed by Oliver Mundell around four minutes. Mr Kidd. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. I'd also like, of course, to thank our colleague Arrian Burgess for bringing today's debate to the chamber. Scotland's native woodlands are a national treasure. They're one to be enjoyed by all, and one tree often found skirting these woodlands like a guardian and protector is the Scotts Pine. An imposing, majestic giant looming over the land, reaching skyward and earthward, and inspiring us and connecting us. A decade ago, the Scotts Pine became Scotland's national tree, following a campaign run by Scottish National Heritage and Visit Scotland as part of the year of natural Scotland celebrations, inspired by Scotland's Big Five campaign to identify the nation's favourite wildlife. The Scotts Pine topped the pole of Scotland's favourite native trees and plants, narrowly beating the humble bluebell into second place by 1 per cent of the vote. The majestic giant verses the shy, retiring bluebell, hardly a fair contest, you would think, but to me, the carpet of beautiful blue flowers covering the ground underneath the trees with their leaves just starting to open is equally majestic and a wonderful sign of spring returning. I'm going to offer a very mild tangent to say that, at this time, as we gather to celebrate Bun's night and the days grow longer, we are reminded of Bun's own connection to nature and his love of the bluebell as a harbinger of change, as immortalised in the words of his 1790 poem, My Bonnie Bell, saying, The smiling spring comes in rejoicing as surly winter grimly flies, and I rejoice in Bonnie Blue, Bonnie Bell, all time in nature, their changes tell, but never ranging, still unchanging, I adore my Bonnie Bell. In my constituency of Glasgow, Annie's land, we have one of the most spectacular bluebell walks in Scotland, the Drumchapel bluebell woods, and they're a haven for walkers, cyclists, families and, of course, various species of trees and wildlife. Well, today we recognise a Scotch pine and the Caledonian pine woods. It is equally important to recognise the important role that urban woodlands play in mitigating against the impacts of climate change alongside the effects they have on our urban community's mental health and wellbeing. Many studies have shown that regular contact with good quality green space is linked to better health. Scottish Forestry lists a number of benefits, including anger reduction and attention restoration, alongside the restorative effect from stress and mental fatigue. Among the physical benefits to locals are a reduced risk of heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, osteoporosis and other life-threatening conditions, also socially improved perception of neighbourhoods, increased social interaction and stronger communities, alongside an improved sense of place and reduction in inequalities between the richest and the poorest in society. Groundbreaking research undertaken at University of Dundee has also shown that green space can help those affected by early stage dementia through creating meaningful experiences and increasing feelings of self-worth. As a result of a hugely encouraging 10-week pilot project, the scheme is due to be rolled out in more areas of Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Edinburgh and Inverness. I hope that the Scottish Government will keep a close eye on those programmes in order to evaluate the potential benefits nationally. It is evident that those diverse benefits cut across many of the national objectives set out by the Government, and it is such that I would be interested to learn of how those cross-cutting outcomes are currently incorporated into Government thinking and encourage the consideration of further research into the potential benefits of increasing cross-portfolio interlacing. In conclusion, Woodland's benefit is all, and I, for one, hope to see those benefits continue to flourish across the country. I thank Ariana Burgess for bringing forward this debate. It provides a chance to talk about some of the positive aspects of forestry in Scotland and some of the untapped potential. I often speak out or find myself speaking out against tree planting in my own Dumfrieshire constituency. As Colin Smyth mentioned, Dumfrieshire and Galloway already has a very large amount of forestry, an awful lot of commercial forestry, and I have grave concerns that those projects push ahead, but they are the wrong tree in the wrong place, and that many of the incentives and packages that are in place at the moment are geared towards commercial planting rather than doing what is right for communities and for the environment. We see large commercial forestry plantations scattered by some broadleaf planting, but it is often on the least favourable ground. The trees are purely planted, they are not cared for or maintained, and they exist in such small pockets that they do not achieve the environmental and natural benefits that they would do if they were more concentrated. Even within projects such as Glangham, Moor, which is very positive and oasis in the desert, we see increasing numbers of commercial planting proposals come around taking away some of the opportunities that might exist in the future to branch that out. I understand that there is an economic benefit to having home sourced commercial timber, but the sickest spruce is not a tree that adds much to biodiversity. I am concerned, as Mr Smith mentioned again, in Glangham you see those trees spreading out past where they have been planted, almost like weeds on the hills, and the people who plant them in the first place do nothing to try to keep them within their existing boundaries. It is sad to see because it is wasted potential to do something better. That is only, in my view, going to get worse with the cut to the forestry grant. I imagine that, in a race to try and meet planting targets, a lot of the focus is going to go into planting as many trees with the money as possible, and that is likely to favour planting large numbers of sickest spruce in specific geographical locations rather than smaller native schemes. That cut to the forestry grant should not be happening, but, at the very least, I would hope to hear from the minister that she would expect that cut to be proportionate and that smaller native planting schemes, planting of broadleaf trees, is not going to be unduly squeezed in order to push ahead. The final thing, given the short time available that I want to just mention briefly, was around deer ffensing. Again, I feel that, in my constituency, we see a lot of deer ffensing put up that is not necessary, which is often in scenic spots that prevents walkers and other land users from enjoying the hillside. We have seen in Moffitt a project from the Borders Forest Trust that, with careful management with other plans, there are other alternatives and a better balance can be found if, of course, your reason for planting trees is right in the first place and that it is not to maximise economic return. I feel that the Government needs to do more in that space. I