Forthcoming & On-going Events:
The Community Woodlands Association (CWA) Best Environmental Project 2011 has been awarded to the Gearrchoille Community Wood for the work done developing the former curling pond into our new wildlife pond. The CWA has a membership of over 200 community woodlands throughout Scotland, so this is something to be really proud of!! Well done to all who put in so much work, and all our members for their support.
We have no specific events planned for the next few weeks. We are hoping to carry out some thinning of the birch in the wood, and also protect some of the oak & hazel seedlings with tree guards. If you want to help out with this please contact Betty on 01863 755316.
Wet 'n' Wild Oct 1st 10am Gearrchoille Wood. Bird Ringing, Minibeast mayhem, Art workshops. All welcome.
The secret Life of the Gearrchoille Saturday 27th August. Moths and Pond Beasties. The weather was much kinder to us this time. Tony Mainwood set up 2 moth traps the previous evening and identified 27 species, including 10 not seen before in the Gearrchoille.
Then onto pond dipping with David McAllister. We found lots of beasties in the water - including newtlets, dragonfly larvae, water boatmen, pond skaters. We were very pleased that the pond had been so well colonised since it was dug last autumn.
Answers for Easter Puzzle sheets
Pond & Bridge Opening Event Saturday 28th May. Due to the weather this event was held in the Hall. We still had lots of fun!
Report of the AGM 2011 Gearrchoille Community Wood Ardgay AGM will be held on Thursday 2nd June @ 7pm in Ardgay Hall. Followed by a talk 'Venerable Trees' by local artist Ian Westacott.
Quiz - Solutions for the quiz from January here
CWA 2010 conference - Callander: Making Woodlands Work
Brigitte Geddes attended this 2-day conference in October. Read her report here, or the full report from the CWA website
Path & Pond work
The work on
the paths in the wood which has been disrupting access throughout the summer ,
is now complete. This includes 2 level bridges with handrails, replacing the
railway sleeper crossings which could be a bit of a challenge during wet
weather!
The former
Curling Pond has had a makeover, and is now an attractive wildlife pond,
complete with dipping platform constructed from recycled plastic.
The trees to the south of the pond have been thinned to increase the
amount of light reaching the water, on of the suggestions from our amphibian
expert, David McAllister. View the
latest
Amphibian report here.
The path and
pond works were generously funded by:- The People’s Postcode Trust; Awards for
All Scotland; The Sutherland Partnership; Ward 1 Councillors Discretionary
Budget; North Childcare & Family Resources Partnership; Achany Wind Community
Benefit Trust; Beinn Tharsuinn Community Benefit Trust; Highland Council; Plus,
help and encouragement from Ardgay & District Community Council.
June 2010 The Gearrchoille wood walk has been included in the new leaflet, 'Discover East Sutherland's top ten walks' produced by Highland Birchwoods. Pick up a free copy at local shops & tourist attractions, or contact us. Also available to download from http://www.highlandbirchwoods.co.uk/publications-g.asp (Lots of other interesting things there too!)
Work Programme. Work continues on the Management Plan. We have done a small area of birch coppicing as a trial run.
Membership Renewal. All memberships are due for renewal at the AGM in May. If you haven’t yet done so, please renew your membership now. It’s really important that we have a strong membership when applying for grants, and also to ensure that what gets done in the wood reflects the wishes of the local community. Download Membership Form.
Calendars. Photos from 2009 & 2010 available to view now
Past Events
2010 AGM The Gearrchoille Community Wood 2010 AGM & family fun quiz was held on Thurs May 20th in Ardgay Hall. Report of the AGM.
Monday 9th August 2009: 2nd Gearrchoille Extraordinary Perambulatory Treasure Hunt during Kyle of Sutherland Gala week more...
Saturday 18th July 2009: 10am Ardgay Hall with Tony Mainwood of Butterfly Conservation. Learn about the variety, lifecycle and importance of moths. Take a close look at the species that were attracted to moth traps set overnight in Gearrchoille Wood. Weather permitting, we will visit the wood, so please wear suitable footwear. Children to be accompanied by an adult. Photo of bordered beauty - one of the moths found in the wood
May 28th 2009 : AGM in Kyle of Sutherland Heritage Centre. Speaker: Steve Robertson, NHFT "Woodland Pasture" Full Report here.
May 29th 2008 : AGM in Ardgay Hall. We will discuss the Management Plan and possible summer program & volunteer days. Speaker: David McAllister, Tain, author of our Amphibian survey, "What has happened to all the frogs?"
Nov 2007: GCWA hold Open Day in the Hall, with Henry Fossbrooke (Milton Community Wood) & his Woodland Orchestra, Martin Watsmann (storyteller, Tain) and Sandie Beck (Natural Dye specialist).
Nov 2007: North Highland forest Trust (NHFT) hold their AGM in Ardgay Hall, preceded by a walk through the Gearrchoille led by Steve Robertson.
Oct 2007: Peter Quelch led a training event 'Ancient Wood Pastures in Sutherland' for NHFT, and the Gearrchoille was one of 6 sites visited. This will hopefully be followed up by a more formal survey in due course. View Peter's diary here.