Meeting of the Parliament 11 February 2026 [Draft]
I also thank John Mason for bringing this debate to the chamber. It is always the best debate of the year because so many people want to take part. I have really enjoyed listening to other members and am delighted that I will be followed by Mercedes Villalba, who is going to tell us all about what she has done for Scotland’s road verges. I cannot wait.
In the previous session of the Parliament, I was a species champion for the holly tree. It was decided—probably rightly—that I did not do enough for the holly tree, so I was ditched from it. This session, I champion the ash tree. I was determined to do better for the ash tree than I did for the holly, so I have asked a number of questions about ash trees—six in the past year. I have asked about the cut in funding for the Future Trees Trust breeding programme for Scottish provenance ash; councils’ ash dieback recovery plans; the link between increases in plant imports and the rise of tree diseases such as ash dieback; and the ash dieback risk group.
Ash is under threat, but there are some healthy ash trees out there. To be honest, my experience of ash trees has been a bit mixed. In August 2023, a group of species champions went on a trip to Scotland’s rainforest, by Loch Lomond. We took a boat over to the rainforest, and we walked through it. Somebody pointed up a bank to a big ash tree—the biggest ash tree that I have ever seen. As a man who likes to get his boots muddy, I was determined to go up and hug that ash tree, which I did with Monica Lennon and Mark Ruskell. We joined hands and we hugged the ash tree. [Laughter.] We did—we hugged the ash tree.
The sad part of that story is that the ash tree has subsequently died of ash dieback.
However, there are better examples. The Argyle Street ash in Glasgow is currently the UK tree of the year. I went to see it last week, because it is in the running to be European tree of the year. I encourage everyone to vote for the Argyle Street ash.
Although I am up against the time, I need to mention my other species: the magnificent bilberry bumblebee, which is hard to find but well worth the effort. I found more than one during an arduous trek up Ben Lawers with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust in July 2021.
The scheme is great, and I encourage new members and returning members to get involved.