Area 6 of woodland before tidy up in November – Image by Siobhan Fraser

On Saturday morning the 1st November, eleven local volunteers from Maryburgh were in the community woodland carrying out the regular clean-up of the area for the benefit of everyone in the village. Again, the maintenance plan guidelines were followed to remove the invasive non-native Beech saplings from the woodland.

Local entertainment

As the volunteers collected a selection of tools to begin the clean-up, they were entertained by a local red squirrel in the woodland demonstrating the best method of moving through the trees in the woodland, by swinging from branch to branch.

Following the morning entertainment, the volunteers armed with loppers and saws made their way to the south-western edge of the woodland. This area had previously been identified in the maintenance plan as compartment 6 and although the morning was raining heavy, the enthusiasm of the volunteers was not put off. New volunteers were given formal instruction on using the new tools such as the saws before beginning work. These saws are extremely sharp, and the group take a great amount of trouble to avoid any injuries occurring.

The Clean-Up Begins

A group of community volunteers clearing path in area 6 – Image by Siobhan Fraser

Compartment 6 was cleared of non-native species such as the Beech saplings, opening up the ground area near the Memory trees to encourage native saplings to grow in the future. The cut saplings were then stacked in piles to provide new habitats for the woodland wildlife.

Tea and Rolls

As normal with our monthly clean-ups, the volunteers met at the end of the morning to enjoy tea and rolls. Due to the inclement weather, the tea and rolls were enjoyed in a volunteer’s garage this month to avoid the wet weather.

The Maryburgh Community Woodland Group would like to thank all the volunteers from the village who gave up a Saturday morning to help with the monthly clean-up.

Community volunteer clearing path in area 6 – Image by Siobhan Fraser

Area 6 of woodland after tidy up in November – Image by Siobhan Fraser

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.