Keeping you up to date on Community Woodland matters.

Dark Woods Progress

The Dark Woods Regeneration project is now well underway, and our harvesting contractors are working hard. The unseasonably wet weather over the last few weeks has caused challenges for their machinery to extract the timber from site. Nevertheless work continues to progress, and we still hope to have the site cleared for replanting and paths reinstated soon. For more information, see our dedicated project webpage.

A Scurry of Squirrels

The collective noun for Red Squirrels is ‘scurry’. ‘A Scurry of Squirrels’ is the name of a book by nature writer Polly Pullar. Polly is coming to Cambusbarron Library doing on Monday 24th November. Come and listen to her talk about her work helping wildlife and then find out what we are doing to protect the Gillies Hill Reds and how you can help. To book a place at the event visit the library, telephone 01786 473873 or email cambusbarronlibrary@stirling.gov.uk

Mountain Bike Trails

A lot of people, old and young, enjoy mountain biking in the woodland. A dedicated team of volunteers work hard to keep the trails in good order. On October 25th they had a volunteer day clearing litter and then working alongside CCDT volunteers at the intersection of ‘Streetfighter’ and Castle Drive. Big thanks to the 33 volunteers from the Cambu Trail Collective, Trash Free Trails and Wallace Warriors. As lead volunteer Chris Farquhar says ‘This was trail and environmental advocacy at it’s best, bringing together different groups…to look after our trails and wildplaces.’

Tree Planting

Community Volunteers have already planted over 2000 native trees in the area of Larch felled in 2023. We have had a 90% success rate and the trees are doing really well in the excellent soils we have (see picture). We are planning to plant a further 1800 trees this season. The map shows where this will take place.

CCDT Restocking Proposals 2026 Download

The native tree species will include homegrown oak, aspen, Scottish elm, rowan, hawthorn and Scots pine (to help support our red squirrel population in future years). Glades will be left unplanted to benefit birds such as Tree Pipits and there are maturing pine, sycamore and Douglas firs which will be left to grow on.

We have been successful in getting generous financial support from the International Tree Foundation, for which we are grateful. Planning and preparation is already underway.

If you would like to help in whatever capacity, please let us know at email ccdt.org.uk or direct to any of the existing volunteers if you know them.

Coming next time – Charcoal making, Dark Woods progress and volunteer work.