Newsletter 15

The red squirrel is Britain’s only native squirrel. Formerly found in woodland all over the British Isles, its population and homerange has reduced dramatically over the last 50 yrs. It is now found only in the conifer woodlands of Scotland and in Northern England. The main reason for this decline has been competition from the introduced North American grey squirrel which out competes reds in the search for food.

Here in the North East we have possibly the largest population of red squirrels in Britain. However we also have greys which were released into the parks of Aberdeen sometime in the fifties or sixties. Over the last few years increasing sightings of greys have been reported on Deeside and Donside apparently using the rivers as corridors for expansion.

To counteract this possible threat to our existing Red squirrel population the Grampian squirrel group was set up in 2000. In 2001 it launched the Local Biodiversity Action Plan for red squirrel conservation in Grampian. The main focus of the plan is to protect and enhance existing red squirrel habitat, while at the same time control the type of habitat preferable to greys.

Grey squirrels are reliant on the seed production of large seeded broadleaves so a major element of the plan is to avoid the planting of corridors of Beech or Sycamore, both of which are non native to this area. Favoured trees now include Ash, Birch, Elm and Rowan. Retention of known Red squirrel areas is also encouraged, areas of Scots pine and Norway spruce are now being retained as valuable red squirrel habitat.

With the existing areas of pinewood on Deeside we hopefully are in a better situation to save our reds than other parts of the country but experience in these areas means that we would be foolish to take that for granted.

Gavin Legge

Xmas Quiz

Six benches and a set of three perches will be installed shortly in Durris Forest:

There were 10 hardy volunteers on 2^nd November cutting out rogue sitka spruce so that choking hardwoods could survive. We were in the centre of Durris Forest on a warm and sunny morning making sure that future generations would see a more interesting landscape. Already a startling impact has been made in five separate areas of the forest.

Massive areas of Durris are planted with sitka spruce for timber production and these trees go some way to satisfying the huge national demand. However around the edge of the forests and along the forest tracks we are slowly creating a more varied aspect.

By cutting out the self-seeded sitka spruce, we enable the young planted broadleaf trees, such as oak, beech and rowan, to survive. Especially at this time of year the autumn colours of the deciduous trees create a spectacular sight in the forest.

Philip Dean

Friends Board

If you have any suggestions, or would like to contribute to one of the working groups, please contact any committee member. ((: 01330-…)

Mark Ansell (811371) Mark Hagger (844481)

Molly Atkinson (811363) Sophie Trafford (811488)

John Coyne (844787) James White (811756)

David Felstead (811884) (Membership Officer)

Kevin Peace (844625) (Forest District Manager)

Build a Dyke

Would you like to learn the ancient art of building a stane dyke? We plan to run a dyke building course one weekend in the winter months. If you are interested, please contact John Coyne.

The Clune Wood Storytrail Project has been presented with the prestigious Green Butterfly award. The Aberdeenshire Environmental Forum makes the awards in recognition of projects that benefit and raise awareness of the environment.

The AEF Convenor Brian Martin visited Durris School and the Storytrails on 5th November, and FDF heard soon after that we had made the shortlist for an award for 2003.

The award was presented at the AEF Annual General Meeting on 12th November at the Castle Hotel, Huntly. The plaque will be on display at the AGM, and certificates will go to all the children involved.

Our joint project between Durris School, FDF, Forestry Commission Scotland and Awards for All, was highly commended for the fine work in portraying our local history, and the finish and high standard of the displays in Clune Wood.

We rely on the 100 folk who support the activities of FDF by paying a small subscription to become a member.

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, walkers and cyclists too.

Some work needs to be done to make the route viable - volunteers should contact Molly Atkinson. We have asked FCS to clear drainage, mud and brash at the Monthammock entrance.

New Projects 2004

At the AGM we will be seeking the views of members on which projects to focus in 2004.

Current activities

on the wwweb

Check out the activities planned for 2004 and all the latest news on our website:

If you wish to receive this newsletter, or notice of events by email, please contact any committee member.

Later 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. We plan to improve the path on the west side of Ashentilly Wood after these operations are completed.