Alastair Fraser of Meigle, who founded Tayside Woodland Partnerships after a life of travel and adventure, has died aged 87.
He retired to Perthshire in 2012 after working to tackle illegal logging in Indonesia, and raising a family there.
In the late 1960s, Alastair, his first wife Anne and two young children, set off to travel the world.
They sold their home, bought a Land Rover with the intention of heading to Australia, but via several different projects in Europe and South America, ended up in Thailand.
During these international projects Alastair and three business partners founded the International Forest Science Consultancy, which evolved into a company with assignments in more than 100 countries.
Alastair Ian Fraser was born in Mill Hill, London, in June 1936 to electrical engineer Ian Fraser and his wife, Elizabeth, a teacher.
Studies in Scotland
At the age of 13, when he his parents moved to Gibraltar, Alastair became a boarder at Loretto School, near Edinburgh, before going on to study forestry at Aberdeen University.
After graduating in 1957 and following National Service with the Royal Engineers, he joined the Forestry Commission’s research station near Farnham and during this time met his first wife, Anne and began a family.
He then moved back to Scotland for two years to study for a PhD at Edinburgh University before returning to his old job for a further two years.
It was then the family began their adventure and Alastair picked up work in Yugoslavia, Greece and Surinam, and in 1973 he become one of the founding partners of International Forest Science Consultancy (IFSC). Shortly afterwards Alastair started an assignment with the Food and Agricultural Organisation in Bangkok, Thailand.
Road trip
After almost two years in Bangkok, and inspired by books published by a great uncle who travelled extensively across Asia, the family decided to drive 10,000 miles overland from Bangkok back to Scotland.
On returning to the UK Alastair continued travelling abroad as IFSC expanded, and also formed a company to supply charcoal to the Scottish market using solar-fired drying kilns.
As the family grew up, Alastair took each of the children on his work travels which included trips to Ethiopia, Honduras, India and Nepal.
In 1991, Alastair left Scotland for a new life in Indonesia. There he was to meet Tuti, and together they had three children.
He began work on an intergovernmental conservation project which included tackling the illegal trade in timber and setting up a radio network so residents could coordinate their efforts to stop the criminals.
Perthshire
In 2012 when he retired to Scotland, Alastair found his perfect home – Foresters Cottage – in Meigle, became an early adopter of solar panels and became embedded in the community.
Though his involvement with Blairgowrie and Rattray Climate Cafe he became founder and chairman of Tayside Woodland Partnerships which aimed to plant trees to mitigate climate change.
Len Seal of the group said: “When the first piece of land was offered to the group, Alastair surveyed it and worked on an outline of a planting plan.
“He not only led the group in this; he also contributed a significant amount of his own money on fencing, on some specialist trees and on preparing the ground.
“This was clearly a labour of love and will be a long-term legacy. Thanks to Alastair’s vision, the group will be planting a second wood in the near future and has been asked to look after an existing community wood.
“Thanks to Alastair’s vision and enthusiasm, Tayside Woodland Partnerships now has over 40 members and is in a good position to expand into other areas.”
Alastair’s funeral took place at Perth crematorium on Friday October 27.
Conversation