With the Spring Equinox on March 19th heralding the start of Spring, it seemed fitting that the first official weekend of Spring hosted an Open Weekend at the Dronley Community Woods.
The 50 hectares of community woodland situated nearAuchterhouse came alive with the bustle of activity, along with some perfectly timed sunshine and warmth.
Dronley Community Wood is managed by Sustainable Forester Dirk Sporleder along with the help of local volunteers; their vision being to regenerate the woodland into a diverse and mixed woodland for the benefit of future generations (this video shares their full story).
The Open days were an invitation for the wider community to come along, learn about the community woodland & sustainable foresting processes. It was also an opportunity to get involved by experiencing this first hand through the number of activities organised.
There were sawmilling and extraction demonstrations held throughout both days, with local experts sharing their skills.
There was also the opportunity to help build deer fences, plant trees and direct seeding.
Over the course of the weekend with the help of everyone who came along, the deer protected enclosures were completed and all the trees were planted!
A wonderful demonstration of what community action can do!
All in all a successful and very enjoyable couple of days spent in the fresh air, under a sun soaked canopy of trees. What could be better?!
We'd like to end by saying a big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who came along and enjoyed the Open weekend with us, along with a huge amount of appreciation to Dirk (and his family) for organising the event.
*Photos attached were taken at the Open Days by Kate Munro