An ancient forest re-born, 20 years on
20 years ago, the August 1991 edition of Trees for Life News, as the predecessor to Caledonia Wild! was called, featured a cover story headlined, ‘Rebirth of an Ancient Forest’, about our first tree planting, at Athnamulloch in Glen Affric earlier that year. Touched deeply by the experience of planting Scots pines amongst the stumps of the former forest on the then-desolate slopes there, I wrote about how I imagined that future generations would appreciate the new forest and the wildlife it will support. However, because it was just at the beginnings of Trees for Life, I didn’t appreciate the fullness and impact of the transformation that the simple act of planting trees would bring about there.
The cover story of our newsletter in August 1991 featured the first planting at Athnamulloch. Grant McFarlane, a participant in our first ever Work Week (Conservation Holiday) in April 1991, about to plant a Scots pine beside a prominent pine stump at Athnamulloch. |
 The same scene 20 years after the planting, in early May 2011. The stump is now almost completely covered by the heather, and the pine next to it is more than 5 metres (16.4 feet) tall. |
 Alan beside a planted Scots pine in the Athnamulloch 1 exclosure in the summer of 1996, four years after this tree was planted. |
 The same tree in August 2002. |
 The same tree in early May 2011. |
20 years on, and there is a healthy young forest growing successfully at Athnamulloch. The
stands of pines can now be seen from over a kilometre away, and the whole area is now
shown as forest on the latest Ordnance Survey maps. The scattered, irregular distribution
of the planted trees, and those that have regenerated naturally, have all the appearance of a natural
forest, and mosses, bog myrtle and other plants have colonised the peat hags that formerly existed as
running sores on the land. Insects abound, feeding on the young trees and other plants, and attracting
birds of all sorts, as the interdependent web of life reweaves itself. Looking back now, I realise that
I was wrong in 1991 to imagine that it would only be future generations who would appreciate the
new forest at Athnamulloch – we can do it now, as the photographs here illustrate!
Alan Watson Featherstone
| Top: Common frog (Rana temporaria) on acute-leaved bog moss (Sphagnum capillifolium) at Athnamulloch. Bottom: Heather fly (Bibio pomonae) on a Scots pine at Athnamulloch. |
This photograph, taken in early September 2007, shows how dramatic the changes have been at Athnamulloch. Inside the fence, bog myrtle and heather are flourishing amongst the planted pines, whilst outside, the surrounding landscape is still overgrazed and the most prominent features are the peat hags – areas of exposed peat with pine stumps visible in them.
Inset: Early instar caterpillar of a northern eggar moth (Lasiocampa quercus callunae) feeding on an eared willow (Salix aurita) at Athnamulloch. |
Pages about Athnamulloch on this site
- An ancient forest re-born, 20 years on Caledonia Wild! Summer 2011
- Comparison of the effectiveness of deer control and deer exclusion in promoting natural regeneration of woodland - results of a research project in 2009
- Return of the Wild Garden! Caledonia Wild! Winter 2007-08
- The Athnamulloch Bothy, Glen Affric (temporarily unavailable)
- A visit from the Bushtucker man! Caledonia Wild! Summer 2003
- Ecological processes which influence the performance of planted Scots pine seedlings
- Ten years of restoration at the Athnamulloch 1 Exclosure
Return to Practical Results of our Work
Last updated: 21 October 2011