Snowy Corrie Forest Restoration Appeal

Please make a donation to support this project now!

Please make a donation to this inspiring new forest restoration project in the Snowy Corrie area of Glen Affric.

Dear Supporter

For the past 15 years, a major focus of Trees for Life's work has been the restoration of the Caledonian Forest on land managed by Forest Enterprise in Glen Affric. Thanks to the generous donations of our supporters, and the work done by our volunteers, we've been able to make a substantial contribution to the return of the forest there. Now, I'm delighted to write to you about an exciting new project, which will enable a key fragment of woodland, and a scarce vegetation community, to flourish and regenerate in Glen Affric.

We are proposing to establish an 11 hectare exclosure * around the Allt Coire an t'Sneachda stream, which is situated midway between the first two fenced areas that we funded in the glen. Because the land is managed by Forest Enterprise, the scheme is not eligible for government grants, so we have offered to help meet the costs of the fence. Thus, I'm writing today to ask for your support for this important project - please make a donation towards our target of £5,500.

Forest restoration in the Snowy Corrie

Strategically located between the existing Coille Ruigh and Meallan exclosures, the Allt Coire an t'Sneachda stream flows out of the corrie of the same name, which means 'snowy corrie' in Gaelic. In two small sheltered rocky gorges on the stream, groups of trees, including a high-elevation aspen stand, have survived because their location makes them inaccessible to browsing deer. The area also contains a rich diversity of flowering plants, including wood crane's-bill which has not been recorded elsewhere in the glen, and it forms a tiny but beautiful woodland gem, in stark contrast to the surrounding tree-less landscape. When I visited the area last summer, I was immediately struck by the potential for restoring the forest there. Now, with your help, we can make this a reality!

Pine seedlings just waiting for their chance to grow!

The potential for regeneration was dramatically confirmed when I found the Scots pine seedling shown here, and by the discovery of another young pine nearby. With the nearest seed source being more than a kilometre away, I was touched by the seemingly miraculous existence of these pines, and by the hope they represent for the future. The seedlings are waiting for the opportunity to grow, and we're ready to do our part in making that happen. I invite you join us in this by sending a donation today - it will literally be the kiss of life which enables us to protect them.

Here's what makes this project so special, and what you'll help us achieve:

• The exclosure will protect the only site in Glen Affric where species such as globe flower, starry saxifrage and wood crane's-bill occur together. This plant community grows on fertile, base-rich soils which are rare in the glen - this project will ensure that these special plants to flourish and spread.
• It will establish a vital 'stepping stone' of regenerating forest, between the existing Coille Ruigh and Meallan exclosures, and the trees which grow there will provide a future seed source for further woodland recovery in the surrounding area.
• The exclosure will also protect one of the highest-altitude aspen stands in Glen Affric, at 550 metres above sea level. The trees there provide a vital habitat for wildlife, such as the caterpillar and leaf beetles shown here, at an elevation in the glen where most of the land has lost its forest completely.
• The two young Scots pines we've found at the site, more than a kilometre from the nearest mature pines, are particularly important, as they represent the beginnings of the natural recovery of the pine forest which formerly grew in the area. Their survival so far is remarkable, and this project will enable them to grow into mature trees - they will be the first pines to do so at this site for several centuries.

Also, for the past 10 years we've been keen to see some forest restoration take place in this part of Affric, so this is an ideal opportunity now to implement a strategically-sited regeneration scheme in partnership with Forest Enterprise.

Every donation makes a difference to the return of the forest

Just as an ecosystem derives its strength from all the different species which comprise it, so too does Trees for Life derive its strength and effectiveness from all the contributions we receive from our network of supporters and volunteers. Every donation, no matter the size, is important to our efforts, so please take the time to respond to this appeal and send whatever you can to help us bring back the forest to the Snowy Corrie.

To make a donation online to this project, please go to our order form, and thank you in advance for any donation which you can give - like the flow of water in a stream, the flow of funds will give to life to this project!

Yours sincerely,

Alan Watson Featherstone
Executive Director

PS. If, like me, you're touched by the beauty, richness and potential of the Snowy Corrie, please respond straightaway - now is the best time to help the forest return there.

 

* The exact details of the exclosure have still to be finalised with Forest Enterprise, and the project still has to go through their statutory consultation process with local people and organisations, so the area of the fence may vary somewhat from this.