Culduthel woods Group

Red squirrels are a welcome sight in the

woods. ©PAul wHiPPey

Scotland has a vibrant and growing community woodland scene, recently joined by Culduthel Woods Group in Inverness, as they explain:

Culduthel woods Group has worked to take a small, somewhat neglected woodland in the Culduthel area in the south of the city and transform it into a thriving new 16 acre community wood. the innovative part of the Culduthel story is that the land was technically “ownerless” after the former owner had dissolved their holding company. we worked to form a new steering group, a new charity, raise funds and local support, and then researched and navigated the complex legal process to claim the land. All this has taken nearly four years, working throughout the pandemic and meeting virtually. the wood’s opening event in July of this year saw nearly 250 local residents celebrating with a fabulous woodland Gathering, pictured above.

the group’s objectives are:

To advance the environmental protection and improvement of Culduthel woods, following the principles of sustainable development, by the conservation, management and enhancement of the natural habitats and the plant and animal species therein.

To promote education within the community about the history, management and habitats of Culduthel woods and to enable use of the woods by schools and other organisations for educational purposes.

To advance citizenship and community development by encouraging voluntary activity and recreation in, and by promoting civic responsibility for, the Culduthel woods. the wood is close to inverness royal Academy, the largest secondary school in the Highlands, and within walking distance of four primary schools. we felt it important to address the neglected area and were concerned about safety as trees were becoming dangerous, walls were falling down, paths were in poor state of repair, and there was some vandalism.

we had to commission lawyers to find out about the site’s history and ownership status. And we took advice from a wide range of advisory bodies and lawyers to navigate a way through the process of claiming the land using the ‘prescriptive claimants process’. this work was supported financially by Highlands & islands enterprise (Hie), and finally resulted in a set of deeds being obtained in may 2022 with a ‘provisional watermark’ which will be removed within 10 years if there is no legal challenge.

A tree survey was commissioned by the group, and we persuaded Highland Council to address the situation of the 50 most dangerous trees. this was urgent work for the community but also cleared the way for us to commit to take on the liabilities associated with owning and managing the wood.

Public support for the group was developed through a public meeting and formation of a steering group. A big community consultation exercise then assessed what people

Culduthel woods Group is a finalist in the Helping it Happen Awards 2022 run by Scottish land and estates. the Award winners are announced on 5 october.

website facebook instagram did or didn’t like about the woods. Assistance was given by Aultnaskiach dell SCio and Abriachan forest trust, and funding was granted by Scottish forestry. enough support was generated to form a new charity and a consultation on our proposed management plan for the wood attracted 250 comments. 95% of people supported the management proposals that had been developed and all the individual management proposals were supported by at least 80% of people. Some proposals found favour with 97% of people e.g. ‘we should manage the woods to encourage more wildlife’.

we want to undertake surveys and make records of all the plants, animals and fungi that are found in the area. this will help inform our approach to management of the woods.

the Culduthel experience has been shared though presentations at the 2021 annual conference of the Community woodlands Association, and the group has been commended by the Scottish land Commission who tweeted about the group’s exemplary compliance with the Scottish Government’s land rights and responsibility Statement. we worked with Community land Scotland on a special national seminar on how to address ownerless land issues in Scotland as part of the land reform agenda, and hosted a secondee intern from the Community woodlands Association for three months to work on promoting community engagement, especially with young people.

forthcoming plans include finalising the wood’s management plan and developing a youth training scheme for local schools. local groups are encouraged to get involved and there are monthly volunteer sessions, which have been supported by Scottish forestry, Albyn Housing Association, and the Co-op to purchase tools and materials etc. Volunteer activities include:

• Removing old fences • Clearing invasive species eg rhododendron and snowberry • Repairing a drystone dyke • Path building and maintenance

membership of Culduthel woods Group is free and new volunteers are very welcome!