BrewDog confess Lost Forest bid in tatters after half of trees die

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scots beer giant BrewDog has confessed that their plan to save the world is in tatters after half of the trees they planted in the Highlands died.

The brewers, from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, were paid more than £690,000 in public cash to plant saplings at the 'Lost Forest' on the site of the Kinrara Estate near Aviemore, Inverness-shire, reports Aberdeen Live.But they have now confessed that they were caught out by the "extreme" conditions, with it being estimated that over half of the Scots pine they planted, and nearly all of the oak trees, had died.Government agency Scottish Forestry told how the firm may have to take action fast to keep up its end of the deal.A spokesman said: “The level of loss here is higher than normal which may be down to climatic factors after planting."The agent/owner will be required to replant the failed sections as a condition of the Forestry Grant Scheme contract to ensure that it is a fully stocked woodland at establishment."Brewdog co-founder James Watt boasted that he was willing to see the beer firm go bust in his efforts to save the planet.

He said he’d spent £8.8million buying the 9,300-acre estate and wanted to plant more than a million trees to soak up carbon and was going to lose cash in doing so.Forestry Scotland handed over cash to pay for fences and also to cover the cost of the first planting phase.

However, staff discovered that up to 56 percent of the Scots pine trees had died. This is estimated to be at least 92,436 trees.They also noticed that 95 percent of the native broadleaved oaks had not survived - thought to be at least 42,712 trees.It’s reported that Scottish Forestry will keep an eye on the project to ensure Brewdog plant the trees they agreed to.Brewdog, revealed they