Origins of The Hollie Tree Project

Where did the website come from?

The Hollie Tree Project was created by Hollie McIntosh from 2021-2023. The campaign began after COVID and the impacts that it took upon young people in the local area. Hollie McIntosh co-hosted focus groups in February 2022 in a local high school, where many young people said that they felt overwhelmed about the amount of information that is available to access surrounding mental health.

Hollie then took the initiative to first make a document that had lists of mental health services and suggestions, aiming to allow people to access trusted information without having to search high and low for it.

However, in the middle of 2022, Hollie and staff members of Carnoustie High School made the decision to create a website. Hollie worked for over a year creating this website and hopes that it will help young people, parents, carers, and anyone else who would like to know more about mental health.

Who is Hollie McIntosh?

Hollie McIntosh, the creator of The Hollie Tree Project, is a young adult from Carnoustie, Scotland. She attended Carnoustie High School, where her dedication to helping others was evident through numerous achievements.

Hollie served as a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament from 2021 to 2023, where she was one of the co-creators of the Safer Travel Angus Campaign, and was honoured as Carnoustie's Young Citizen of the Year in 2022. Her contributions were further recognised with the Jim Bell Humanitarian Award and the Citizenship Award from Carnoustie High School in 2023. During her time at school, she was actively involved in the Pupil Council from 2020 to 2023, the Mission International Group from 2021 to 2023, and held the position of School Captain from 2022 to 2023. Currently, Hollie is studying Psychology with Development and Education at Abertay University, aspiring to become an Educational Psychologist.

What is the meaning behind the logo?

The butterfly aspect of the logo stems from the growth and change of butterflies and that with a little bit of time and patience that anyone can grow and become the best person they can be mentally. Also, the specific butterfly that the logo is based on is the Holly Blue, which feeds on Holly trees and links to the creator of the website too, Hollie McIntosh.

The semicolon aspect of the logo stems from the symbolic meaning of a semicolon- semicolons are used to represent those who stand in solidarity with those who face mental health problems and is used to help spread awareness and destigmatise the topic of mental health. The love heart symbol of the semi colon and the red colour shows the passion and love that The Hollie Tree Project is trying to push for mental health help and awareness for all.