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United Nations’ International Year of Forests

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

New initiatives announced as International Year of Forests welcomed

TREES FOR LIFE
News release For immediate release: Tuesday 11th January 2011

Welcoming 2011 as the United Nations’ International Year of Forests, conservation charity Trees for Life today announced a series of new initiatives in its award-winning work to restore Scotland’s Caledonian Forest, and called on people to take advantage of the year to reconnect with Britain’s forests and woodlands.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Executive Director of Trees for Life, said:
“Forests are very special and important places, for people as well as wildlife. They are often refuges for endangered animals and plants, they help to tackle climate change by soaking up carbon dioxide, and they are inspiring places to visit.

“2011 is an ideal opportunity for people to enjoy visiting forests and woodlands whether for simple walks, wildlife spotting, or just enjoying the peace and quiet. With 2011 also being the European Year of Volunteering, it’s a great time to take practical action through on-the-ground projects such as our Conservation Holiday programme.”

To help people enjoy visits to the Caledonian Forest, in May Trees for Life will open new visitor facilities at its Dundreggan Estate in Glen Moriston near Loch Ness, Inverness-shire. The recent discovery of many rare, endangered and presumed extinct species at Dundreggan has established its reputation as a ‘lost world’ for the Highlands.

Trees for Life hopes that its work in 2011 to expand native woodland on the estate will help to attract red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) to Dundreggan. The species has not been recorded on the estate, but is present elsewhere in Glen Moriston, in Forestry Commission Scotland’s Inverwick Forest across the River Moriston, and to the east at Bhlaraidh.

Other plans for Dundreggan include experimental work to establish a population of twinflower (Linnea borealis), a rare flowering plant associated with the Caledonian Forest and a priority for conservation.

Trees for Life has also made a commitment to planting 100,000 trees during 2011, as part of an ongoing pledge to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Billion Tree Campaign. Major milestones this year will include the 20th anniversary of Trees for Life’s first tree planting in April 1991, and also the planting of the charity’s one-millionth tree.

“If every person in Britain were to plant just one tree in 2011, we’d have the equivalent of a large new forest of 60 million trees by year end – that’s the difference we can make in the International Year of Forests. A rewarding way to take part is to come and volunteer with Trees for Life, and plant hundreds of trees yourself,” said Alan Watson Featherstone.

More volunteers will be able to support this work than in any previous year through a programme of 47 Conservation Holiday Weeks, which allow people from all backgrounds and ages to help restore Scotland’s natural heritage at various outstanding locations in the Highlands, alongside a new programme of local volunteer day trips called ‘Green Days Out’.

Today the UK is one of Europe’s least wooded countries, with only four per cent of native woodland cover. In the Highlands, the Caledonian Forest covers just one per cent of its former maximum area.

Through Trees for Life, people can mark the International Year of Forests and their own special occasions by funding dedicated trees and groves. See www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505. For information on the International Year of Forests see www.un.org/en/events/iyof2011.

/ Ends

Notes to editors
1.    Trees for Life aims to restore the Caledonian Forest to an area of
1,500 square kilometres in the Scottish Highlands west of Inverness.
2.    Since planting its first trees in 1991 in Glen Affric, Trees for Life
has planted over 924,000 trees. Its awards include 1991 UK Conservation Project of the Year, the Millennium Marque in 2000 and Top 10 Conservation Holidays worldwide in 2009.
3.    Trees for Life’s £1.65 million purchase of Dundreggan in 2008 saw the
site become one of the largest areas of land in the UK bought for forest restoration. Subsequent surveys have revealed that the estate is home to over 50 species that are priorities for conservation in the UK’s Biodiversity Action Plan, thereby underlining its importance for conservation.

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Loch Ness-side attraction sees 49% rise in visitors

Monday, January 10th, 2011

Castle is a popular draw during the festive period
Loch Ness-side attraction sees 49% rise in visitors

By Neil MacPhail
Press & Journal: Published: 08/01/2011

Visitors have mounted a major invasion of a castle on Loch Ness-side over the Christmas and New Year period.

Urquhart Castle, near Drumnadrochit, saw a 49% increase in visitor numbers between December 24 and January 4, compared with the same period last year.

During the past festive season 2,940 walked across the drawbridge, against the 1,970 who visited during the same period the year before.

Numbers were highest on January 2, as visitors took the opportunity to take in the site after the New Year celebrations.

The figures round off an impressive 12 months for the heritage sector with Historic Scotland, which runs the castle and another 77 attractions across Scotland, recently announcing its best April to September on record.

