THE Royal Botanic Garden has launched a rebuilding fund appeal following the devastation caused by Storm Éowyn.
The garden in the centre of Edinburgh suffered catastrophic damage as the red-alert storm swept through on Friday, with several glasshouses ruined and even its tallest tree torn down.
The strong winds left a trail of devastation through the gardens with the rebuilding work posing a significant challenge to the institution.
As a result, the Botanic Garden launched a campaign to raise public funds for the extensive rebuild work.
They have asked for donations from the public to help rebuild the glasshouses, horticultural structures and invaluable plant collections.
The appeal comes following the Botanic’s revelation on Monday that the tallest tree in Edinburgh was torn down by the strong winds.
Over 200 trees in total were lost to the storm, and extensive damage was done to a number of buildings and structures.
Harrowing before and after images of the four main gardens show the extent of the damage wreaked by Storm Éowyn.
Polytunnels, glass houses and buildings were left torn apart by the winds with smashed glass strewn across the surrounding area.
A huge number of trees were destroyed, snapped, uprooted and blown over with many suffering irreversible damage.
Launching their appeal alongside a statement, the Royal Botanic Gardens said: “Storm Éowyn has caused devastating damage across all four of our gardens.
“Though we are still assessing the damage, we know it has been severe and that recovery is going to take some time, and significant cost. We need your help.
“Please support us to restore our gardens and our living collections by donating today to our appeal.
“All your donations, no matter the size, will be directly used across our four gardens on vital restoration.
“From the destruction of horticultural structures to the extreme damage and loss of trees and plants in our invaluable living collections, storm damage at our gardens in recent years has resulted in many periods of difficult and expensive recovery.”
