Caledonia Wild! Winter 2008-09
 Trees for Life magazine, Caledonia Wild!, Winter 2008-09 |
- Putting down roots at Dundreggan
- Restoring the Forest - Putting the Vision into Practice
- Coille Ruigh na Cuileige 1990 - 2008
- Montane Scrub Project
- Hazel in Affric
- Gratitude
- The Forest Frontline
- Dwarf birch survey in Glen Moriston *
- The life of goat moth trees *
- Dundreggan News *
- Our Once and Future Fauna *
- Wild, Free and Coming Back? *
- Funding the Forest
- Wedding Bells
- Sponsored Walk
- Winter Gift Ideas
- Thank you!
- Company Supporters
- Staff Corner
- Card Free Christmas
- New Members and Life Members
- Wish List
- Photo Gallery: Winter's Ephemeral Works of Art *
- Species Profile: Tree lungwort *
* Links to articles in other parts of this web site, rather than on this page.
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Putting down roots at Dundreggan
 Naturally-regenerating oak taking root at Dundreggan. A number of seedlings like this have been protected with tree guards this autumn, and will now be able to grow successfully. |
For over 3 years now, ever since I first became aware of the opportunity to purchase Dundreggan, I've been making regular visits to the estate, to familiarise myself with the land and life there. In that time I've walked on many (but by no means all!) of the 10,000 acres and have taken thousands of photographs to document the landscape and its biological diversity. I've lain flat on the ground to look closely at fungi and lichens, I've climbed, and hugged, some of the trees, and I've swum in the Red Burn. For me, those are all ways of consciously connecting with the 'Nature of Dundreggan', of becoming rooted in an understanding of the environment and ecosystems there. By doing so, I'm developing a personal relationship with the special qualities of the place and the life it supports, which can then inform, inspire and guide our work there in the years and decades to come.
My visits have also enabled me to get to know Allan Common, who has lived and worked on Dundreggan for most of the past 20 years (and who became Trees for Life's newest member of staff when we took over ownership of the property). Similarly, I've spent quite a lot of time with Jane Bowman, who lives nearby in Glen Moriston and walks regularly on the estate, identifying and photographing insects, birds and other life there. Between them, Allan and Jane have an in-depth and comprehensive knowledge of Dundreggan and I continue to gain much from the time I spend with them.
We had another opportunity to literally put down some roots on Sunday 26th October, when we held a special Welcome Event at Dundreggan for the major donors who made our purchase of the estate possible, followed by an Open Day for local people. The central focus of the day was a tree-planting ceremony, which took place amongst the stumps of a few pines that were felled years ago on the hillside behind the buildings. The trees - an oak, an aspen, two hazel and two juniper - were planted by
 Tree planters with a newly-planted hazel at the Dundreggan Open Day in October. From left to right, standing: Bruce Bacon, Allan Common, Roy Dennis and Muriel Gray. In front: Kenneth Knott and Alan Watson Featherstone. Photo by Mick Drury. |
Muriel Gray and Roy Dennis (two of our Patrons), Bruce Bacon (representing the Audrey & JJ Martindale Foundation, the largest single donor for the purchase), Kenneth Knott (chairman of the local community council), Allan Common and myself. The planting was a simple but significant act, as it symbolised both our aim of restoring natural forest to suitable parts of Dundreggan and our desire to become well-established and integrated in the local community.
Just as those newly-planted trees will spend the next few years putting their roots down into the ground, before much upward growth takes place, so too are we in the phase of putting our roots down on the land itself and in the Glen Moriston community that we're now part of. Next year we'll begin practical work on a relatively small scale, and we plan to follow this year's event with a larger one, most likely in June. Right now though, as we move into winter, with its more inward focus, I see this as an essential time of establishing the strong and healthy roots for our project, that will be essential for sustaining and supporting all the work that lies ahead.
Alan Watson Featherstone
Coille Ruigh na Cuileige 1990 - 2008
 Alan Watson Featherstone beside the 'Champion pine' at Coille Ruigh na Cuileige, showing how large this tree has grown since the fence was erected in 1990.  Cloudberry |
I've spent a few days again this summer looking at the monitoring plots at Coille Ruigh on the Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) estate in Glen Affric. This was the first area that was deer fenced with funds raised by Trees for Life, and it was completed when the gate was ceremoniously closed by David Bellamy in 1990. Since then surveys have been undertaken in 1996, 2001 and 2007-08 to monitor the progress of the trees there. No planting has been done and the whole 50 hectares (125 acres) has been left to regenerate naturally, in the absence of deer browsing pressure.
