Hopecarton Burn: A Native Woodland Taking Root in the Scottish Borders

What is Hopecarton Burn?

Hopecarton Burn is a woodland creation project in the Scottish uplands, situated on land that was formerly used for sheep grazing. Since 2020, over 205,000 trees have been planted across 101 hectares - a mix of broadleaf and conifer species, including oak, birch, alder, aspen, Scots pine, hazel, rowan, willow, and juniper, among others.

The project is accredited by the Woodland Carbon Code, the UK's quality assurance standard for woodland carbon projects, and is independently verified and listed on the Markit Registry.

Over time, Hopecarton Burn is expected to sequester 18,978 tonnes of CO2 - while simultaneously restoring habitats, supporting native species, and providing diversified income for the landowner through sustainable timber production.

How the woodland is managed

The project takes a mixed silvicultural approach, tailored to the species being grown.

Broadleaf trees (oak, birch, alder and others) are managed under a continuous cover model. Rather than clear-felling, the woodland is progressively thinned over time, maintaining a varied, natural canopy while allowing the trees to grow and sequester carbon across a long time horizon.

Conifers (including Norway spruce and Scots pine) follow a fell and restock model, where sections are harvested and replanted as part of a sustainable timber production cycle.

The result is a diverse, working woodland rather than a monoculture plantation - which matters both for the resilience of the ecosystem and the credibility of the carbon impact.

What are Pending Issuance Units - and why does this project use them?

Most carbon credits represent emissions reductions or removals that have already happened. A Pending Issuance Unit (PIU) works differently - and for good reason.

Tree-planting is one of the most powerful natural tools we have for sequestering carbon, but trees take time to grow. When you invest in a woodland creation project at an early stage, the carbon hasn't been sequestered yet - it's locked in the future growth of the trees. A PIU represents a verified commitment that this sequestration will happen, based on independently assessed projections.

In practice, this means:

• You can't claim to have "offset" your current emissions straight away. The carbon removal is expected but not yet verified. Hopecarton Burn will be assessed for actual carbon sequestration in future years, at which point your investment will count towards your verified tCO2e offset total.
• But your investment is real and traceable from day one. From the moment you invest, Hopecarton Burn is tracked and reported with the expected tCO2e sequestration clearly shown as an "expected" figure - transparent, honest, and not overstated.

This is deliberate. Showing an "expected" figure rather than claiming an immediate offset is the honest representation of what's happening, and it's exactly the kind of transparency that holds up to scrutiny from clients, investors, and certification bodies.

How Seedling selects and vets projects

Not every carbon project makes it onto the Seedling platform. Every project we offer goes through a clear selection process before it's made available to invest in.

We only work with projects verified by recognised third-party standards. In the UK, that means the Woodland Carbon Code for woodland creation projects - the government-backed standard administered by Scottish Forestry, which independently validates methodology, additionality, and permanence.

Beyond accreditation, we apply our own layer of scrutiny. We exclude project types with a history of credibility issues, focussing instead on projects with measurable, permanent, and independently verified impact.

Hopecarton Burn meets all of these criteria: UK-based, Woodland Carbon Code accredited, independently listed on the Markit Registry, and managed for long-term ecological and carbon benefit.

Invest in Hopecarton Burn

Hopecarton Burn is available to invest in directly through the Seedling platform, alongside a range of other verified projects across different geographies and project types.

If you're already a Seedling client, log in to your dashboard to explore the project, view the expected impact, and invest.

If you're not yet using Seedling, Hopecarton Burn is just one example of the many verified projects available through the platform. Find out how Seedling works - from measuring your footprint to investing in climate action with confidence.