Film tribute to plant expert David Douglas

Oct 13 2009 by Alison Anderson, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

SCOTLAND’S Environment Minister, Roseanna Cunningham, visits Pitlochry Festival Theatre later this month for the premiere of a film celebrating the life and work of one of Scotland’s great adventurers and plant collectors.

‘Finding David Douglas’ is an hour-long documentary on the Perthshire lad whose exploration of the New World changed the face of horticulture and forestry in Europe.

Screened as part of Year of Homecoming 2009, the film was put together by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission, and has been backed by Forestry Commission Scotland, the Scottish Forest Trust, and supported by the US Forest Service and Parks Canada.

Roseanna said: “The film is a tremendous showcase for one of Scotland’s most intrepid adventurers who, arguably more than any other, has helped shape Scotland’s landscape as well shaping the gardens of Europe.

“If you walk round any suburban garden or stroll through any forest in Scotland you’ll see plenty of evidence of Douglas’s abundant plant introductions, such as lupins and the ubiquitous flowering currant in gardens, and Douglas fir and sitka spruce in the forests.

“It’s another fantastic boost to the reputation of this remarkable man and to the international appeal of Perthshire’s exceptional woodland landscape, including some of Douglas’s original Douglas fir trees grown from seed collected by him in the 1820’s, in the heart of ‘Big Tree Country’.”

The film, to be premiered on Thursday, October 29, features outstanding scenery in locations as far afield as Hudson’s Bay, the Canadian Rockies, British Columbia, Hawaii and Oregon’s Blue Mountains. It also features some spectacular shots from Perthshire – including the Explorers Garden by the theatre – as well as the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh and its outlier at Dawyck near Peebles.

Travelling from Oregon specially for the event will be producer Lois Leonard, and film editor, Kate Schoninger, along with David Milholland (President) and Charlotte Rubin (Treasurer) of Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.

Also attending will be Mike Russell, Minister for Europe, External Affairs and Culture, and representatives of the US and Canadian Governments as well as Provost John Hulbert from Perth and Kinross Council who are jointly hosting the event with Forestry Commission Scotland.

Tickets for the event, which will start at 7.45pm, cost £7.50 and are available from Pitlochry Festival Theatre at www.pitlochry.org.uk or at 01796 484626.

l David Douglas (1799-1834) – often referred to as the ‘Founder of Forestry’ in Western North America – introduced over 200 new plant species to European botany, forestry and horticulture, including the Douglas fir tree, Sitka spruce and Radiata (or Monterey) pine trees. The documentary will be made available free for educational purposes and is intended to help both at school and adult audiences gain an insight into the history of the Pacific Northwest, famous Scots or botanical exploration.