Over a series of visits to this site on the western edge of Edinburgh, every single department at GGM played a part. Tree surgery, landscaping, estate management, and our back office team coordinating every detail.
Our managing director Jordan walked the finished site and said it plainly: this is what all-in-one looks like in practice.
The site and the brief
Scottish Power’s biodiversity team approached us with a brief that combined habitat restoration, native planting, and preparation for public access in Currie.
The site had suffered from ash dieback, a fungal disease that has affected ash trees across Scotland and the rest of the UK. Infected trees become structurally unsafe over time, and removing them properly is as much a safety operation as an ecological one.
The challenge was to remove the affected trees, improve the site’s biodiversity through large-scale native planting, and hand it back in a condition the public could actually enjoy.
Ash dieback removal and site clearance
We removed over 26 trees affected by ash dieback across the site. Our tree surgery team handled the felling, sectioning, and clearance, working systematically to protect the surrounding vegetation while making the area safe.
Nothing from the removed trees went to waste. The wood was chipped on site, and those recycled wood chips were used later in the project to replenish the footpath used by dog walkers and local residents.
The material that came out of the ground came back in, in a form the site could use.
Native tree planting for the next generation
We planted over 1,400 trees across the site, with a species list chosen specifically for the ecology of central Scotland.
Scots pine, bird cherry, holly, and goat willow were all planted in numbers. Each of these species is native to Scotland, which means they support local insects, birds, and mammals in ways that non-native trees cannot.
As Jordan put it during the project, these trees are for the next generation. The canopies they’ll form over the coming decades will be a lasting asset for wildlife and for everyone who visits the site.
The planting was designed to do two things at once.
Create a richer habitat for birds and invertebrates, and provide visually beautiful space for the dog walkers, families, and local residents who use the wood regularly.
Hedgerows and fencing
We installed over 80 metres of mixed native hedgerow, including hawthorn and blackthorn. Both species are particularly valuable for birds.
Hawthorn berries provide food through autumn and winter, and the dense thorny growth gives nesting birds a level of protection that open woodland cannot.
Stock fencing and low-growing hedgerow were installed across 200 metres of the site boundary, helping to define the site’s edges and manage access while keeping the character of an open green space.
Wildflower meadow and bulb planting
4,000 square metres of flowering lawn seed was sown across open areas of the site.
A wildflower meadow of that scale provides pollen and nectar from late spring through to early autumn, supporting bees, butterflies, and other pollinators that have declined sharply across the UK in recent decades.
We also planted over 1,200 bulbs across the site.
In spring, before the meadow flowers come through, the bulbs provide the first wave of colour and early nectar for insects emerging from winter.
Habitat features and wildlife infrastructure
Native planting alone doesn’t build a functioning habitat.
Wildlife needs places to shelter, breed, and overwinter, and we installed a series of features to provide exactly that.
Habitat piles were constructed from the brash and larger sections of the removed ash trees. These log and brush piles give beetles, hedgehogs, and small mammals somewhere to live within the woodland floor, and they break down slowly over years to enrich the soil.
Bird boxes were installed across the site at appropriate heights and aspects for the species the planting is designed to attract.
Preparing the site for the public
The final element of the brief was handing the site back in a state the public could use.
We litter-picked the entire site and cleared it of debris, then replenished the main footpath with the recycled wood chips from the ash tree removal.
A path surface made from material sourced on the site has a different quality to imported aggregate.
It fits the woodland setting, it’s free-draining underfoot, and it closed the loop on the ash dieback removal in a way that made practical and environmental sense.
Every part of the business, one contractor
What made this project possible was having every discipline available under one roof.
Tree surgery handled the ash dieback removal. Landscaping managed the planting, seeding, and hedgerow installation. Estate management coordinated site access and the preparation work.
And our back office team scheduled the whole thing around Scottish Power’s requirements.
For a project of this scope, co-ordinating between multiple specialist contractors would have added cost, complexity, and risk.
Instead, GGM managed it as a single contract, with a single point of contact and a consistent team on the ground from start to finish.
It’s the same reason major clients like Scottish Water and local councils work with us for grounds and estate work.
When a contract needs more than one skill set, having them all under one roof changes what’s achievable.
A site worth visiting
The estate we worked on in Currie is now a site in active recovery.
The trees we planted are in the ground. The hedgerows are establishing. The wildflower meadow will bloom each summer, and the footpath is in better condition than it’s been in years.
The 1,400 trees we planted won’t reach their full canopy for decades. That’s the point.
Projects like this one are an investment in a future that the people planting the trees won’t see in full, but the next generation will.
We’re proud of what we delivered alongside Scottish Power’s biodiversity team, and we’re always grateful for a client that understood the scale of what this kind of project can achieve.
Want to see more? Check out our Facebook video to see the work in action for yourself!
Talk to us about biodiversity and landscaping projects
If you’re working on a biodiversity project, habitat restoration, or large-scale planting scheme in Scotland, we’d be glad to discuss it.
GGM Landscaping regularly work with landowners, utilities, councils, and estate managers on projects from a single site to ongoing multi-year contracts. For a landscaping team that you can trust regardless of size and scale of the project, we have you covered.
Call us on 07946 322717 or get in touch online to speak to our team about your project.