Volunteer Work Weeks in the Scottish Highlands 2009
"This has been an excellent experience – a great chance to get outdoors, to meet new and interesting people and to
enjoy good food." Jacob, Southampton.
Locations
Each Work Week is based in a particular area, with the week’s tasks at different sites in the locality. The accommodation will usually be a short drive of around half an hour from the sites, but may be longer due to the remoteness of some work locations.
Glen Affric
Glen Affric, owned and managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, is often described as one of the most beautiful glens in Scotland.
This National Nature Reserve contains one of the largest remaining fragments of Caledonian Forest.
Volunteers participating on the Corrimony, Glen Cannich/Cougie and Nursery Work Weeks
will visit this area for an introductory walk and may have a chance to explore it more freely on their day off.
West Affric
Owned by the National Trust for Scotland, this land lies high in the heart of the mountains. Work carried out here is
bringing the forest back to areas that have been barren for a long time. Volunteers on these weeks will be planting and
fertilising trees, with the possibility of ecological survey work. Some long walks over uneven ground will be required
to reach the work sites so a good level of fitness is required. Accommodation will be at the
Allt Beithe Youth Hostel, the most remote hostel in Britain.
Glen Cannich and Cougie
Owned by the Forestry Commission, these work sites are nestled alongside Glen Affric and are part of the NNR.
Volunteers will be planting trees, removing redundant fences and felling non-native trees, which will help the
Caledonian Forest extend north and southwest. In the autumn volunteers will get a chance to get involved with
nursery work at Plodda. These areas, although lesser known, have plenty of stunning views and some beautiful
remnants of forest with ancient ‘granny’ pines. Accommodation will be at the
Glen Affric Chalet Park in Cannich for the spring weeks and at Plodda Lodge for the autumn weeks.
Glen Moriston
Glen Moriston,
the southern boundary of the Trees For Life target area, has a band of
mixed woodland winding its way along the course of the beatiful River Moriston,
with patches of native woodland and plantations on the hillsides. The
work will be in Forestry Commission Scotland's Inverwick Forest and on nearby estates. The forest
is important for black grouse, a rare and declining species, and improving
the habitat is a focus for our work. We will be planting trees, removing redundant deer
fencing and felling non-native trees to benefit the grouse. For those who are keen and willing there should be an opportunity on each week to watch the black grouse on their lek. Accommodation for these weeks
is at the Invermoriston Holiday chalets.
Dundreggan
This year we will also be working on the 10,000 acre Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston, which we
are in the process of buying. Work will include fence removal, seed collection, survey work and more. We may be working on the
estate in spring and autumn during the Glen Moriston Work Weeks,
and the dates for dedicated Dundreggan Work Weeks in the autumn will be added in due course.
Corrimony
At Corrimony, above Strathglass, we are helping the RSPB restore Caledonian
Forest to an area of moorland and former conifer plantation. The reserve
offers the chance to see many rare birds, such as black grouse, golden
eagle and merlin. There's also a spectacular wooded gorge, complete with
a beautiful waterfall. We will be planting trees on the reserve, getting involved
in wetland restoration as well as felling non-native trees. Accommodation will
be at Plodda Lodge.
Achnahinich
This exciting new work site, situated on the western edge of our target area, overlooks Loch Achaidh na h-Inich,
near Plockton and the Isle of Skye. Here we will be planting 10,000 mixed native trees on a south-facing slope, which will
help re-establish the native woodland. We will also be removing redundant fencing. The scenery in this area is stunning,
with great walks on the doorstep, which volunteers are free to explore on their day off. Accommodation is at
Attadale holiday cottages, Strath Carron.
Achnashellach
Located in upper Glen Carron, Achnashellach is on the northern boundary of Trees for Life’s target area.
Much of this site is Caledonian Pine Forest, under-planted with non-native plantations. We’ve been assisting the Forestry
Commission by removing these non-native trees, restoring a wetland area and carrying out some survey work. The work
on this week will include tree planting and non-native removal. Accommodation will be at the Plockton Bunkhouse.
Skye
We will be working on Forestry Commission Scotland's Kinloch Hills Native Woodland Restoration Project. This 7,400
hectare site is on the eastern side of this beautiful island. FCS is working to restore native woodland, heath and bog.
Our tasks will include non-native tree removal, ecological survey work, and fence removal. Some of the work sites are
remote and may require a long walk over rough terrain, so a good level of fitness is necessary. The accommodation for
these weeks will be at the Flora MacDonald hostel, near Armadale.
The Tree Nursery Weeks – a more gentle option at Plodda
This year we are running three Nursery weeks. Two of these (April 12th and May 24th) are for
those who would like to make their own practical contribution to the restoration of the Caledonian Forest,
but who may not be able to keep up with the pace of the other work weeks. Work on these weeks will be based
around Trees for Life's nursery at Plodda Lodge. The work will include collecting, planting and
transplanting native tree cuttings, preparation of seed beds and sowing seed, as well as work on our aspen
propagation project. The first nursery week (March 1st) will also include heavier work for those who are
able, including helping to extend the nursery and erect a new polytunnel. Accommodation will be at
Plodda Lodge
and Cannich Backpackers.
"I have had an amazing time, great people, great scenery - very rewarding and enjoyable." Rachel, Glasgow.
If
you would like to promote our Volunteer Work Weeks in your local area, please
download
a poster (PDF, 831 kB) about them, which you can then print out
from your own computer and display at suitable locations.
You can also
download our Work
Week Brochure 2009 (PDF, 1 mb) and Work Week
Booking Form, if you would like to pass on
information about our programmes to friends, family or colleagues.