On 14th September 2010, we marked the 20th anniversary of the completion of the Coille Ruigh na Cuileige fence in Glen Affric with a special reunion with Forestry Commission Scotland (FCS) staff at the exclosure. Several Trees for Life staff and supporters met up with Giles Drake-Brockman and Neil McAdam of the Commission at the plaque which was unveiled on 14th September 1990 by David Bellamy, when he closed the gate on the exclosure and gained us substantial publicity in the media.

David Bellamy unveiling the plaque at the Coille Ruigh exclosure on 14th September 1990. To his left are Forestry Commission staff at the time, while to the right are two of the workers who erected the fence. Below the plaque are Alan Watson Featherstone of Trees for Life and Neil McAdam, who also worked on putting up the fence. In this 20th anniversary photo taken on 14th September 2010, Alan Watson Featherstone and Neil McAdam are to the left and right of the plaque respectively. Giles Drake-Brockman of FCS is on the left, while the others are Trees for Life staff Elaine Dempsey and Colin Hall (between Giles and Alan) and Adam Powell (next to Neil McAdam) and Jill Hodge (far right). Also in the photo are Trees for Life supporters Fay Blackburn (under the plaque) and Yvonne Overton (second from right).

Neil was one of the Commission's workers who erected the fence, and he hadn't been back to see the results in the past 20 years. Giles is the Environment Manager for the Commission's Inverness Ross and Skye District, which includes Glen Affric, and he gave a short talk at the fence, acknowledging all that has been achieved by the partnership between Trees for Life and the Commission in the two decades since that initial joint project was completed.

The Coille Ruigh na Cuileige exclosure, encompassing 50 hectares (125 acres) of Scots pine-dominated ancient Caledonian Forest on the north side of Loch a'Mheadhoin in the Glen Affric National Nature Reserve, was the first partnership project between Trees for Life and FCS. The fence was erected by FCS staff and paid for by Trees for Life, while a grant for 50% of the cost (£14,000) was provided by the then Nature Conservancy Council (now Scottish Natural Heritage).

Prior to the fence going up, a study of the site was carried out by Paul Blanchflower, an undergraduate student in Forestry at Edinburgh University. His systematic survey established 38 permanent plots, each of 200 square metres, in which he counted and measured all the Scots pine seedlings encountered. His data showed that there was the equivalent of 2,100 pines per hectare within the exclosure (ie over 100,000 altogether for the 50 hectares), with an average age of 9.9 years and an average height of just 8.5 cm. 95% of the seedlings showed evidence of browsing damage from deer, and some seedlings were up to 27 years old, but still only a few cm. high.

We've been monitoring the growth of the Scots pines and other native trees at Coille Ruigh on a regular basis since then, and photographic images showing some of the changes can be seen here and here. Measurements taken in August 2010 showed that the tallest naturally-regenerated Scots pine was 7.13 metres (23.4 feet) high, the tallest birch was 4.72 metres (15.5 feet) high, the single regenerating holly in the exclosure was 5.7 metres (18.7 feet) tall, and the largest juniper was 2.75 metres (9 feet) high.

Tree regeneration throughout the exclosure is abundant but quite variable in size, due to factors such as soil conditions, exposure etc. Other trees present include rowan, alder and eared willow. Some of the regenerating Scots pines began flowering in 1998 and producing cones two years later. The largest trees are now producing cones regularly each year, thereby adding to the regeneration process. Crested tits, one of the characteristic birds of the native pinewoods, are regularly seen at the site, and there is also a black grouse lek in the area.

Creeping ladies tresses (Goodyera repens), an orchid that grows in association with pine trees, has also benefited from the exclosure, and flowers in abundance under old Scots pines in the southwest of the exclosure. This is the greatest concentration of this species that is known in the Glen Affric NNR. Cuttings of creeping ladies tresses have been collected from the site and propagated, to provide new plants for planting out elsewhere in the NNR and at our Dundreggan Estate.

We issued a press release about the anniversary, and this has gained us coverage on the BBC News website and on the STV News website.

Pages about Coille Ruigh on this site

• First dwarf birch planted out in Glen Affric, May 2011
• 20 years of regeneration at Coille Ruigh Caledonia Wild! Autumn 2010
• 20th anniversary of the Coille Ruigh fence in Glen Affric
• 20 years of forest fence project provides lessons for restoring Scotland's wild landscapes Press release for the Coille Ruigh 20th anniversary on 14th September 2010
• Coille Ruigh na Cuileige 1990 - 2008 Caledonia Wild! Winter 2008-9
• Coille Ruigh na Cuileige Caledonia Wild! Winter 2007-8
• Coille Ruigh Survey Caledonia Wild! Spring 2002
• Botanical survey of Coille Ruigh na Cuileige Caledonia Wild! Summer 2001
• Plant species list for Coille Ruigh in Glen Affric
• Ten years of regeneration at Coille Ruigh Caledonia Wild! Summer 2000
• Natural regeneration of Pinus sylvestris - results of a research project in 2008
• The Effects of Fencing on Natural Regeneration of Native Pinewood after Six Years in Coille Ruigh na Cuileige, Glen Affric
• A Survey of the Regeneration within a Native Pinewood, Coille Ruigh na Cuileige, with Particular Reference to Ground Vegetation
• Composition of Regenerating Woodland in Coille Ruigh, Autumn 2001
• Progress of the Champion Pine at Coille Ruigh
• Regrowth amidst snags at Coille Ruigh

Last updated: Wednesday, 29-Sep-2010 17:03:41 CEST