The Annual General Meeting of the Kippen Community Woodland Group was held in November and plans for 2018 were discussed.
The main focus of our activity will be the woodland work mornings, held on the first Sunday of each month, excluding January and July. In addition to using the work mornings keeping the paths clear and well-drained, in line with the management plan for the wood, we shall be clearing saplings at the East end of the pond so that there is space to deposit dredged material when we start on the next 5 yearly cycle of pond clearance – hopefully Autumn 2018 subject to obtaining funding.
Other work planned for 2018 includes:
- Thinning trees along the southern edge of the wood with help from Wallis Weir;
- Assessing the condition of nesting boxes in the wood with a view to adding new nest boxes made by the 1st Carse Cubs and possibly also the Primary School;
- Making some picnic benches for the old coup area;
- Facilitating greater use of Burnside wood by Kippen Primary School; and
- Applying for grants to provide an alternative path up the Black Brae.
For those who were disappointed by the absence of a Woodland Group stall at the Christmas market, you will be pleased to learn that we are planning to have a stall this year and to sell some special edition Christmas cards to mark our 20th year. We would like to invite all photographers to submit wintry Kippen scenes for potential use on these cards to kippenwoodlandgroup@gmail.com by the end of March 2018. We shall then select the best photographs and make contact with the person submitting to establish how best to acknowledge them.
Paula Watson
The Wee Vine 