Eigg Tree Nursery - putting down roots!

Aim

Growing Scotland’s future forests from local seeds - help Eigg Tree Nursery put down permanent roots.

🌱Support our community nursery growing native trees for the Highlands and islands - for people, wildlife and the future.

For a limited time only, donations will be matched by the Highlands & Islands Environment Foundation (HIEF) AND the Aviva Community Fund - meaning £1 becomes £3! *

* HIEF funding is limited to £7,000 overall, and Aviva funding will only match-fund up to £250 per donator.

Eigg Tree Nursery is already buzzing with life - we’re growing native Scottish trees from seeds collected by hand right here on Eigg. Now, we want to give the nursery the chance to put down permanent roots in our community. To make this happen and keep the Tree Nursery going, we need your help.

Eigg's South East side has quite a bit of woodland already so we know they will grow well here.

Who Are We? 

We are more than a tree nursery, acting as a vital community hub at the heart of our island. 

• We are a social enterprise, central to Eigg’s plan to replace plantation woodland with a thriving, mixed native forest. The plan is to gradually cut the single species plantation, using the wood on the island as a source of sustainable firewood for our island community.
• Planting more trees on the island is a driver of biodiversity, creating habitats and food sources for countless species and that is also being played out everywhere our trees are sent to be planted.
• An inclusive space for volunteering and learning, where people of all ages can spend time together, gain skills, and connect with nature and the changing seasons. 
• The local primary school children are regular visitors, sowing tree seeds and then helping to plant them out when they have grown.
• Tasha, our tree nursery manager, puts on music events, inspiring films and organises guests visiting Eigg to give talks on trees, nature restoration or  anything connected and interesting.

Why We’re Crowdfunding

Right now, our ability to keep the tree nursery going is at risk. We have done lots of work on increasing the numbers of trees we grow and started new initiatives for tree nursery income and we urgently need funds to help us bridge the gap while these get up and running. It costs money for us to grow trees and they take their time to grow! We are aiming to be self-sufficient at the tree nursery by next year so this extra help now is so vital.

This project was started to grow trees for a new woodland on Eigg, but it has grown arms and legs well beyond the original idea. Now we’re putting into action plans to make the Tree Nursery a permanent part of our island and Highland community. Help us to bridge the gap to becoming permanent and self-sustaining.

Every donation will: 

• Increase how many trees we can grow - ready for planting in the Scotland's Highlands and Islands
• Support community volunteering and training 
• Secure the future of this important enterprise on Eigg

Thanks to the Highlands and Islands Environment Foundation, and Aviva Community Fund every donation up to £250 will be matched pound for pound for pound – trebling the impact of your gift!

Our Story 

🌱 In 2017, Tasha Fyffe, who grew up on Eigg, stepped forward when it became clear that to make our island forest plan viable, what we really needed was to grow trees locally. From here the seed for the Eigg Tree Nursery was planted.

🌱 In 2018, we started with just a few outdoor seed beds, some native seed collected on Eigg and some volunteer effort. 

🌱 By 2019, our polytunnel was up, and thousands of tiny trees began life under cover.

🌱In the years since, we've learnt a lot, shared ideas, expertise and worked hard to grow.

To date we’ve sown, grown, and planted out more than 50,000 trees here on Eigg. Many more are thriving in planting projects across the Highlands and Islands. 

Growing on Eigg is no small feat - with strong winds and salty air, it’s a tough environment. But this is our strength: the trees we raise here are hardy, resilient, and perfectly adapted to survive in the wild landscapes of Scotland.

These are not just any trees, the seeds were collected here on the island, building on the wild ancestry of island trees. They are already adapted to the environment and the saplings were grown on exposed to the strong winds and salty air. These trees are survivors, doing excellently well when planted out in our local area, and that is what we need in Scotland’s North West. Scotland has only 19.5% tree cover, almost half the European average of 38%. Government targets for more tree planting are missed every year but planting trees is one of the best ways to reverse nature decline and they have knock-on effects for humans aside from being useful and beautiful. They help reduce flooding, protect the soil and so many other things. We won’t go on about how great trees are, hopefully it’s something we can all agree on.

We want to raise £14,000 which will let us keep  the doors open and keep growing. Money raised beyond that will give us the resilience to grow more trees year after year! So every £1 you donate will be another tree growing every year in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. We plant the trees we need here on the Isle of Eigg and others are sent off to other islands and areas of the mainland local to us. When they go to our neighbouring Small Isles community of Muck, Rum and Canna we can just put them on the ferry!

Trees getting packed and ready to go to the Isle of Muck

Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust

The Isle of Eigg sits 10 miles off Scotland’s West Coast - five miles by three miles, it has a fascinating history, superb wildlife and vibrant community.

After decades of absentee landlordism, Eigg became one of Scotland’s first community buyouts and THE first island buyout. Eigg has been owned and managed by the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust (IEHT) on behalf of our island community since 1997.

IEHT's work is important to the people of Eigg, providing residents with the power and opportunity to build a better future for the island. In the years since the buyout, our island community has built in skills, confidence and number and has a strong track record for impactful project delivery. The Eigg Tree Nursery comes under the umbrella of IEHT. 

 How You Can Help 

• Donate what you can - every pound will be trebled thanks to match funding. 
• Share our Crowdfunder - help spread the word far and wide. 
• Stand with us - be part of nature restoration, community resilience, and climate action. 

Together, we can ensure the Eigg Tree Nursery not only survives but thrives – growing trees, growing skills, and growing community. 

🌿 Help us put down roots for the future.

This project successfully funded on 6th May 2026