This article appears as part of the Winds of Change newsletter.

At intervals along this tunnel of green, the words ‘Save This Path’ were chalked across the tarmac. ‘Trees not trams here!’ declared a sign, crouched ominously under a bridge. Someone wandering up onto the path barked, ‘Save the Roseburn Path!'

We were in the final miles of our Kiltwalk last weekend and a question occurred to me as we marched along buoyed by chat and the music blaring from a fellow walkers backpack, ‘How other than through the love and care of its defenders, or the signatures in petitions, do we work out, or begin to understand, the worth of a green space like this?’

I’m not a regular on the Roseburn path. Only occasionally have I used it to cycle across to the other side of town, whipping along this tree-lined tunnel that seems an alternative Edinburgh, dislocated from the neighbourhoods and streets around.

But last weekend, while doing the Kiltwalk (in aid of a children’s cancer charity, Logan’s Fund) I couldn’t help thinking as I walked about what it means to different people: the cyclists struggling to get past the walkers, the families on a Sunday amble the couple of energetic local campaigners who had set up camp with posters and information.

One twirled around in a coat and t-shirt emblazoned with the craft-stitched words, 'Savetheroseburnpath.com', and said, "I just wear the message everywhere because so many people are unaware of the dangers, the threats to this wonderful place that everyone who knows it loves."

They had come out to raise awareness around the public consultation currently being run by the City of Edinburgh Council over........

© Herald Scotland