Community Woodland Update

Tree Felling

During Wednesday 8th November and Thursday 9th November, a small team from Ross-shire Tree Surgery started work on felling some of the trees. These trees had been identified as at risk of falling during the Tree Safety Survey carried out on the 22nd November 2022. The trees shown identified by blue markers on the Tree Safety Survey map were all felled and the woodland is now much safer for everyone.

Tree at edge of Dunglass Road — Image by: Siobhan Fraser

Checking tree at edge of Dunglass Road — Image by: Siobhan Fraser

The dead wood

The Sitka Spruce that lost its top in a recent storm has been left as a Snag while the fallen top section has been cut into manageable sections. This dead tree will remain standing for many more years and provide habitats for wildlife and play an important role in the woodland ecosystem.

The fallen oak branch has been left to die and decay naturally. This dead wood is a valuable resource and is extremely important to the health of the woodland. Apart from providing microhabitats for many woodland wildlife including fungi, lichens, invertebrates, mosses and birds. The fallen oak will also increase soil stability within the woodland.

Removal of logs

The cut trees have been stacked in various locations within the woodland and the Mens Shed are hoping to remove them soon.

Maryburgh Tidy Up

10:00 am on November 4th 2023 saw a gathering of volunteers in Birch Drive, just by the Community Woodland. The group of just under 20 volunteers consisted of members of the Maryburgh Community Woodland Group, members of the Maryburgh Mens Shed as well as other Maryburgh residents.

The Community Woodland Group issued everyone taking part with bin bags and disposable gloves, along with Streetmaster Pro Litter Pickers. These were purchased by the group, which was made possible by help from the Scottish Forestry Community Fund. To identify everyone taking part, James Evans and Sons supplied Hi-Vis vests with the Maryburgh Community Woodland Group marked on the backs. The Mens Shed brought along their own Hi-Vis vests marked with Maryburgh Mens Shed. Once everyone was suitably equipped, they set off as groups or as individuals to collect any rubbish left in the woodland.

Over the next couple of hours, the volunteers gradually returned to the Birch Drive starting point carrying bin bags filled with rubbish. The main topic of conversation by the volunteers was the volume of garden waste left at several locations around the wood. This fly tipping in the woodland does nothing to improve the biodiversity. Biodiversity is something that many members of the community wanted to see improved. Garden waste causes several problems, apart from being unsightly. This risks increasing plant disease, invasive non-native species and increasing soil nutrients, encouraging the growth of non-woodland species of plants.

Other types of waste cleared by the volunteers included a dead bird, a soaking wet blanket, copper pipe fittings, aluminium drinks cans, plastic bottles and vapes. All these items apart from being unsightly present additional risks to the wildlife living in the woodland. Small rodents are attracted to the sweet smell from aluminium cans and plastic bottles, Once inside they can become trapped and unable to escape.

Our woodland has a large mixture of small mammals such as red squirrels, hedgehogs, mice, shrews, moles, and bats. There is also a range of birds from wrens to owls that populate the woodland. The woodland also includes about 70 natives species of flowers, as well as many non-native species. Many of the non-natives have been introduced in different ways, some planted by the Brahan Estate in the 19th century, such as rhododendron as well as non-native trees, but many of the plants are from local gardens.

The morning was a great success with a very successful clean up of the woodland. There was too much rubbish to fill one green waste bin. A thank you to some of the volunteers who took some bags of rubbish to dispose of. The Maryburgh Community Woodland Group would like to thank the volunteers from the community who came along and helped on the day. We would also like to thank the members of the Maryburgh Mens Shed who helped out.

Our thanks also go to the Scottish Forestry Community Fund and James Evans and Sons for supplying all the funding for the equipment to make the tidy up possible.

Maryburgh Tidy Up Read More »

Woodland Update May 2023

Dangerous Trees

The Maryburgh Community Woodland Group have now arranged with a local Tree Surgeon to have some trees felled shortly. These trees were identified by the Tree Safety Survey carried out in November. The survey identified groups of trees that posed the greatest risk to anyone using the woodland. For safety reasons this group of trees need to be felled by the 22 May 2023 before someone is injured.

Tree Felling

The tree surgeon, Simon Logan, Conon Bridge has agreed to remove these trees by the deadline identified by the Safety Survey and approved by the Highland Council. The plan is to have the trees removed on or before the Friday 19th May 2023, depending on the workload of the tree surgeon.

Trees to be Felled

The first group of trees to be felled are three windblown trees. Two Scots pine and one semi mature spruce (501 on Tree Safety Survey map). These trees are leaning to the East over a central woodland path and resting in neighbouring trees to the East.

A woodland path and on the left hand side there are 2 Scots Pine trees which are partially uprooted and are leaning heavily over the track. — Image by: Alternative Perspectives

Three stems of a Downy Birch windblown at the roots

The second group is further south along the old Brahan drive and consists of three stems of a Downy Birch and is windblown at the roots (502 on Tree Safety Survey map). The tree is leaning to the East towards and alongside the drive. It is caught up and has damaged neighbouring trees to the East. There is the potential to damage more trees if further disturbance occurs at the roots.

Update of Progress

The two groups of trees causing a danger in the woodland have now been safely felled.

The Maryburgh Community Woodland Group would like to thank Simon Logan and his team for the efficient and safe work of removing the dangerous trees.

Image of the woodland after the Pine trees felled to make them safe. — Image by: Alternative Perspectives

Image of the woodland after the Downy Birch felled to make them safe. — Image by: Alternative Perspectives Downy Birch trees felled on the 22 May 2022

We would also like to thank the members of Maryburgh Community who helped by avoiding the woodland altogether or by keeping a safe distance while the work was in progress.

Woodland Update May 2023 Read More »

MCWG 2023 Archived Activity MCWG Archived Activity

Maryburgh Community Woodland

The woodland is an irregularly shaped area of amenity land located between Birch Drive and Dunglass Road within the village. The 3.71ha site has full woodland cover, mainly broadleaves, with a mix of native and non-native species. The site was recently acquired by Maryburgh community and is a popular woodland frequently used by dog walkers and residents. Find out about the work being carried out by the Maryburgh Community Woodland Group and how you can get involved.

Maryburgh Community Woodland Read More »

MCWG 2023 Archived Activity MCWG Archived Activity

Community Woodland Update

Tree Felling

The dead wood

Removal of logs

Further reading

Maryburgh Tidy Up

Woodland Update May 2023

Dangerous Trees

Tree Felling

Trees to be Felled

Update of Progress

Maryburgh Community Woodland