 Crested tits are regularly seen at Coille Ruigh in Glen Affric. |
One day, climbing up through the forest below, with Oliver Rakocevik (our long term volunteer this past summer), we paused to watch a party of crested tits (Parus cristatus) flitting amongst the nearby pines. The western part of the exclosure is occupied by mature Scots pine, with occasional birch, and there are islands of pine trees elsewhere amongst the open wet heath. The land rises to about 450 metres, and it's quite exposed up there, making it a good place to escape the midges at lunchtime when the air is still lower down! From this vantage point the views over the forest and Loch Beinn a'Mheadhoin are spectacular. I often saw black grouse in a more sheltered hollow and interesting montane plants occurring at that altitude include bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) and cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus).
Where the ground conditions are good, the growth of young pines has been superb, with some trees now several metres tall and producing cones each year. Amongst the mature pines, rowans are regenerating in large numbers, from seeds deposited in birds' droppings, and the recovery of heather and blaeberry is evident. Elsewhere across the eastern part of the site, there are scattered pockets of regenerating pines and birches that are doing well, with occasional eared willow and juniper. Much of the ground is wet, with extensive areas of deer grass (Trichophorum cespitosum), cross-leaved heath (Erica tetralix) and mosses, and it seems apparent that although pines will often germinate in the mossy carpet, and sometimes grow on for a few years, they succumb to the wet conditions caused by the poor drainage. Nevertheless, in the intervening years, they provide a scrubby habitat of slow growing trees that would otherwise be missing.
Mick Drury
Montane Scrub Project
 Downy willows (Salix lapponum) on the crags in Gleann na Ciche, with a view to the valley bottom below. Photo by Mick Drury.  Mark Richards looking at one of the downy willows in Gleann na Ciche. Photo by Mick Drury. |
Mark Richards has been with us this summer developing the montane woodland work. He's been camping up on the high ground on Dundreggan for days at a time braving the weather and midges and it would be hard to find a more dedicated and skilled surveyor! He reports on some of the initial findings for dwarf birch in a separate article in this edition of Caledonia Wild! Elsewhere, I spent a day with Mark up at the crags at 700 metres on the eastern side of Gleann na Ciche, which is situated south of Athnamulloch, on FCS land in Glen Affric. We'd come to do an initial survey of the montane willows found up there, perched high above the glen. These species are fairly rare in Scotland, especially so in our Target Area for forest restoration, because of the dominance of acid geology and soils. Up at the rocks and ledges there are some more base-rich flushes with a different tall herb vegetation characterised by great wood-rush (Luzula sylvatica). Not surprisingly, due to this relatively luxuriant growth, the area attracts the deer and the willows tend to cling on in the more inaccessible places. However, the shrubs do require bare ground for seedlings to germinate and the deer, together with small landslips, help to provide this. It's a difficult balance, as ever, with deer numbers.
These willows are not always easy to identify and, to complicate matters, can sometimes hybridise, but the wind kept the showers brief and Mark was able to key out downy willow (Salix lapponum) and dark-leaved willow (Salix myrsinifolia). There's a good population of another woody shrub up there - the bog bilberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) - and the area also supports small populations of the rare woolly willow (Salix lanata), which is now included as a priority species for conservation action in Scottish Natural Heritage's Species Action Framework document.
This was very much an initial scouting trip and I hope to return to do a more detailed survey and perhaps collect some cuttings or seed in late spring next year. There's also a great view of the developing native woodland inside the Gleann na Ciche exclosure from up there - that's an area where our volunteers have done a lot of work, including planting Scots pines and felling non-native trees, in the past.
Mick Drury
 Map of the Trees for Life Target Area, showing the location of the sites referred to in this article in green. Click for a
larger version. |
Funding the Forest
Wedding Bells
 Caroline and James on their wedding day. |
Everyone at TFL sends their best wishes to the following two couples who tied the knot recently! Congratulations to Helen Bennett, our amazing Webmistress who married Ghulam Yar in Lancaster - lots of love to you both! And Caroline Osborn, one of our focalisers, who married her partner James Allen in Staffordshire. Caroline has been leading Conservation Holidays with us since last year. We wish both couples all the best for their futures together.