Minister for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop said: “The Christmas and New Year period is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy Scotland’s stunning heritage.

“Scotland continues to be a ‘must see’ destination at this time of year, so it is fantastic to see this reflected in visitor numbers at Urquhart Castle.

“These figures are testament to the appeal of our heritage attractions, and the hard work of staff to provide a world-class experience.

“It is fantastic to end the year in such a positive position and rounds off an exceptional 12 months for the sector.”

The castle, which played a key role in the Wars of Independence, has an enduring popularity with visitors and ranks among Historic Scotland’s top 10 sites on an annual basis.

Stephen Duncan, head of commercial and visitor operations for Historic Scotland, said: “We are delighted the castle has enjoyed such a successful Christmas and New Year in terms of visitor numbers.

“Despite the extreme weather throughout much of last month, the site has performed extremely well over the festive season.

“We held a number of events at the castle as part of the Loch Ness Hogmanay Festival, which proved popular with locals and visitors alike.”

Read more: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2081504?UserKey=#ixzz1AcY4LO9Z

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Gardening Tips from Loch Ness

Tuesday, November 23rd, 2010


Jennie Macfie on making the most of dry weather

The Herald – Scotland
22 Nov 2010

On milder, drier winter days there are still tasks which can be done in the garden.

Greenhouse and conservatory glass should be cleaned to maximise the amount of sunlight getting through while the sun is low and weak during the darker months of the year. You can use any eco-friendly cleaner on the outside, but if you have plants growing inside it may be safer to use a specialist greenhouse glass cleaner. While you’re in there, clear up any dead or diseased leaves, debris and soil. Remove moss too, which has a habit of establishing itself around the panes of glass as it encourages spider mites and other pests to set up home. Save this year’s compost and use it again for a crop of winter salads. Give benches and floors a good sweep and leave everything neat and tidy. On sunny days, leave the greenhouse door open for an hour or two to let the fresh air in, which helps to prevent fungal diseases taking hold.

If you have a veg patch or allotment, you can, if you like, tidy up the remains of this summer’s crop, or you can leave it over winter, where it may provide some shelter for wildlife. Plant debris can be added to the compost heap – it may not rot fast over winter, but it will rot, especially if you cover it up now with an insulating layer of old carpet, or layers of newspaper and a bit of board to stop it blowing away. It is also likely to provide a space where hedgehogs and slowworms may make a home. Collect garden canes and store them in a dry place such as a shed or garage. Collect up garden fleece and netting, fold as neatly as you can and keep it for another year.

Leaves are still blowing down, so if you are making leafmould, run the lawn mower over them first, as smaller bits will rot down faster. Gather them up into black plastic sacks, punch a few holes in for aeration, and leave in a quiet corner of the garden for a year or two until the contents have magically turned into lovely crumbly dark leafmould, an excellent soil conditioner.

Now is the traditional time to plant broad beans and hardy peas, but if your garden tends to be cold or is very exposed, you might be better planting them in the greenhouse border if you have one, or in big pots if you don’t. Wherever you plant them, protect them from being eaten by mice by surrounding them with some scrunched up wire mesh or unwound old wire pot scourers.

Plant garlic now, too, as it actually needs a period of cold for the best flavour.

It’s also a good time to plant raspberry canes which are available now as bare-root plants. Put sturdy posts in at five-metre intervals, and string support wires between them. Plant the canes about 60cm apart and tie the shoots to the wires as they sprout and grow next spring, training them diagonally to get the most fruit. If you are replacing old varieties, remove the exhausted soil and add new topsoil as the old plants will have used up all the nutrients and may also have left traces of pests or disease. Apple, pear and cherry trees can be protected from rabbits and deer with a spiral plastic tree guard, and from winter moths with a greaseband about 45cm from the ground. It doesn’t take long, but saves a lot of heartache later.

TO INSPIRE:

A plantsman’s paradise, Abriachan is blessed with outstanding views over Loch Ness. The four acres of exciting planting, nine miles from Inverness, are intersected by gently winding paths which lead you up and down the hillside through woodland areas. The plant nursery is well stocked with plants for Highland conditions, dispensed with knowledgeable advice.

A mail order service is available – ask for a catalogue. Admission is a suggested £2 donation to Scotland’s Gardens Scheme.

Abriachan Garden Nursery, Loch Ness-side, Inverness, IV3 6LA. Open 9am-5pm daily, until November 30.

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