Thursday, 23 November 2023
In November 1923, only four years after the establishment of the Forestry Commission, Glenmore was purchased from the Duke of Gordon. 2023 marks 100 years of public ownership of this much-loved place. Its transformation during this time can be seen as a miniature history of public forestry. The early years After the First World War, Britain's timber supply was at an all-time low. A steady...
Monday, 20 November 2023
Glenmore was purchased from the Duke of Gordon in 1923, only four years after our predecessor, the Forestry Commission, was established. Since then, the area has been a hive for recreation, conservation and forestry. Over the past 30 years we’ve been working to expand the native Scots pine forest through native regeneration and deer management. Together with our National Park partners, were now...
Thursday, 16 November 2023
Is the humble field vole the Cairngorms' most important mammal? As unassuming as they might seem, field voles play a key part in the food chain and their numbers can have a huge impact on protected species like capercaillie. That's why, twice a year in autumn and spring, ecologists survey voles in the Cairngorms Connect project area. The project area covers over 60,000 hectares of the national pa...
Thursday, 02 November 2023
The stone circle of Na Clachan Aoraidh – the ‘Stones of Worship’ – is set high on the limestone ridge of Cnoc na Craoibhe above Loch Tummel. Grid reference: NN 8386 6200 The site is an unusual ‘four poster’ stone circle – a square arrangement of four large stones on a low stone-built platform. It was probably built in the Late Bronze Age, about 3000 years ago. Writing of Na Clac...
Thursday, 26 October 2023
A breeding pair of white-tailed eagles has set up home in a Caithness woodland. The birds, thought to be the first successful breeding pair in the area for almost 100 years, were found nesting in a stand of sitka spruce trees within a windblown area of lodgepole pine. It’s believed that the eagles selected the sitka because it offered a stronger platform on which to build their eyrie ...
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Last month, pine marten experts from around the world attended the Eighth International Martes Symposium in Aviemore. With an estimated population of just 3700, pine martens are a protected species in Scotland — and have been since 1988. They weigh 1-2kg and measure 60-70cm from nose to tail, making them roughly the size of a domestic cat. This small predator is extremely agile, an...
Friday, 13 October 2023
As one of the partners in Cairngorms Connect, we've been carrying out enrichment planting of native broadleaves across Glenmore Forest Park. Over the summer, alongside Cairngorms National Park Volunteer Rangers and local volunteers, we removed the protective tree tubes from aspen trees that had successfully established and outgrown them. Aspen is one of the most palatable species to deer, so to...
Thursday, 28 September 2023
We recently hosted a BBC news crew to several of our forests to film a segment on protecting Scotland’s wildlife. The package – which included interviews with two of our staff members – aired on BBC Breakfast and the 7-minute-long piece was seen by more than 6 million viewers! The purpose of the piece was to raise awareness of the impacts of disturbance to wildlife by people when they’...
Thursday, 21 September 2023
Our staff in North Region have been working all summer to grow a wide range of wildflowers that should help boost numbers of a rare species of bumblebee and other pollinating insects. The wildflowers, being tended by staff in polytunnels in Lairg, will be planted this autumn by volunteers from the Caithness Environment Volunteer Group. The group will be planting two meadows at Sibst...
Monday, 11 September 2023
People planning to head out to forests this autumn to try their hand at ‘foraging’ – to pick wild mushrooms – are being urged to ‘be sure what you’re picking and pick only what you need’. We're finding – increasingly – that inexperienced fungi foragers are clearing whole areas, damaging fragile ecosystems and potentially harming forest dwelling animals who depend on fungi as a v...
Wednesday, 30 August 2023
Our team recently recreated a historic photo of the Ryvoan Pass to document the impact of deer management over the Green Lochan. The Ryvoan Pass in the Cairngorms National Park is a trail that takes visitors from Glenmore Forest to Abernethy Forest past the Green Lochan, famous for its emerald, green waters. George Dey, the forester in the area, took this picture in 1984. His collection of fores...
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
That’s a wrap! We’ve had a blast hosting the 2023 UCI championship at Glentress, where across six days we saw almost 30,000 people visit the forest for the event. World mountain bike champion, Tracey Mosely, said; “Glentress was an outstanding venue that is set to become a beacon for everyone involved in promoting cycling by showing how the one destination can appeal to families, yo...
Monday, 21 August 2023
We've teamed up with the British Dragonfly Society to help protect and boost the population of some of the rarest dragonflies in the British Isles. The new conservation partnership will focus on improving dragonfly habitat as a whole, but with a particular focus on six endangered or vulnerable species: the Northern Damselfly, Azure Hawker, White-faced Darter, Brilliant Emerald, Northern Emerald...
Thursday, 17 August 2023
Did you know Scotland’s west coast is full of temperate rainforests? These vibrant areas are home to a range of flora and lichens, some which only exist in this part of the country…a few species don’t occur anywhere else in the world! Visiting rainforests is a great way to learn more about their biodiversity and history. So, we’ve drawn together information on some of our best examples...