Trees for Life's Field Base near Glen Affric
In 1996 we purchased Plodda Lodge, near the village of Tomich, just outside Glen Affric, and within our 600 square mile target area.
This large three bedroom house is located in a quiet secluded area surrounded by trees, and was built in the 1850s as a laundry for the Guisachan Estate. Its remote location in the forest means that it is ideally suited for use as a field base for our increasing practical work in the area, and the house will play an important role in the future development of our project. It was purchased with the aid of a substantial donation from one of our members, financial assistance from the Chris Brasher Trust and funds raised by our appeal in February 1995.
Neil Armstrong and Jill Hodge are our staff members based at Plodda Lodge - Neil is the field base warden and Jill is our tree nursery manager. Conservation Holidays groups are based at Plodda in the spring and autumn each year, and they help with work in the nursery, as well as carrying out restoration work in the Caledonian Forest in nearby areas such as Glen Affric and Corrimony.
Aspen propagation unit and tree nursery
We have now established our aspen propagation unit in a polytunnel at Plodda lodge, complete with propagation equipment. This new facility, together with the increased number of sites to collect root sections from (following the near completion of an exhaustive survey of aspen stands in Glens Affric, Cannich and Moriston) should result in many more young aspens being available for planting in the years ahead.
Tree Nursery at Plodda Lodge - a short video clip about our tree nursery (6.6mb).
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In the tree nursery at Plodda we specialise in growing some of the rarer and/or less easily available tree species native to the Caledonian Forest such as eared willow, hazel and juniper. The photographs above show volunteers working with Jill Hodge on beds in the tree nursery.
Plodda Lodge now provides accommodation for long term volunteers or university students who are carrying out field studies and research in conjunction with our project; and we also base some of our Conservation Holidays there, now that the required planning permission for use by groups has been granted.
Plodda Lodge - related pages
- The Propagation of Aspen from Root Cuttings
- Conservation Holidays in the Scottish Highlands 2004 - Accommodation
- New life springs forth at Plodda Lodge Caledonia Wild! Spring 2003
- The Changing Seasons at Plodda Lodge Caledonia Wild! Winter 2002-03
- The Diary of a Conservation Holiday Focaliser Caledonia Wild! Winter 2001-02
- The Trees for Life Aspen Project
- News from the Tree Nursery Caledonia Wild! Winter 2000-01
- Nursery News, Caledonia Wild! Summer 2006
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Published: October 1999
Last updated: 25 August 2010