Bushcraft girls practicing knot-tying
What has WSWG been doing this month?
We purchased a barn owl box from the Barn Owl Trust for installation on a suitable tree in Taymount Wood using funds kindly given to WSWG in memory of our dear friend and founding member Mike Abbott. Hopefully we’ll soon have photos to show you when it is in place.
As a proud member of Tayside Woodland Partnerships (TWP), WSWG contributed a short article to their new newsletter, outlining a) the current shift in WSWG focus from community ownership to a Management Agreement with Forestry and Land Scotland in which WSWG’s aim is that our core vision of Nature Recovery and Community Wellbeing and Resilience in Taymount and Five Mile Woods will strongly influence their long term management; and b) an appeal for people to join a dedicated community group to take the lead on working with the PKC Greenspace Team on management of Stanley Rookery Wood for nature and local people. For more information about TWP see www.taysidewoodlandpartnerships.org
We have also been preparing for the next step in discussions with FLS – a roundtable meeting between FLS and WSWG on 30 July at the FLS offices at Inver to preview the process of developing the next Land Management Plans for the woods in the context of the new Management Agreement. There will be no Community Monthly Update in August but we will aim to update you on this meeting in our September Update.
Here are some more photos from our recent children’s bushcraft session in Taymount Wood, and we’ll hopefully be able to show you some from the adult session in the September Update too.
Word of the Month
Pollinators: Pollination is where pollen is transferred from the male part of a flower (stamen), to the female part (stigma), of either the same or a different flower. This is how plants are fertilised so they can create fruits and seeds for reproduction. Pollinators are animals that help transfer the pollen. They include bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths and beetles. Without pollinators, there would be far less food, flowers and diversity of plants in our world. It would also be a sad place without the buzz of bees and the beauty of butterflies. Source: www.earthwatch.org.uk
“Ugly or beautiful, it is the little creatures that make the world go round. We should celebrate and appreciate them in all their wonderful diversity.” Professor Dave Goulson
What’s coming up next?
Yet to be confirmed, but through Climate Connect Perth & Kinross, WSWG hopes to have a stall at a couple of summer shows:
Perth Show on either Friday 31 July (am or pm) or Saturday 1 August (2-6pm);
Birnam Games on Saturday 29 August (am or pm).
If you are going to be at either of these shows, do keep a look out for us and drop by to say hello.
Sunday 2 August 2-5pm: Free event, open to all. Come along to our joint Wildflower Walk in Taymount Wood with Perthshire Society of Natural Science www.psns.org.uk No experience needed, just a love of nature and a curiosity about the 80+ wildflower species along our woodland verges. We will also do some FIT Counting to record the pollinators which feed on them. If you’d like to find out what FIT Counting is and why it is so important, go to www.ukpoms.org.uk/fit-counts . A mobile phone, camera or notebook may come in handy if you want to record the flowers and other wildlife we see or hear. Fairly easy walking on firm surfaces for 2.5 to 3km over about 3 hours. For more details go to our events page.
Thursday 27 August: Woodland Walk and Picnic with Pop-up Climate Café-West Stormont conversation in Taymount Wood with our friends from Vision PK. (This is a closed event for Vision PK only.)
