Woodland Tapestries

With all the leaves off the trees it is a great time to enjoy the diversity of shapes and colours on the tree trunks.

A close up of oak bark with lichen.

In the moist conditions of a river gully, this alder trunk provides a habitat for an abundance of mosses & ferns.

TWCP now on sale

Our TWCP report is now on sale for £7.50 from the Watermill bookshop in Aberfeldy, or direct from Scottish Native Woods. (£10 if postage is required).

1 Crieff Road, Aberfeldy, Perthshire, PH15 2BJ)

We will be looking to open up some other outlets as well.

Below is a link to article in Scotsman yesterday.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/Explorers-find-source-of-the.6698848.jp

Scottish Native Woods discover the Source of the Tay

See link below:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-12243508

Big Flood on the Tay

Out & About After the Thaw

The slow thaw is underway in the North East and allowing access to the woods again.

The quantity and longevity of the snow fall so far this winter has resulted in a variety of damage to our woods.

In a number of young native woods planted over the last few years, the heavy & drifting snow has pushed over tree stakes and broken tree ties.


To ensure the years of tree growth are not wasted and before this summers growth, it is important to undertake remedial work such as replacing & firming tree stakes or renewing tree ties.

During the winter months in periods of deep snow mammals such as rabbits & roe deer survive by feeding on tree bark exposed above the snow.

In the case of this young willow tree, the base has been protected from browsing damage and it will regrow or coppice from the base.

If you go down to the woods today...

There's not a lot happening at the moment with the white stuff everywhere and just after the hols, but in November we had the last of our Forestry for People taster days. This was a celebration of the project so was a cook-out over an open fire, with toasted marshmallows and chocolate bananas.

Lashing sticks together

With a couple of simple knots this can be used as a precursor to shelter building.

Putting the fire out

The most important thing is being able to put the fire out again. This gives the children a sense of responsibility as well as confidence in their own skills.
They are always surprised how much water it takes even to put out a small cooking fire, but individual sticks can hold heat for hours and could start the fire again so they need a good soaking.
If done correctly this will be a "leave no trace" fire and it will look as though we had never been.

Deer fences or no

The issue of woodland regeneration with or without fences has suddenly become very topical. This is a complex issue which we are really only now beginning to understand and to articulate properly. There are many areas in Scotland where we are indeed getting good regeneration without the need for deer fences, such as above, near Tyndrum in Highland Perthshire. Below are some other examples.

Expect this issue to run for a bit now over the following few months. It is probably the early snow bringing deer down in to shelter sooner than normal that has caused this issue to come on the Agenda just now.

Woodland creation behind fences

In this situation, deer numbers are high, and this young pinewood plantation has had to be planted conventionally behind fences.

Dense birch regeneration in lowland woods- no fences

Scots Pine Regeneration on Deeside- no fences