Friday, 14 January 2022
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has urged amateur lumberjacks who are venturing in to forests to cut up windblown trees to stay at home and leave the job to the professionals.
The call comes as staff in one Region liaise with Police Scotland about one individual who was caught with a chainsaw, cutting storm damaged trees without any safety gear, without any authorisation or any understanding of ...
Tuesday, 11 January 2022
Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) team in Aberdeenshire aims to re-open the visitor carpark at the Bennachie Visitor Centre later this month – on a temporary basis.
Clearing the extensive Storm Arwen damage at the Centre is going to take some time but FLS is aiming to provide temporary access to the trails and hill by Friday 21 January.
Justin Livesey, FLS’ Regional Visitor Services manag...
Wednesday, 05 January 2022
Forestry and Land Scotland has completed its expansion of the car park at Ben A’an.
Supported by the Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund, the work is one element of the Trossachs Visitor Management Project and has seen 26 new spaces added and the entire car park given a new stone surface.
The increase in capacity will help to reduce traffic related issues caused by large numbers o...
Monday, 03 January 2022
Following up on one of its Climate Change Plan commitments to reduce its plastic waste, Forestry and Land Scotland is introducing biodegradable tree shelters.
The step comes after FLS’ procurement team held discussions with shelter supplier, Cheviot Trees, on finding ways of becoming more sustainable, particularly on finding environmentally friendly alternatives to single-use, plastic tree shel...
Wednesday, 29 December 2021
Eight in 10 people polled recently agreed that there should be more forestry planted in the Scottish Highlands.
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) which is looking to expand national forests in the region, commissioned the survey of 1000 people [see notes]. Some of the key findings are:
Over 80% agreed the Highlands should be reforested and over 78% of people say more should be done to support the...
Monday, 27 December 2021
Forestry and Land Scotland’s North Region team is more aware than ever of the importance of its Steep Ground felling programme along the Great Glen as parts of the country deal with the aftermath of Storm Arwen.
The Storm which battered the east coast and south Scotland with winds of up to 100mph at the end of November has resulted in around 8 million trees being blown over, families left witho...
Monday, 27 December 2021
Forestry and Land Scotland says that forest adaptation has to be a focus for the sector in the coming years if damage from storms like Arwen is to be minimised.
Climate science indicates an increase in frequency of winter storms. With potential for some of those to be of similar strength to Storm Arwen, FLS is already working to adapt its forests to better withstand such events.
FLS Chief Execut...
Thursday, 23 December 2021
While many outdoor businesses are winding down for winter, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is gearing up for its busiest time of year, as a huge tree planting effort gets underway.
This year’s routine planting season – over the winter months to March - comes at the same time as efforts to tackle the widespread damage caused by Storm Arwen.
FLS estimates that up to 900 hectares- the equivale...
Wednesday, 22 December 2021
Forestry and Land Scotland is urging visitors to stay safe if they visit a forest over the Christmas holiday.
Although some forests will remain closed, many around the country are open and anyone looking to visit an FLS forest should first check online for the latest updates.
Most FLS Visitor Centres, cafes, bike shops and recreation providers are open for business as per their usual winter open...
Monday, 20 December 2021
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has launched a new Acquisition Strategy to buy land to boost Climate Emergency mitigation efforts.
The strategy is underpinned by a Scottish Government investment of £30 million into a Low Carbon Investment Fund, and the transfer of £9 million residual funds from the old woodland creation programme into a new Strategic Acquisition Fund (SAF).
The new strategy w...
Wednesday, 15 December 2021
Newts and toads are being given a helping hand this winter on a former open cast coalmine in Fife, thanks to work to build artificial, winter hibernation homes for the threatened species.
The Blairhouse project is part of a drive by Forestry and Land Scotland to repurpose a number of brownfield sites, while locking up carbon and improving the environment for protected species and people.
Working...
Friday, 10 December 2021
Forestry and Land Scotland has today (10 Dec 2021) released a five year deer management tender that underlines its commitment to improving and enhancing its sustainable management of Scotland’s National Forests and Land.
The tender follows the recent launch of FLS’s Climate Change Plan that outlines steps the organisation will take to help Scotland reach Net Zero and respond to the biodiversi...