Tuesday evening, 17th June 2025 people from Maryburgh Community gathered in the open green space in Birch Drive for the first Den Building Competition organised by members of the Maryburgh Community Woodland Group as part of the Maryburgh Gala 2025. Young and not so young people gathered to take part, building dens of all styles and sizes in the community woodland. The youngest was just 21 months old, while the oldest person taking part was a lot older.

Location of Den Building – Image by Ian Fraser

The Teams

The people taking part formed 16 teams to take part in the competition. The teams received instructions from the Woodland Group volunteers NOT to cut down any trees, but they could use any of the brash piles lying throughout the woodland. At approx 6:00 pm, everyone set off into the woods to start building. There were prizes for the biggest den, the best artistic merit, the youngest den builder, the most senior den builder and the best team flag.

All the dens were impressive, with some including seating and bedding to make the dens more comfortable inside. Some dens had garden areas with hopscotch outside, swings and even paths leading up to the entrance of the den. Each den was finished with a hand painted flag, so that the individual dens could be judged.

After about 90 minutes, the dens were built, ready to be judged. A local Highland Councillor, Sean Kennedy, kindly agreed to do the judging, not an enviable task given the high standard of dens that were now scattered throughout the woodland. As the 60+ members of the community, including young beavers and girl guides with their adult leaders, parents with their children, other adults and Woodland Group members all gathered around as the prizes were given to the best den builders

Some Photos of the Event

Two Senior Den Builders – Image by Heather Mackenzie

Image by parent of children Stick Steeler’s

Team Mars – Image by Heather Mackenzie

Schools Out For Summer – Image by Heather Mackenzie

The Cheese Graters – Image by Heather Mackenzie

Ronaldo Builders – Image by Heather Mackenzie

Scotland Freedom – Image by Heather Mackenzie

Refreshments served

By about 8:00 pm, everyone got together to enjoy tea, coffee and cold drinks along with biscuits provided by members of the Maryburgh Woodland Community Group.

Improving the Biodiversity

All the den building materials were from tree saplings that had been cut down to help improve the biodiversity of the woodland by opening up the woodland to let more light reach the native plants. The moss that was pulled up and used to cover some of the dens, which helps by scarifying the woodland floor. This allows improved drainage and encourages new seedlings to start growing due to allowing increased oxygen levels in the topsoil.

Thanks to Those Taking Part

The Maryburgh Community Woodland Group would like to thank everyone who came along and took part, with special thanks to Gareth Parkinson, the Woodland Group member responsible for organising this event. You can also help the group with future projects. The Woodland Group depends on the volunteers for all the work, but we also need funds to continue our work for everyone in the community. The woodland has been neglected for over half a century, and some larger trees have now reached a stage in their lifecycle where they are dangerous if not removed by qualified tree surgeons. The Woodland Group have cleared the core paths of young growth, but groundwork contractors are now needed to repair the core paths to allow villagers of all abilities to use the woodland. If you feel you could help with fundraising, we now have a PayPal account which can be accessed using the QR Codes at any of our events or just click on the button below: