Name: Abriachan Forest Trust (AFT) Place: Abriachan, Loch Ness, Highland Headline: Pioneering community forest, restructured from planation forest with multiple activities providing local employment, adult learning support, skills training, forest enterprises and outdoor education. Keywords: plantation forest restructuring, timber, adult learning, health, volunteering, forest management Context: In response to concerns about the loss of common … Continue Reading »
Insights into woodland expansion in the Cairngorms National Park by Dr. Duncan Halley
Duncan Halley’s insights on the Cairngorms: the Cairngorms National Park Authority has consulted (closing date 30 September!) on its Partnership Plan to 2022, highlighting nine major issues including questions related to woodlands, deer, grouse, flood management, tourism and research. The views of Dr Duncan Halley of the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, noted for his … Continue Reading »
EVENT Getting Value from Local Woods Join us on the 11th of November at the Birnam Institute
Craggach Woods, Part 2
Continuing our series of blog posts highlighting stories of small woodland ownership, this 2 part blog tells the story of Craggach Woods near Kirkhill, owned by David Shepherd and Annie Griffiths. In this second part they now explore the silvicultural aspects of their management in more detail. We own 40ha of woodland on a fairly … Continue Reading »
Craggach Woods, Part 1
Continuing our series of blog posts highlighting stories of small woodland ownership, this 2 part blog tells the story of Craggach Woods near Kirkhill, owned by David Shepherd and Annie Griffiths. In the first part they give the background to their wood and the philosophy behind their ownership and management. In the second part (to … Continue Reading »
A Journey to Owning a Small Scottish Woodland
This is the first in a new series of blog posts highlighting stories of small woodland ownership. Scotland is a country where forests are mainly owned in large expensive units and where ordinary people wishing to own a small woodland face considerable challenges acquiring one in their locality at reasonable cost. Steve McLean is a … Continue Reading »
A brief history of ‘the deer problem’ in Scotland
Simon Pepper is a former director of WWF Scotland (1985-2005) and Deer Commissioner (2005-10) keen to see deer management delivering a better outcome for all interests. The following summary was written to provide some historical context for the consideration of changes to the law in the current Land Reform Bill, including the recent amendments on … Continue Reading »
How to create LOTS of forest owners…..
Kinachreachan Forest Andy Wightman, in a 2012 scoping study on forest1 ownership in Scotland, observed that Scotland out of 19 European countries had the dubious distinction of having the most concentrated forest ownership pattern; and that Scotland’s forest ownership is dominated by the state, large estates and investment owners (mostly absentee). We in the Forest … Continue Reading »
Land Reform – Facts or Prejudices?
Earlier this week, Environment Minister Dr Aileen McLeod said that the benefits of the new Land Reform Bill would be “potentially life-changing for individuals and communities across Scotland”. Ahead of the latest meeting of the Rural Affairs, Climate Change and Environment Committee to gather evidence in Dumfries, she stated that the government was ‘listening’, and … Continue Reading »
Our lovely hills? Time to think again
There’s plenty of debate about the uplands these days – including issues of land ownership, raptor persecution, re-wilding, deer and grouse moor management, plantation forestry, renewables and peatland restoration. Much of this is about keeping the hills as they are, in all their loveliness. Only the more extreme advocates of land reform and rewilding invoke … Continue Reading »