The first of three open volunteer days organised by Evanton Wood Community Company takes place this Saturday, April 2^nd.  The volunteer days have been planned to give Evanton residents the opportunity to take part in management tasks in the wood. On offer are jobs such as cutting back invasive Western Hemlock, clearing ditches, making bat boxes, collecting kindling and hedging plants. 

The volunteer days are being held on the first Saturday of April, May and June with the permission of owners Novar Estate and are open to anyone and run from 9am –1pm. People can come at any time and stay for as long or as short a time as suits them. Volunteers will be supervised by Evanton based forestry consultant Cameron Ross, who managed the woods for eighteen years when he was forester for Novar Estate. Henry Fosbrooke, woodsman from Milton Community Forest Trust will give volunteers a tool safety talk, and will also be the first aider.

The volunteer days are funded jointly by Kiltearn Community Council Novar Wind Farm Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund. The Heritage Lottery Fund have awarded Evanton Wood Community Company £9000 to prepare the second stage of their application to HLF for 72% of the funding for the purchase of Evanton Wood and for running a five year project of community events including the volunteer days, guided walks, family events and biological recording.

 

The development phase of the project to buy Evanton Wood and run events in the wood is expected to take between six and nine months.  The outcome of the funding application will be announced three months after submission. Success of the Heritage Lottery Fund application is dependent on significant community involvement in the project, so anyone in Evanton who would like to see Evanton Wood bought for the community can help by coming to events and by filling in evaluation forms for HLF after the event.

 

 

A squirrel feeder made locally has recently been installed in the wood, above the River Glass and is being regularly visited.  It is proposed to build a bench around a nearby tree so walkers can watch for squirrels and birds coming in to the feeder.

 

Evanton Wood Community Company would like to express their thanks to their funders, Kiltearn Community Council Novar Wind Farm Fund and the Heritage Lottery Fund and to Novar Estate for all the support they have given EWCC in their efforts to raise the money to buy Evanton Wood.

 

 

Visit by Louise Russell (r), HLF Project Officer and David Hallet Hughes, mentor assigned by HLF to EWCC, with Cameron Ross, Crosscut Forestry (r) and members of the Board and community council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Janey Clarke

 

 

 

 

 

 

Secretary

 

 

 

Evanton Wood Community Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

01349 830796