Allt na Muic Gorge Appeal

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Linking up the isolated remnants of the Caledonian Forest

Dear Supporter

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you choose to be? I would be out in the Caledonian Forest beside a beautiful cascading stream, with the fresh scents of the forest floor, the delicate sounds of life and the green light as the sun comes through the trees.

I'm writing to you today to ask for your support for a project which will protect just such a place, and form the first north-south link between some of the last Caledonian Forest remnants.

Creating a forest corridor

For many years we have been holding the vision of linking up some of the isolated fragments of the Caledonian Forest. This linkage is a key step towards achieving our goal of restoring the forest to our 1,500 square kilometre target area. Now, we have an opportunity which will enable us to implement this through the re-establishment of a native forest corridor between Glen Affric to the north and Glen Moriston to the south.

In Glen Moriston down-slope from two exclosures that we've put up in recent years (which many of you generously gave donations to in 1996) is a beautiful gorge on the Allt na Muic stream. This is an area of exceptional beauty and the gorge contains many native trees including Scots pine, birch, rowan, aspen, alder and juniper.

The west side of the gorge is privately owned and we now have the agreement of the owner to carry out a scheme for both natural regeneration and some planting there. The east side of the gorge is owned by the Forestry Commission and we have also approached them with proposals for native forest restoration. The work we propose doing would enable us to create a native forest corridor linking one of our existing exclosures on the Balnacarn Estate with the gorge and with some old forest patches further down in Glen Moriston, including three separate stands of aspen trees.

These initiatives will form the essential stepping stones in the creation of a native forest corridor along the course of the Allt na Muic stream, which together with our exclosure projects on the Balnacarn and Wester Guisachan Estates to the north will form this dynamic first link between the isolated forest remnants in our target area. Such a connecting corridor will be of enormous benefit to the forest and all its wildlife, and will mark a significant milestone in our restoration work.

We need your help for this project to succeed!

It is only with your help that we can create this corridor. The regeneration scheme we're planning on the private estate will qualify for Woodland Grant Scheme (WGS) funding, but we need additional funds to cover the up front costs of the project. Adding in the likely costs of restoration work on the Forestry Commission side of the gorge (which does not qualify for WGS support) means that we need to raise £7,000 for this scheme to be fully implemented.

Here's what you'll be helping us to achieve

• A total of 10.4 hectares (26 acres) of land will be fenced, and this will enable the native trees in the Allt na Muic gorge to generate naturally. Scots pines, aspen alder, juniper and birch trees will flourish again beside the boulders and cascading waters of this beautiful stream.

• Further away from the stream, we'll plant a mixture of native trees, allowing this forest fragment to expand outwards from the narrow confines of the gorge on to more of the surrounding land. We're already propagating eared willow and aspen trees of Glen Moriston origin in our nursery at Plodda Lodge for planting out next year in the gorge.

• This project will also build on the results of our aspen survey carried out last year, which mapped out the three aspen stands. By including them within a larger scale forest restoration scheme on the Forestry Commission land, we will enable this rare species to spread successfully from where it has clung on to survival.

• Populations of plants, animals and insects which have been isolated by large areas of barren ground will be encouraged to spread and intermingle between the two glens with the restoration of this strategically located forest corridor.

When I visited the Allt na Muic gorge in February this year, I was deeply touched by its beauty, and by its potential not only for forest regeneration, but also as a crucial element in the return of the forest to a much larger area. Our work of ecological restoration is about helping to reconnect the strands in the web of life, and this project, with its purpose of linking up isolated forest remnants, presents a great opportunity for this.

Now your donation will be even more effective!

You can help us achieve all this by sending a contribution now, using our special appeal form overleaf, and there's never been a better time to give to Trees for Life! Because of changes to the UK tax law as of 6th of April this year, if you are a UK taxpayer, we can claim back from the government tax you have already paid on donations of any size that you make to us. This means that for every £1 which you give, we can claim back an extra 28p, at no cost to you. All you need to do, if you are a taxpayer, is to sign the simple declaration on the appeal form, and return it to us with your donation - we'll do the rest.

Thank you in advance for your contribution - your valued support makes a real difference to our work, and will help accelerate the return of the Caledonian Forest.

To make a donation online to this project, please go to our order form, and thank you in advance for whatever contribution you can give. Your support now will enable this project to go ahead this summer!

Yours sincerely,

Alan Watson Featherstone
Executive Director

P.S. This project brings us closer to our vision and will be a catalyst for other similar projects in thefuture. Please give as generously as you can to regenerate this beautiful gorge.

 
 
 

Progress: See the progress made by 2005, five years later. Allt na Muic Phase 2 appeal.

If you would like to make a donation for a different aspect of our work, please see our Appeals for Funds.

Published: May 2000
Last updated: 25 August 2010