Thursday, 21 June 2018
Over the past week, our three judges have been hard at work narrowing down 100+ entries to our Spring Photo Jam competition to pick just 12 finalists for the public vote. It's been a tough job - there were so many brilliant images submitted, coming from photographers who ranged in age from 10 to 70. You gave us everything from intimate portraits of birds, bugs and beasties to detailed stu...
Tuesday, 19 June 2018
Jackie Cumberbirch is a Ranger for Forest Enterprise Scotland, based in Moray & Aberdeenshire Forest District. What does being a Ranger involve? “It’s my job to assess what wildlife is present in Clashindarroch forest and woods in north and central Aberdeenshire before forestry work such as cutting trees (providing wood and timber for use in our daily lives), road construction and t...
Wednesday, 13 June 2018
The official Forestry Commission Scotland Spring Photo Jam has come to an end! It's been an incredible week, looking through more than 100 entries to find the best of the best, with contributions from aspiring photographers of all ages, as well as experienced snappers and a few professionals. As you can see from the small selection above, our Facebook and Twitter feeds have provided a riot of co...
Thursday, 31 May 2018
Throughout the Spring season, we’ve been following the story of Mrs O, an osprey at the Tweed Valley project who has produced several eggs so far this year, along with her breeding partner. While Mrs O is thriving, sadly this week we had some very sad news from our team at the Aberfoyle Osprey Project. To our great dismay, Clarach, the female osprey who had nested in previous years near ...
Tuesday, 29 May 2018
Did you take some incredible photos this Spring? With Summer just around the corner, we want to see your very best pictures. To give you a little inspiration, we’ve come up with 4 categories - we’ll crown a champion of each category, and two overall winners! We’ve got two incredible grand prizes up for grabs… two £100 vouchers for Go Ape, the UK’s number one treetop adventure, to use...
Tuesday, 29 May 2018
30 kilos of hazel nuts were painstakingly hand-gathered to plant 4,000 hazel and 400 oak trees to create a new hazel wood in the Faery Isles, Knapdale, West Argyll. The Faery Isles is a recently clearfelled PAWS (Plantation on Ancient Woodland Site) undergoing conversion back to native woodland. Establishing a hazel wood at the site is particularly important for lichens and bryophytes (liverwor...
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
The Scottish wildcat is one of our best loved native mammals. Breeding with pets and feral cats threatens numbers; as does our presence in wild places. There's concern that forestry adds to that threat. Clashindarroch in Aberdeenshire shows how a working forest can remain a stronghold for wildcats. A forest that works for people and wildcats Like many of our forests, Clashindarroch is a sustai...
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Wildcats are one of Scotland’s most endangered animals and their conservation and protection is of the highest priority. As with other endangered species, we work hard to protect them as part of our sustainable forest management. Our aim is to ensure that wildcats can thrive in Scotland's forests. Clashindarroch was planted decades ago and is now managed by Forestry and L...
Wednesday, 16 May 2018
Congratulations to The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) - this month, they have announced a new International Dark Sky Place: Tumacácori National Historical Park in the U.S., bringing the total number of parks up to 100. This is a fantastic achievement, and as we were just the 5th on that list of parks, we’re extra proud to see them reach 100 locations. The IDA now protects more than ...
Wednesday, 09 May 2018
The photo above, taken last week by one of our rangers in the North Highlands, shows a black grouse, with its unmistakable postbox-red crest and blue-black feathers. The ‘lekking’ season is when black grouse breed, and a few of our destinations have been affected - Carrick Forest Drive in Galloway Forest Park has seen a delay to planned roadworks in order to give the grouse population room t...
Tuesday, 01 May 2018
Scotland’s forests hold many secrets. Tales of the past echo in the stillness of the trees and ruins remain as a testament to days gone by. September 2018 is Scottish Archaeology Month, and what better way to celebrate than a journey into the past, and a whistle-stop tour of our top ten sites of archaeological interest… Archaeology in the forest 1. Knock Farril Pictish hill fort, Bla...
Thursday, 26 April 2018
Ospreys have returned to their nests at The Lodge in Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, Kirroughtree in Galloway Forest Park, and at Glentress in Tweed Valley Forest Park. As regular readers of our blog will know, these beautiful birds of prey migrate from Africa back to Scotland each year to breed and raise their young, returning to warmer climes in Autumn. Our feathered friends Now is the time of ye...
Friday, 20 April 2018
They say you should plan your meals, but never a picnic - and this is doubly true in Scotland, where even during peak summer time our weather can be changeable! Below, we've got suggestions for easy-to-access picnic spots near you, suggestions for snacks, main meals and drinks, and even some ideas for alternative activities and destinations, in case it starts to rain cats and dogs. Find th...
Monday, 05 February 2018
The popular documentary series, The Forest, is on tonight - BBC One Scotland at 19.30 hours. Filmed over six months, the six part series gets views up close and personal with those who live and work in Galloway Forest Park. Our Community Projects Manager, Lyndy Renwick, based in Galloway, was involved with the filming. Here she gives us an insight into the filming and explains a bit about ...