Borders Forest Trust

Borders Forest Trust is happy to
support the RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards.

The Nature of Scotland Awards
recognize and reward those who are making a real difference to the conservation
of Scotland’s natural heritage. The 2013 awards opened for entries on the 14th
November 2012.

If you feel you work with, or know of, an organisation, group or individual who has participated in activity that
has aided Scottish nature conservation, the RSPB would like to hear from you.

There are eight categories to choose from and it is free to enter.

Deadline for submission 15^th March 2013.
For more information on how to enter, please visit www.rspb.org.uk/natureofscotland

Ash Dieback (Chalara fraxinea)

By now almost everyone in the UK will be aware of this emerging threat to our native ash trees. Like us, you are probably very concerned about the impact this disease
may have in our native woodlands.

There are many reasons why our local woodland culture will be much diminished if ash is significantly harmed.  For example:

In a typical native woodland in Southern Scotland, ash will make up from around 10 to 30% of the trees;

As a native species ash has high biodiversity value, including providing vital nesting holes for owls and bats, and having
symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi which are important for overall woodland health;

Our Veteran and Heritage trees include many fine examples of ash which are centuries old;

Ash is very popular for locally crafted furniture and used in basketry.

Sadly, a mature tree in Berwickshire has now been confirmed with the disease, making it more likely that other sites will be identified in
the future.  This is the first Scottish site where a mature tree has been identified with ash dieback, meaning that it
is not confined to nursery-raised saplings which were imported from outside the UK.  While this is disheartening news,
BFT continues to believe that our approach of focusing on a mix of species from locally gathered seeds and locally-reared saplings offers the best chance of producing
genetically diverse and ecologically healthy woodlands.

In the face of this threat, Borders Forest Trust urges you to find out about the symptoms of Ash dieback by studying the Forestry
Commission information available at this link: http://www.forestry.gov.uk/chalara

This link also contains information on how to report any suspected cases of the disease and the up to date information on movement
restrictions of ash trees and seeds.  The disease is known to spread in the summer months, so over the winter the
Government will be further developing an approach to try and prevent Ash dieback from spreading more widely into our woodlands.

Borders Forest Trust will update information on our website whenever we know of practical steps that can be taken by our members and
supporters to care for our native ash trees.

BFT is pleased to report some good news from the Tweed Valley Forest Festival. Conkers have been sourced from England and some volunteers will be running an Unofficial Scottish Conker Championships on Saturday 20th October.  This will not be a BFT event, but we are delighted that conkers will be played as part of the Tweed Valley Forest Festival.

 

 

Borders Forest Trust is sorry to announce that the 6th Scottish Conker Championships have been cancelled. The event was due to take place on Saturday 20th October in Peebles, but a lack of conkers has left the organisers with no choice but to cancel.  Despite many efforts to locate a source of suitable conkers in time to prepare for the event, this past summer’s weather has meant that too few are available.

“The first five Scottish Conker Championships were a real success, so we are saddened that the event won’t be happening this year” said BFT’s Communications Officer Louisa Finch. “Many horse chestnut trees are bare this year or only have very small conkers which wouldn’t have fared well in competition. We’d like to apologise for any disappointment caused and hope that the Championships will be back next year.”

Although the cancellation of the competition is bound to cause disappointment, there are lots of other activities happening in Peebles this weekend as part of the Tweed Valley Forest Festival (www.forest-festival.com). The Wood Market offers the chance to buy a wide range of unique Scottish wood products direct from the makers while nearby on Tweed Green visitors will be able to see chainsaw artists in action creating wonderful animals. Also on the Green you can try your hand at making a wooden spoon, bat box or make a witches broom for Halloween. There will be plenty of children's activities and entertainment including the magical Woodland Puppets and music will be provided by Nomad Beat with drum workshops in the yurt.

For more information about the Tweed Valley Forest Festival please visit www.forest-festival.com or contact the Tweed Valley Festival Organiser Chris Sawers 07801 308991

We're keen to receive feedback from our members, supporters and partners so if you have a few minutes to spare to tell us what you like about BFT and areas where we could improve, please complete our online questionnaire: 

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2DXTBNL

We'd really appreciate your help in order to develop our future work. Thank you!

Two new Trustees were elected at the 2012 BFT AGM on the 19th July and we're pleased to welcome Steve Sloan and Martin Tilstone on board. Mike Baker and Jim Knight were re-elected having already served one term and two Trustees, Rose Clarkson and John Hunt, resigned having served two terms. BFT would like to thank Rose and John for all of their hard work over the last six years.

