What do you do when thinking globally feels overwhelming? For Henry Mathias of the Tranent Wombles, the answer is simple: get outside, get your hands dirty, and plant trees with primary school children. The Tranent Wombles are a community litter-picking and greening voluntary group who adopted a patch of municipal greenspace from East Lothian Council. Two years ago it was, in Henry's words,

"just another patch of grass, a municipal green urban desert, kept cut and sprayed to within an inch of its life."

Today, it is a thriving Forest Garden buzzing with insect life and the starting point for something bigger. 

From Forest Garden to Wee Forest

Inspired by the transformation of their Forest Garden, members of the group began looking at how they could extend a wildlife corridor into the grounds of neighbouring St Martins Primary School. A neglected, fenced-off area beside the school's astroturf pitch was identified. 

The challenge: how to bring it to life quickly, on a tight budget, with a small team of volunteers. The answer came in the form of a Wee Forest (aka Tiny Forests worldwide). Based on a Japanese method known as the Miyawaki technique, a Wee Forest involves planting and feeding around 600 mixed native trees within a tennis court-sized area, resulting in growth at more than three times the normal rate. What you hopefully get is a dense, fast-establishing native woodland that is relatively low maintenance once established and ideal for a school setting.

Whole school, every child

With the support of an enthusiastic headteacher, the project quickly grew into a whole-school event. Some Tranent Wombles attended assembly, engaged the Parent Council, and before long every child at St Martins, including those in the nursery, had planted at least one tree. Species including hazel, holly, hawthorn, birch, blackthorn, broom and gorse were put in the ground by young hands that, as Henry noted, seemed to grasp the differences between them faster than the adults.

The planting day produced plenty of memorable moments beyond the trees themselves — P7 girls taking command of woodchips in the wheelbarrow, the discovery of buried objects including a coin, a marble, a lump of coal and what appeared to be a clay bottle-stop from the 1800s. Henry reflects:

"Getting out and hands-on with a fun activity offers a different learning environment, which allows some children to come into their own. A different space is being created."

Why it matters for Tranent

Tranent currently has a canopy cover of just 16% - the second lowest of any community in East Lothian. The Wee Forest at St Martins is a direct response to that deficit, creating new habitat, extending an existing wildlife corridor, and giving the school a foundation for a broader co-created eco playground and outdoor classroom. It is East Lothian's second and according to Earthwatch’s Tiny Forest map Scotland's 35th Wee Forest. A small but measurable contribution to reversing biodiversity loss at a local level.

For more information about the Tranent Wombles and the great work they are doing take a look at their Facebook page.

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Way back in September 2021 we featured Scotland's first Wee Forest as our Project of the Month. If anyone has images or news of how it's getting on with it's growing please do get in touch with us.