Newsletter 16  - September 2003

Clune Wood Story Trail

Since the opening of the Story Trails in May, they have proved extremely popular both with our regular users and with visitors from Aberdeen. The dry weather has also helped keep conditions under foot quite easy.

The title board at the entrance is expected shortly. Forestry Commission Scotland are currently helping us to design a leaflet about the Story Trails and how they came about. The leaflet will be distributed to schools in the area. It provides details of the location, a map of the trails, the history of the project, and a brief summary of all six stories. it will also reproduce some of the illustrations designed by the Durris School children.

Further developments to the trails are planned, including improving the paths for all three trails, and providing a viewpoint and bench at the highest point of Clune Wood.

Now that the trails are complete, we would welcome feedback or comments on the story trails.

Contact: Mark Ansell

Friends AGM

FDF is a community organisation - your organisation working for a better community.

Once a year we hold an AGM - this is your chance to shape the way that we develop

Come to the AGM and let us know what you want FDF to do.

Would you like to make a small contribution to FDF as our Treasurer? The task is not onerous, given the modest income of the organisation. It is  however an essential role in our organisation.

Gavin Legge has been invited to speak about Saving the Red Squirrels - a great opportunity to hear from a national expert on the squirrel.

Join us at 7.30 pm on Monday 24 November 2003 in Kirkton Hall, Kirkton of Durris.

Woodland Conservation Work.

The broadleaf woodland area by the Cairn mon Earn entrance has been transformed after two sessions of volunteer work. Self seeded sitka spruce trees have been cleared, to allow the beech, rowan, oak and birch to develop. Forestry Commission Scotland has been asked to remove some larger sitka that are outwith our capability with hand tools.

Young or old are welcome. Come and have a gentle workout to improve the environment. Bring hand tools - lopper, bowsaw - strong gloves, appropriate clothing, your snap and good humour.

Two more conservation events are planned :

Sunday 21 September  2003

meet 11.00 am at CraigieDaff car park

Sunday 2 November  2003

ask for details later

We have already made an impressive impact on two sites on either side of the forest, to enable the planted broadleaves to flourish. There is plenty more to do! If you would like an email notification of conservation events, please contact Mark Hagger.

Contact: Philip Dean 811308

Brachmont & Warren Woods

Sometime in the winter, harvesters will be going in to Brachmont Wood and Warren Wood to thin the trees. Thinning is the first step toward the implementation of the continuous cover strategy for the management of the outlying woods in Durris. There will be more frequent works in each area of the forest - well, every five years - to bring the tree population gradually down to a level where reproduction from seed will occur.

For a short period during the extraction operations, the popular trails in these woods will be closed. At a consultation meeting, FDF briefed forestry staff to ensure that the trails are not damaged or left clogged with brash, as well as reaching agreement on landscape issues.

Clune-Monthammock Link

A route has been identified to link the south-east corner of Clune Wood to the Monthammock road. The link will be of particular interest to horse riders from the Woodlands area, who will be able to reach the main Durris Forest yet avoiding the road through Denside. It should be of interest to walkers and cyclists too. Some work needs to be done to make the route viable - volunteers should contact Molly Atkinson. We hope the route will be passable in the next few months.

Check out the activities planned for 2003 and all the latest news. If you wish to receive this newsletter, or notice of events by email, please contact any committee member.

We now have a new logo for FDF. Many thanks to the designer, Anne Baxter of the Forestry Commission Scotland Design Department in Edinburgh.

Beech Trees

What should be done with lines of beech trees along forest/field margins? These trees may have been planted as hedges and windbreaks. We have some examples in Brachmont Wood where trees have grown to maturity, and are planted very close together. Generally the mature beech is an elegant tree, though it is not native to Scotland. However some argue that it provides an avenue for grey squirrels.

Should they be left to develop as best they can?

Should some be felled to enable others to grow better?

Or should some be cut down to grow as hedges, leaving a few trees to grow on?

Build a Dyke

Would you like to learn the ancient art of building a stane dyke? We would like to run a dyke building course one weekend in the winter months. One aim is to increase the number of folk with skill in dyke building. Another is to use the course to rebuild a dyke that has been damaged, as a contribution to the regeneration of the forest environment. And you would gain a new skill too. If you are interested, please contact            John Coyne 844787

How to become a real Friend of Durris Forests

I enclose £3 for year 2003, or £12 for 2004-2008, or £50 for family/life, or £50 corporate         

Cheques payable to Friends of Durris Forests                        

Send to any member of the FDF Committee or to FDF Membership Secretary:

      David Felstead, 17 Woodlands Park, Durris, AB31 6BF

The FDF Newsletter is mailed to FDF members outwith the parish, and included at our expense in the

Community Newsletter for both FDF members and others in the community who stay in Drumoak & Durris.

Thanks to the Parish Church for their assistance in production and distribution.