Eas Mòr Ecology

Work has started on clearing and preparing the area around the fire and amphitheatre in readiness for planting new trees over winter.

This area was originally larch planted around 1964 but a large number were either blown down or severely damaged during Storm Éowyn earlier this year. The timber has been graded and the straighter pieces have been taken down to our sawmill. These will become either posts or planks and will be used for building and construction around the site in future. The less than perfect pieces will probably become firewood or go for pulp, with any revenue helping to offset the cost of saplings.

As the ground is quite damp in places, we are looking to plant a line of willows along the boundary fence. These favour the wet ground and will, in a fairly short time, provide a good windbreak to help protect the trees behind.

Current thinking is to plant hazel in large groups, interspersed with downy birch. We are fortunate enough to have red squirrels in the forest and although they tend to stay mainly in the lower forest, establishing a “hazel corridor” should in time give them more food opportunities and help them flourish. We will also plant a few “specimen” trees such as maple to bring some diversity.