Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens has raised £55,000 to help with ‘vital restoration’ efforts after Storm Éowyn caused significant damage to the beauty spot last week.

Dozens of trees were ‘damaged beyond recovery’ including Edinburgh’s tallest tree, a 166-year-old Cedrus deodara, which stood 29-metres high. The storm also destroyed around 120 panes of glass in the glasshouses, with hundreds more dislodged.

Estimated recovery costs are understood to be in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, prompting the charity to launch an appeal to help rebuild the gardens and protect the ‘irreplaceable plant collection’. After launching the fundraiser on Monday (January 27) more than £55,000 was raised in less than five days.

The tallest tree at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, a 29-metre Cedrus deodara planted in 1859, was destroyed on January 24 during Storm Éowyn | Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

placeholder image — The tallest tree at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens, a 29-metre Cedrus deodara planted in 1859, was destroyed on January 24 during Storm Éowyn | Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

Storm Éowyn, which saw extremely strong winds sweep across the country on January 24, made a ‘devastating impact’ on Scotland’s three other Royal Botanic Gardens in Dawyck, Benmore and Logan where hundreds more trees were destroyed and infrastructure damaged.

Speaking days after the event, Simon Milne, Regius Keeper at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said: “The storm has had a devastating impact, both in terms of financial cost and the loss of some of the cherished National Botanical Collection.

Clean-up efforts in Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Gardens began the day after Storm Éowyn. The Glasshouse team arrived on site as soon as the winds subsided to assess the damage and protect plants in the houses where panes of glass were lost. The bottom left picture shows ferns reaching towards paneless frames | Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh

“All four of our Gardens, located within the red weather zone, have suffered damage – particularly Benmore and Edinburgh. While the Glasshouses and buildings can be repaired, subject to resourcing, it is especially heartbreaking to lose treasured trees like the Cedar in the Edinburgh garden, which stood tall for over a century before I was even born.”

He added: “Once the long and painstaking process of clearing fallen and damaged trees is complete, we will turn our focus to replanting. It is important that future generations will continue to experience the beauty and legacy of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh”.

You can donate to the storm damage appeal by visiting the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh website.