DUNNET FORESTRY TRUST - Spring Newsletter 2011

11th April 2011

The AGM will be held on the 25th May at 7.30pm in the Castlehill Heritage Centre, Castletown. Three directors Jean Clasper, David Bertram and Irvine Smith will stand down from office by rotation, being eligible they will stand again for re-election. Any member who wishes to stand for the Board should contact Jean Barnett, Chair, on 01847 851353 by 1st May 2011. The Trust is still in need of a Treasurer, if you feel you could help please get in touch with Jean.

This has been a busy winter for the Board with several projects on the go. In the autumn of 2010 the Trust applied to the Caithness Environmental Fund for an improvement grant for Heathsfield Wood, Brough and I'm very pleased to be able to say that the application was successful. This small woodland was gifted by Mr and Mrs Heath to DFT in 2008; during the winter new pathways have been created, boardwalks fixed in place, ditches cleared and the pond refilled. The project is almost at an end now and the woodland has become a safe and beautiful place for general public use. It is proposed to have an "Opening Ceremony" on Saturday June 4th to coincide with Brough Harbour Day, more details of this nearer to the day but in the meantime please feel free to visit and use the woodland, you won't be disappointed.

The Trust is also planning to build a Woodland Shelter in Dunnet Forest, this project is being managed by Nettie Ward, board member, it is almost at planning permission stage now after months of discussion, planning and paperwork! The building will be made from our own timber and it is proposed to run a training course in log scribing to coincide with the construction of the shelter. Henry Fosbrooke from Milton near Tain will be supervising the building and training once we get to that stage. He has already paid the forest a visit and we have picked out and numbered the trees that will be used for the project.

More excellent news!, the forest has just been awarded a grant from the Scottish Government Climate Challenge Fund, the Trust were awarded £26,613.00 out of a total project cost of £32,213.00, so some local matched funding will be needed. This project called Caithness Community Woodfuel will enable the Trust to buy the following much needed forestry equipment; a quad bike suitable for hauling out timber, forestry trailer with winch, a woodstore and lock up container. Our present equipment is no longer fit for purpose but with new machinery we will be able to build on and expand our present log sales, this will not only help to lower the carbon emissions in the Caithness area but will help to make the forest more financially viable by improved timber efficiency and output. As from now the Trust will be holding log sales on the first Saturday of every month throughout the year and as our new woodstore should be in place before the autumn, we will be able to offer our customers a much improved product as all rings and split logs will be stored under cover and kept dry. Monthly log sales will also help our customers to plan ahead for the winter and to organise a stockpile over the summer months.

A big THANK YOU to all our members who supported the donation appeal in the autumn news- letter, to date the appeal has raised a magnificent £1,400-00 which will be a great help with forest cash flow problems. Some future fund raising events have been planned as we want to improve our financial reserves. The first event will be held at Ackergill Tower, in the Opera House on the 13th April, Lady Claire MacDonald will be giving a cookery demonstration. DFT has been given the use of the Opera house free of charge whilst Lady Claire MacDonald has waived her usual fee, so all money raised after expenses will be going towards the forest upkeep. All tickets are now sold, many thanks for your support if you have bought one.

Tree planting has been going ahead well this year, especially as the weather has been favourable. A volunteer planting day was organised on the 19th March by our own Forest Ranger, Kirsty, and over 450 trees were planted. A donation of 840 mixed broadleaves by the Woodland Trust in January has meant that planting costs have been kept to a minimum this year, we will have some trees left over from the donation after beating up has taken place, these will be planted in the nursery and allowed to grow on for another year before being planted out so next year's costs will be reduced too. Another volunteer tree planting day is scheduled to take place on Friday April 22nd during the Easter holidays, we have at least another 100 trees left to plant, all with tree guards and stakes, volunteers -young and old- are wanted, please do come along.

Our Forest Ranger, Kirsty Rosie, has been very busy over the winter months. Green gym work parties are now organised on a weekly basis on Thursdays and are a great help with forest maintenance. Regular visits are made by health groups and excluded pupils, everyone helping to keep your forest well maintained.

Would you like to be a volunteer? If so please email Kirsty at kirstyrosie[AT]dunnetforest.org for more information.

The forest has practically a non existent tool kit!!! Have you got hand tools lying idle in your shed/garage that you no longer need such as a battery operated drill and drills, socket set, screwdriver various sizes, hammers, pliers, files etc ? If you want to find them a good home we'd love to have them. Phone or email the office and we can arrange a collection time.

Following our newsletter appeal, a number of life members suggested the Trust should look at an annual subscription rather than a one-off payment. The Board had also been discussing this but are all too aware of the life-time membership promise made to members when they joined, and want to honour this. The Board are thinking of forming a "Friends of the Forest" made up of individuals willing to pay a small subscription to the forest every year. The Board have also discussed tree sponsorship, and the possibility of new members paying an annual fee whilst existing members do not. We'd like to hear your views - please email info[AT]dunnetforest.org to let us know the following:

Whether you would be in favour of the trust forming a "Friends of the Forest" group (with a view to charging members of this group a small annual fee rather than a one-off payment)
Whether you think tree sponsorship would interest members and members of the public
Whether you would prefer members gave a donation when and if they could
Whether you have any objection to new members paying an annual fee

Please let us know your thoughts - you may come up with better ideas - please let us know!!

Kind regards,
Jean Barnett.
Chair.

Log sale dates for the rest of the year will be the following:-

May 7th, June 4th, July 2nd, August 6th, Sept. 3rd, Oct. 1st, Nov. 5th, Dec. 3rd.
For sales out with these dates please ring Jean Barnett on 01847 851353 to arrange a convenient collection time.