You can read here about our latest progress, some of the projects and activities we’re involved in and our ideas going forward. Please join us in making these Woods an awesome place to be.
Whew! We are relieved to say that, apart from general debris, both woods seem to have come off relatively lightly in Storm Arwen compared to many forests across Scotland.
It does seem to be all very administrative news this month! But a lovely thing to let you in on is that there continues to be a pleasingly steady flow of new people signing up as WSWG members, and welcome to all. The most recent local people joining have taken us up to 472 Members with a further 282 named Supporters on our books.
“Soggy Saturday in October” – this month’s wonderfully descriptive blog from Margaret Lear on the “olfactory hamper” that is Five Mile Wood at this time of year. Although it has to be said that we have had some amazingly warm and sunny weather this month too!
The turn of the season is felt, not so much as a drop in temperature or the way the need for warm socks and waterproofs creeps up on you, but in the way the woods smell different. Decaying leaves, leaves still on the trees but for whom decay is imminent: the smell, for me, of being 11 years old and at a new school, where our introduction to Biology was the invitation to compile a Biology Scrapbook over the course of a year.
More litter-picking required at Taymount Wood car park this month. And in the nettles and ditches too. It would be so nice if it stopped, wouldn’t it?
Finding consensus on specific woodland management proposals on a compartment by compartment basis in both woods has been the main activity for WSWG’s Shadow Board and advisers lately.
Still, sultry mornings make taking photos of wild plants easier … but watch out for the flies…
…sated with flowers, I drifted back to the path, casting hopeful glances into the mossy ditches and banks beside the track. It was June, early for the summer edible mushrooms, but not too early to look…..
Now we can start to meet up in bigger numbers outdoors, we’ve managed several site visits with Shadow Board members in Taymount Wood for different purposes which has been really enjoyable and uplifting…
Acorn update! Just one month on, look at the change in our community-grown oak seedlings! This photo, contributed by Carolyn MacDonald of Aberfeldy, shows four of the ten seedlings she has grown from acorns provided as part of WSWG’s Little Acorns project. Her daughter, who is a primary school teacher in Perth, is growing another in her classroom, which we hear the children love. Really good to know so many people are enjoying being part of this project.
Wandering into Five Mile Wood last week, I was considering what might turn out to be the wood’s gift this month when I got distracted by a long-ago fallen log. Or rather, the holes in it.
We thought a nice way to start this month’s update would be to enjoy the amazing detail in this photo taken by Manuela Toth of Bankfoot showing one of the oak seedlings emerging from acorns planted by her daughter earlier this year as part of WSWG’s Little Acorns project. Just think – every tree starts its life as a little seedling like this. With a bit of care, our acorns will one day become great oaks. If you planted any WSWG acorns, do keep us posted on how they are doing.