On Saturday 3 September, I'm taking part in the first ever Golden Challenge to raise vital funds for the Woodland Trust, the UK's leading woodland conservation charity.

I’ll be dousing myself in midgie repellent and cycling a tough - and hilly - 21km  around Loch Katrine in The Trossachs to mark 21 years of corporate partnership between Golden Charter and the Woodland Trust.

This year, Golden Charter’s total donations to the Woodland Trust will reach just over £994,000. This mighty sum has helped the charity plant over 300,000 trees throughout the UK – many of them at the Glen  Finglas estate near Loch Katrine – which is equivalent to woodland the size of 250 Hampden Park football pitches!

I’m asking you to help us raise a further £21,000 to take us past the £1m milestone by the end of 2016.

I know lots of you regularly spend time enjoying the rich woodland we’re lucky to be surrounded by here in Scotland, but you may not realise this is under threat:

• Just 13% of the UK is covered with trees. That’s low compared to the average European country that has 37%.
• Since the 1930s, more than half the ancient woodland we had has been destroyed. This rich, complex habitat dates back to medieval times and once swept in vast swathes across our countryside; today it covers just 2% of the UK.
• 60% of our animal and plant species have declined in the past 50 years. Many are now endangered; some face extinction.

Your donations will help the Woodland Trust to:

• Protect existing valuable habitat like ancient woods and trees.
• Restore areas that are damaged or degraded, like ancient woods planted with non-native conifers.
• Create new places for wildlife where they will protect our landscape and help to join habitats (you can’t say no to baby animals!)

The Woodland Trust now owns more than 1,000 wildlife-rich native  woods across the UK, covering 73 square miles in total – and all of  them are free to enjoy!

Please help me help the Woodland Trust continue their vital work. Now I better get on with training . . .