The River Dee Trust’s campaign to plant a million native trees has won a prestigious national conservation award, recognising its work to restore river habitats, protect wildlife and build resilience across the Dee catchment in the face of climate change.
The One Million Trees campaign won the Conservation category at the 2026 Scottish Land & Estates Helping It Happen Awards, celebrating its collaborative approach to restoring one of Scotland’s most iconic river catchments, and working closely with estates on Deeside and the Dee District Salmon Fishery Board to get trees in the ground in the most important locations.
The campaign aims to plant an initial one million native trees across the River Dee catchment by 2035. The restored riverside woodland will provide vital shade, improve habitats, support biodiversity and strengthen the catchment’s resilience to climate change.
The River Dee supports internationally important wildlife, including endangered wild Atlantic salmon and freshwater pearl mussels. But rising water temperatures, drought, flooding and increasingly unpredictable weather are placing growing pressure on the river’s ecosystems.
Restoring native woodland along vulnerable stretches of the river will provide cooling shade, stabilise riverbanks, slow water flow and reconnect fragmented habitats. Together, these benefits will strengthen the resilience of Deeside’s natural environment and rural communities.
Sandy Bremner, Chair of the River Dee Trust, said: “We are delighted that the One Million Trees campaign has won the 2026 Scottish Land & Estates Helping It Happen Award for Conservation.
“This award belongs not just to the River Dee team, but to the land managers, funders, volunteers, businesses, communities, partners and contractors whose collaboration turned ambition into action.
“We are now stepping up our work at landscape scale to protect the River Dee and highlight the effects of climate change on wild Atlantic salmon, other wildlife, and the people who depend on the river.”
This is the campaign’s third national award, following the Nature & Climate Action Award at the 2023 Nature of Scotland Awards and Climate Campaign of the Year at the 2024 Holyrood Climate Action Awards.
Through public engagement, media coverage, tree sponsorship and volunteer tree planting days, the campaign has helped raise awareness of the connection between healthy rivers, healthy landscapes and resilient communities.
The 2026 Helping It Happen Conservation Award comes as the River Dee Trust ramps up its restoration programme is to create a healthier, more resilient river for wildlife, communities and future generations.