Borders Forest Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of a new Director, Jane Rosegrant, who will take up her post on 12th June.
 
Jane lives at Walkerburn near Innerleithen and is currently Regional Director with Voluntary Service Overseas responsible for various countries in the Far East and has also worked abroad for VSO.  Before that she was Programme Manager with the Big Lottery Fund in Scotland and Senior Programmes Director for Just World Partners, an NGO supporting sustainable development abroad.  Earlier in her career she was Director of the Centre for Human Ecology in Edinburgh.  She has a PhD on Rural Resettlement in Ireland.

The 1000th copy of the Carrifran Wildwood Story has been sold - a fantastic measure of the book and the project's success. Written by Myrtle and Philip Ashmole with members of the Wildwood group and a foreword by Professor Aubrey Manning OBE, the book celebrates ten years of the the Carrifran Wildwood project and has received rave reviews. Supported by Scottish Natural Heritage and available to buy online via the BFT shop or by calling the office.

Borders Forest Trust and John Muir Trust were able to make a bid for Talla Gameshope on 14th March thanks to the incredible generosity of supporters who made pledges towards the purchase of this special piece of land. Unfortunately we have now learned that our bid was not successful. We are all disappointed but very grateful to everyone who pledged support - we will be in touch with everyone individually in the coming days to say thank you.

BFT is pleased to announce that Phil Roe has started work as Corehead Farm Site Manager. Phil has recently worked as a ranger for Bury Council and as a woodland creation champion for the Woodland Trust. As well as his work on UK soil, Phil has  worked on rural projects in India and says he is looking forward to “the challenge of the multidisciplinary management role that applies the principles of ecological restoration to native woodland and connects it to the wider landscape through habitat conservation and community involvement.” He can be contacted by email via phil@bordersforesttrust.org

BFT was interviewed by Dougie Vipond recently for BBC Scotland's Landward programme as part of a feature on the sustainable use of hardwood timber. Our next door neighbours, Real Wood Studios, were the focus of the feature which was broadcast on BBC2 Scotland on Friday 21st October at 7pm. The programme is repeated on Weds 26th Oct at 2pm and is available on the BBC iPlayer until Thursday 27th Oct.

On 19th September the BFT team was at Morebattle Primary School for the launch of Tree Hugging Week. We've been overwhelmed by the support from the local community and several hundred tree huggers were out in force at woodlands across the Borders. The idea came from our Office Manager Sarah as part of our 15th Anniversary fundraising appeal to hold the first-ever Borders Tree Hugging Week, from 19th to 25th September. For full details please visit the Tree Hugging Week page in the Support Us section of the website. Our thanks to TreeSurv Woodland Management for supporting this year's event. UPDATE: Over £1000 has now been raised by tree huggers - thanks to everyone who's taken part.

We're really pleased to have received our first batch of hand-made BFT candles, available to buy in the online Shop. We've named them "Woodland Dawn" because of the mix of spruce, pine, fern and berry scents and because they made us think of a morning walk in the woods. They're made for us by a local company, Borders Aromatics, who are based in Greenlaw. Coming soon - Heather & Honey! All profits go towards our work planting and protecting woodlands for people and wildlife.

Borders Forest Trust has signed up to JustTextGiving by Vodaphone, a new service which allows people to make donations to charity by text. It's easy to do and all donations are very much appreciated!

Text BFTR10

£2 / £5 / £10 etc to 70070

eg BFTR10 £5

Your support helps us to keep on protecting woodlands and other natural habitats for people and wildlife.

 

The Carrifran Wildwood Story by Myrtle and Philip Ashmole and members of the Wildwood Group is continuing to receive rave reviews. Recent write-ups include:

"What is doubly inspirational is the huge voluntary effort that has gone into all aspects of the project and which is so faithfully recorded in this book. It is a wonderful read for any one with an interest in wild Scotland."

Nigel Hawkins. John Muir Trust Journal.  Spring 2011

"It is well worth while reading the Carrifran Wildwood Story – it has helped me to understand better how a relatively small group of people, without any obvious power except for their own determination, have achieved far more in ten years in terms of rewilding than many other areas of land in so-called conservation ownerhip."

Nick Kemp. Wild Land News Spring 2011

The book is available to buy for £15 & £5 P&P via the BFT online shop (Support Us) or by post (form available on the Publications page).