Drones drop tree seeds to help protect reservoir

4 December 2025

News image — It is hoped the trees can protect water quality in the Talla Reservoir

Getty Images A view down to the Talla Reservoir, a body of water surrounded by rugged countryside — It is hoped the trees can protect water quality in the Talla Reservoir

Drones have been used to distribute tree seeds around a reservoir in the Scottish Borders in a bid to protect its water quality.

The Talla Reservoir near Tweedsmuir is a key water source for the city of Edinburgh.

The project involves more than two million native tree seeds being sown across "inaccessible upland areas".

It is hoped they can stabilise the soil so that less organic matter is washed into the water during periods of extreme rainfall which, in turn, will make the treatment process simpler and less energy intensive.

Scottish Water An aerial view of a drone scattering seed over a landscape in south of Scotland — The drones can sow seeds over areas which are hard to access

It is part of a wider 200-acre (80-hectare) woodland creation scheme on land around the reservoir.

The first phase has focused on a 50-acre area where Scottish water hopes to enrich existing woodland.

It could additionally see thousands of native broadleaves like aspen, rowan, oak, alder and downy birch planted at the site.

Scottish Water Two people in red jackets and trousers and black boots work on a drone with a backdrop of hills in southern Scotland — The reservoir is a key water resource for the city of Edinburgh

Woodland creation programme manager at Scottish Water, Stephen Garbett, said: "This is a completely innovative approach to woodland creation and we are really excited to be working with Bell Ingram and AutoSpray Systems to make use of this cutting edge technology at Talla Reservoir.

"The nature of the landscape here means that traditional methods of tree-planting would be extremely difficult and time-consuming to carry out so to be able to harness this drone technology to effectively open up areas of the site like this is great.

"We are looking forward to seeing the results now that the first phase of drone seeding has been completed."

Scottish Water Three men in different coloured waterproof jackets, one yellow, one red and one orange stand next to a small river with a reservoir in the background on a misty day — Conditions for the team carrying out the work have been challenging at times

The Scottish government's climate action secretary, Gillian Martin, said she welcomed the initiative to help "increase local biodiversity, whilst creating a natural way to reduce flooding in the area".

Scottish Water said the Talla project hoped to build on the back of others in the area to increase biodiversity.