 One of the special gift envelopes that come in our new Wedding Grove Packs. |
On the subject of weddings, we have new Wedding Grove Packs - which are designed to make it easy for couples to start their own Grove of trees, and for family and friends to join in. The packs are free when you start a Grove, and include tasteful envelopes that allow wedding guests to dedicate trees to the Grove with personalised messages that appear on the couple's Grove Web Page. These envelopes are also ideal for any event or occasion where you would like to involve a group of people in the planting of a grove together. If you would like a Wedding Grove Pack, please contact me on: 0845 458 3505.
Sponsored Walk
The Sponsored Walk on the 5th October was a relatively quiet affair, with about 30 people attending in Glen Affric and 10 people in Edinburgh. It was however, the most stunning day in Glen Affric, with people enjoying their lunch outside the bothy at the half way point. Thank you to everyone who came on the walk in Glen Affric and to Mike Harrower and everyone who did the Edinburgh walk. There will of course be another opportunity to make your Footsteps Count for the Forest next year! If you would like to do an event, and raise money for Trees for Life, we have Sponsor Forms at the office, just call: 0845 458 3505.
 Walkers enjoying a Mediterranean-style outdoor cafÈ at Athnamulloch during this year's Sponsored Walk in Glen Affric! |
 Mike Harrower (far right) and some of the participants in this year's Edinburgh Sponsored Walk. Photo by Mike Harrower. |
Company Supporters
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
The SECC in Glasgow began supporting Trees for Life in November 2006 and to date has given over £14,000. For every major conference event staged at the Centre, SECC sponsors the planting of an acre of native trees. For smaller events, a grove of eight trees is sponsored. So far, over 39 acres and 16 Groves have been sponsored by SECC on behalf of conference delegates. Each conference organiser receives a certificate and letter explaining our project and how their choice of venue is making a positive impact for the return of the forest. It's a fantastic contribution by any standards and makes SECC one of our biggest Company Supporters.
Ben Goedegebuure, Director of Sales, SECC said: 'We are pleased our involvement will help restore the ancient Caledonian Forest. The presentation of the Trees for Life certificate to each conference forms part of our commitment to our Environmental Policy. Everyone at SECC is very much aware of the potential impact that the events staged at the centre can have on the environment.'
I recently got to meet with Ben, Sean and the rest of the staff at SECC and thanked them personally for their contribution to our work. We are very grateful to SECC for all its support of our work, and hope that all the events that are held there are touched and inspired by their commitment to the environment.
Staff Corner
 Elaine Dempsey. |
One of the longest serving members of staff at TFL is Elaine Dempsey, the lynchpin of the day to day running of the organisation. If you've ever phoned the office, chances are you've spoken to Elaine, with her welcoming Scottish lilt! She started at Trees for Life in 1992, when it was just a small team of three people with a big vision! She's recently taken on the role of Personnel Manager in addition to being Office Manager. She says, 'There's a need for more personnel management as we are now a team of 14 people. It's a new role for me and I'm enjoying it.' Maintaining a friendly approach to people is vital, and is something Elaine excels at. She says, 'I like the personal contact with all our supporters, and greeting people as they come in the office - it's really important that TFL puts forward a welcoming manner'. And what of the future? 'When I look at how the organisation has grown, I think in 5-10 years TFL will become more and more influential in the field of conservation'.
When not at work, Elaine enjoys being in nature, good wine, travelling (especially to Italy) and spending time with her two granddaughters. So, let's raise a glass and toast Elaine's dedication and hard work - thank you Elaine!
Wish List
Thank you to Keith Knight for donating items on our last Wish List. We are now in need of the following items to make our day to day operations more effective:
- A Ford Transit 17 Seater Minibus, (£23,000) so we can efficiently run three Conservation Holidays in parallel. Alternatively, you can sponsor a seat in the bus for £1,642!
- A log splitter for Plodda Lodge (£400).
- New ride-on mower for Dundreggan (£1,400).
- An energy-efficient washing machine for Dundreggan Lodge (£300).
- Two satellite phones for the Conservation Holidays (£1,420).
We so appreciate all of those people who have donated gifts in kind to us in the past. If you think you can help us with any of the above items, or wish to contribute to their purchase, please call us today on Tel: 0845 458 3505. Thank you!
Kerrigan Bell
See Caledonia Wild! Magazines, for excerpts from other editions.
First published: November 2008. First published online, December 2008.
Last updated: 25 August 2010