Looking to the Future

Our North East advisor has been glued to the computer this week to ensure that an exciting proposal to create 480ha of new native pine woodland was submitted to the forestry grant scheme by today's grant deadline.

Over the next couple of months the scheme will be judged by representatives of the Scottish Governments Statutory Agencies and the owner will not know the outcome of these deliberations until Spring 2011.

Fingers crossed!

Here is a taster of what the new pinewood could look like in 100 + years time.

alder in spring

Alder catkins are less well known than the hazel, however they are just as attractive

As with hazel, the catkins produce the pollen, which is carried by spring breezes to the flowers, shown here. It's too early in the year for the tree to rely upon insects to act as pollinators

This alder is still carrying a few cones from last year. Successfully polinated flowers develop into these seed bearing cones during the summer, and the small and light seeds are distributed by wind and water during the late autumn.

Growing Up With Trees - Part One

As part of our Growing Up With Trees programme children collect native tree seeds from local woods, to make their own mini-woodland at school. These children are collecting Ash keys which they will plant in their own tree nursery.

Outdoor access event

We took our Display to SCAN's Outdoor Access Fair. Native woods are great places to go for a walk, and we do a lot to encourage this, especially in woods which are near to towns. In the last four years we have helped to deliver over 30,000 metres of footpaths, mostly in Central Lowlands, but also in places like Inverness and Lochgilphead.

Here's one I made earlier

This is what it should look like when it's finished. This beam will be used with the others for use in making a permanent building for the Air Cadets.

The trees used are from the local wood, and the space they have created will allow native trees and wildflowers to flourish.

Working with Fife Air Cadets

Our Lowlands Area Manager works with the Fife Air Cadets. Here he is supervising the use of the "Wood Mizer" a petrol driven woodsaw, ecologically designed so that it minimizes the waste wood as it cuts the log to a beam.

an unwelcome visitor in the laybye

Parking in the laybye, I noticed a couple of unwelcome guests: himalayan balsam in the foreground, with Japanese knotweed in the background. Both of these plants seem to be well adapted to moving along our roadside verges, and are spreading along the A83 with some enthusiasm.

emerging woodland at Creag Loisgte

The hide's still useful, and it also gives us a view up the hill. The site is not "wall to wall" birch, but includes valuable areas of open space, as well as a real mix of native woodland trees and shrubs, gradually becoming more open as it moves up the hill.