A charity says it has planted a total of one million trees in the Borders during the past decade.

The Tweed Forum announced it had reached seven digits with the planting of an oak tree at Oxnam Water.

The forum’s director Luke Comins said: “I’m very pleased to have achieved that milestone and look forward to doing a lot more.”

Members of the forum include Scottish Borders Council, the Borders Forest Trust and Visit Scotland.

Major tree-planting projects are currently under way on the Teviot above Hawick and at the Gala and Leader Waters, with work also taking place at the Oxnam Water.

The forum estimates that the million trees will store more than 250,000 tonnes of carbon over their lifetime.

It says that amount is equal to the emissions produced by 35,000 return flights to Sydney - or by driving at 50mph for 1.5 billion miles.

Reflecting on the Tweed Forum’s achievement, Mr Comins said: “We’ve got a great team and they work very hard and it’s getting trees in the right place and at the right scale.

“There’s no point in planting one of two - you need to plant enough to make an impact.”

He added: “From carbon dioxide absorption and natural flood management, to helping protect fish stocks in the face of climate change, our tree planting projects are targeted to deal with priority issues and deliver multiple benefits for the Borders and beyond.

“This is an extremely important element of our work but we can make an even bigger difference if consumers offset their own CO2 emissions through our Carbon Club scheme.

“Their contributions will be spent on trees right here in the Scottish Borders which will help to mitigate climate change and make the region an even more beautiful place to live and work.”