am delighted that, with every single speaker here today, there was a recognition that Scotland has the ambition and should become a more wooded country. That means more of our native woodlands, our Caledonian pinewoods and our rainforests. It is distressing that, as Arianne highlighted, only 2 per cent of our Caledonian pinewoods remain to us, which is such a loss that we have experienced. We have gotten so used to so many bare hills in Scotland that our ancestral connection to our woodlands in some ways has been cut. We have lost that connection. People who now make livelihoods from woodlands show us the way to the future. The chances for obviously wildlife to thrive and to re-experience the heritage of livelihoods that depend on the woodlands, to develop our venison industry, to eco-tourism and conservation jobs that are part of that woodland expansion, as well as, of course, wood for craft and commercial forestry, keeping in mind, of course, our ambition to maintain that proportion of native woodlands. It was very encouraging to me to hear so many people talk about the importance of collaboration and co-operation, what our land managers are achieving in Scotland through collaboration with dear management groups, what community groups have been able to achieve. Working together is how we are going to achieve this. This is not something that the Government can do alone. Certainly with the funding challenges of the current financial settlement, we all have to work together to get the best possible outcomes. I can certainly reassure Mr Mundell that we are committed to that proportion of native woodland in seeing that expansion of native woodland. There are many speakers in the chamber just now who have also spoken about the impacts of climate change, the impacts of storms that they will be having on Scotland and the importance of having that not only carbon sequestration but, I think, the recent flooding that we have seen in Scotland, which we are only going to see more of as climate change progresses. We know that the right tree in the right place can help us to manage that water, to help us with water management, to help us with that catchment-basin management. That is why we are looking at landscape scale change in Scotland. That is why land managers working together make such a difference. In this chamber today, we have heard about discussion about both planting and native regeneration. Going into the topic of native woodland regeneration, the number one risk, as highlighted by Aria and Burgess, to native woodland regeneration is the large numbers of deer in Scotland. I will address Mr Mountain's comments about the deer and the beavers. There is currently an estimate of one million deer in Scotland. There were too many deer in the 1950s, so legislation was brought in to manage them, but the numbers doubled to 1991. Further legislation was brought in, and the numbers doubled yet again. This Government has taken advice from the independent deer working group, expert advice, on what we can do to bring those deer numbers down. In areas where we wish to have natural regeneration, as highlighted by Colin Smith, the importance of natural regeneration means that we must get those deer numbers right down, significantly lower than they are now in those areas. First, I thank the Member for giving way. My only comment slightly on deer numbers is that they are not all in the areas where the Caledonian pine forests are. The second point is that if you are going to reduce deer numbers, are you going to reduce all herbivore numbers, which includes deer and hares? As we spoke about from Arianne Burgess, the number one risk to the pine woods and to the rainforest is that deer grazing. The member also mentions the hares and beavers. This is pure mathematics. There are a million deer in Scotland, and there are 1,500 beavers. The reason why we need to manage the deer is because there are in places where we need to regenerate Scotland's woodlands too many of those deer. Those numbers need to be brought down. There are a relatively small number of beavers compared to the number of deer, which is why we must manage the deer effectively to have that important natural regeneration of Scotland's woodland, of our rainforest. There was some mention today of non-native species, both self-seeding of Sitka, which is a challenge that we need to face, but I did not hear any mention specifically of the risks around rhododendron and the work that we need to do to reduce the invasive species of rhododendron. Those are all part of the package of things that we need to work together on. As I work towards my conclusion, I would like to absolutely highlight the positive work that is being done for native woodlands by communities in Scotland in Arcaig, Langham, which Colin Smyth highlighted beautifully, Persia and Argyll, and there are, of course, more projects across Scotland's rainforests and pinewoods. I would also like to highlight the work of the Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest and bringing people together and energising landscape scale restoration projects. The Woodland Trust are expanding and restoring the Ben Shaleig Caledonian Pinewood, which is part of Scotland's rainforest and recently received £1 million of forestry grant scheme funding. The Neu Dart Forest Trust has created over 400 hectares of new native woodland in the rainforest zone, controlled rhododendron at a landscape scale and continues to provide local jobs by, for example, purchasing an electric sawmill to increase the use of local timber. Forestry and Land Scotland has been improving the condition of ancient woodland across all of Scotland's national estate for over 50 years. With funding from Scottish Government, they are currently focusing rainforest restoration work on selected priority areas such as Napdale, Glencliff, Creyrin, Moirvern, North Arcaig, Slassadale and East Loch Lomond. At Loch Lomond, they have consolidated and expanded on the work of the last 27 years, converting the Ben Lomond National Memorial landscape to a native habitat, and they have invested heavily in removing invasive non-natives in inaccessible locations. This work is slow and expensive, but it is vital to successfully removing the seed source. Nature Scott will also continue to restore, expand and improve the condition of their pinewoods at the Ben I and Loch Murray Estates National Nature Reserve and continue to support work on these iconic woodlands through the Nature Restoration Fund. I was very encouraged to welcome the suggestions from how we can support the businesses who are growing the seed stores and nurseries. Of course, I am delighted to hear that there are businesses that are being able to bring their livelihoods—people are earning their livelihoods—by breeding and nurturing the seedlings of Scotland's native trees. That is such important work, and I look forward to supporting those industries and businesses as we go forward and work to make Scotland a more wooded country. Thank you very much, minister. That concludes the debate, and I close this meeting of parliament.