4 July 2026 – Tidy Up Session

This was a really busy session.  We had 12 volunteers, which meant that we could split up, temporarily, into different groups.

1 Tree Succession Planning

We are very aware that the trees in the Memory Tree section of the woodland are getting quite old and, as time goes by, we are at risk of losing them.  So, over the last couple of months we came up with a plan to start lifting saplings and to grow them on with a view to re-planting them within the woodland.  As one of the Monkey Puzzle trees was lost several years ago we were keen to grow on some of this species so that we won’t lose them if anything happens to the current trees.  As the whole of the woodland is covered by a Tree Preservation Order (TPO), we had to get permission from The Highland Council due to the TPO restrictions. So, it doesn’t matter if we were doing this with a conservation plan in mind, we still had to receive permission – which we are pleased to say that we received.

GONE!

On Saturday, when we went up to lift the larger saplings which we had earmarked –

THEY WERE GONE!

Someone, who didn’t have the landowners permission, didn’t have authorisation under the TPO to lift the saplings, had just decided to help themselves!  This meant a quick change of plan.  There were some very small saplings which we lifted instead.  We are hopeful that we will get at least 4 of these to grow on so that they can be, at a later stage, replanted within the woodland.

2 Drainage

The main Core Paths are relatively old, and for many decades have had no maintenance.  On top of this they are being washed away any time we have either heavy rain or an extended period of rain.  We discussed this with Brahan Estate and they gave us permission to clear out 3 of their drainage ditches which drained water from their paths into the nearby field.  One of the teams removed all the vegetation and cleared out the drains so we are hopeful that will help channel some of the water away before it reaches the Community Woodland.  We would like to thank Brahan Estate for their co-operation and permission.

3 Thinning

Once everyone had completed their projects we met up at the border between Compartment 11 (the Beech Tree Area) and Compartment 12 (the Native Area).  There are a lot of very thin but very tall trees in this area which badly needed thinning out.  Under the TPO we have permission to thin out beech and western hemlock throughout the woodland.  We had to take a lot of care in this section as there was a mix of both native and beech tree – there was also one solitary western hemlock.  We had to carefully check each tree before we removed it to make sure it was a beech tree.

Bird And The Bees

We found a woodpigeon nest in one of the trees so we had to modify the area we were clearing slightly so as not to disturb the nest.  Then we heard one of the volunteers shout a warning that there were bees.  She had found a nest with lots of bees in it.  Needless to say, we didn’t need any second warnings – they were definitely left alone.

4 Dead Hedge

For the last 30 minutes or so we decided to build a dead hedge.  Although we had constructed these before within the woodland this time we decided to use a different design.  As the trees we had cut down were all very thin but very tall we were able to cut them into shorter posts which marked the length of the hedge.  Then we took the trees and wove them between the posts.  Dead hedges are excellent as they have several different uses.  In this case we were concerned that people would just take a shortcut through the area we cleared and would end up trampling some of the small saplings that are there.  The dead hedge would discourage this.  Also, dead hedges provide valuable habitat for insects, birds and small mammals.  Eventually, the dead hedge will rot away but all the nutrients will leach back into the ground and provide nutrients for the next generation of vegetation and trees.

Refreshments

At the end of the session we congregated on the grassy area beside Birch Drive.  We had a lovely catch up over teas, coffee, rolls with bacon and sausages.  These were finished off with homemade macaroons and really lovely chocolate cake.

More Help Needed

More help is always needed to maintain and improve the woodland for the benefit of everyone in the community. If you cannot spare a couple of hours to join us for some fun in the woodland, why not help out in other ways. You can now make a donation using our PayPal online system. All donations will go to help with the future development of our community woodland.