- On 15 February, another small band of WSWG supporters braved the elements to do some underplanting in Five Mile Wood. About 100 hazel saplings were planted to diversify the future woodland habitat. Thanks you to energy company Ovo and The Conservation Volunteers for donating these trees to WSWG.
- More User Surveys completed by dog walkers and families out for a breath of fresh air and exercise.
- Mapping ideas for access improvements in both woods – ongoing as part of community consultation.
- The car park entrances at both woods are suffering a lot of litter and some flytipping. WSWG volunteershave litterpicked, filling bags and bags of needlessly and sadly discarded rubbish. More of that soon.
- This month saw the first in a series of monthly blogs for WSWG by Margaret Lear, writer, gardener and green woman engaged with change, to help us follow our two woods through the coming seasons.Margaret is doing this as part of her “Comments on the Nature of the Universe” blog where she ask questions about nature, the universe and where we fit into it all. This month’s beautifully written piece entitled “A February Morning at Five Mile Wood” can be read on the WSWG Facebook page and website.
- Networking meeting with group working to bring Dalrulzion Wood, Kirkmichael into community ownership.
- Presentation to Luncarty Lunch Club about WSWG Project. A big welcome to 11 new WSWG members!
WSWG Word of the Month – Mother Tree
- In forests, the system at work is not a Darwinian “survival of the fittest” where trees are vying for space and light but instead one of co-operation and nurturing. A series of underground fungal networks connects the trees in a given area to each other. These mycorrhizal fungi have a beneficial, symbiotic relationship with a host plant, in this case through the trees’ roots. They allow trees to communicate with one another and actually movecarbon, water, and nutrients between trees, depending upon their needs. The Mother Tree will typically be the dominant, larger, older tree in a network and it’s this Mother Tree that controls and determines the nutrient transfers for that network. Mother Trees manage the resources and take care of the trees in need. Without the vital role of the Mother Tree, many tree seedlings wouldn’t make it. The concept of symbiotic plant communication has far reaching implications in both the forestry and agricultural industries. This knowledge could be used to change the way we approach harvesting forests, by doing things like leaving the Mother Trees intact to foster regrowth.
What’s coming up next?
- Community Consultation is high on our agenda but we are re-examining how to progress that in the light of the Coronavirus crisis. We will keep you posted on this and other news by email, Facebook, posters on community noticeboards, etc. Please let us know if you would like to get involved in helping with any WSWG activities.
