Cree Valley

CVCWT on Facebook

creevalley — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:26:02 +0000

Cree Valley Community Woodlands Trust are now on Facebook. Although we are new to this and still need some coaching, i have started to post and add photos so please visit and like our page and tell your friends about it.

Wildlife in the walls

creevalley — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:41:23 +0000

An unexpected added bonus to the archaeological work has been the various wildlife found amongst the remnants of the old buildings. These have included several young palmate newts, 2 common lizards (see photo), toads, dor beetles, meadow ant mounds (carefully avoided during work), violet ground beetles and click beetles. All creatures found were safely re-located nearby.

Archaeology at Knockman Wood

creevalley — Sun, 12 May 2013 10:37:37 +0000

Here we are at the end of an exhausting but most enjoyable week of archaeological work at Knockman Wood near Newton Stewart. Under the supervision of archaeologist Becky Shaw, we have uncovered the farmhouse of the old farmstead of Clauchrie, along with another ruined structure and a most interesting kiln barn.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped in `testing’ conditions!

Woodland Fringe Planting

creevalley — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:29:06 +0000

We have just spent our second volunteer Wednesday in a row on the Bennan which is directly north of Loch Trool. An area has been fenced to prevent access by Deer and Hares as well as stray sheep, so that it may be planted with rare Galloway junipers and downy willows (Salix lapponum). This is just part of a joint project between FCS and CVCWT to create an area of `woodland fringe’ at the upper edge of the conifer plantings. This will have great landscape benefits, breaking up the `hard edge’ of the conifer plantations. It will also bring great benefits for wildlife and especially birds such as Black Grouse, providing extra food and habitat.

The bulk of the planting work will be carried out in 2014 and 15, but the fenced enclosure will provide a trial area to monitor the growth of the trees and also provide a valuable future seed source for the downy willows.

1310 willows were planted by the volunteers, many of which were grown at our tree nursery from cuttings.

Archaeology at Knockman Wood

creevalley — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:35:46 +0000

Just a quick reminder that CVCWT will be holding a whole week of archaeological events at Knockman Wood next week (6th to 10th May).

We will be revealing and recording the features at one of the farmsteads, including a kiln barn, houses and enclosures.

Our professional archaeologist will be on site each day from approx. 9am to 5pm.

If you are interested in coming along, please let us know by phoning 01671 401423 or e-mail peterrobinson.cwt@btconnect.com

We hope to see you there!

Spring has arrived!!

creevalley — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:55:00 +0000

To my mind, the arrival of the first swallow is always a sign that spring has definitely arrived. Several swallows have been seen in the Cree Valley in the last week or so and the earliest reported by a CVCWT member was 15th April.

Migrants are in general late this year and for the first year i can remember, i did not see a migrant in March. The first chiff-chaff finally arrived at Kirkmabreck, Creetown (one of CVCWT`s new management sites) on the 4th April followed by a wheatear on the 9th. The first willow warbler was again at Kirkmabreck on the 15th and these have now moved up the valley.

Blackcaps are now fairly commonly found overwintering in the area, staying at low levels and taking advantage of bird tables. They move back out to their breeding areas around now and i had one in my garden where they always breed on the 16th.

The other positive sign of spring is the emergence of insects from hibernation. Queen bumblebees appear to take advantage of the abundance of willow catkins at this time of year. My first buff-tailed bumblebee was on the 6th of April this year, which again is late.

Butterflies also emerge and peacock and small tortoiseshell have already been seen. A green-veined white butterfly was at the Wood of Cree on the 19th and an orange tip male (with the orange wing tips) was seen on the same day at Stronord. The late appearance of Cuckoo flowers this year, the food plant of the orange tip, may have detrimental effects on this species this year.

One of the open woodland specialists of the Cree Valley woodlands, the Tree Pipit was heard singing on the 19th at Knockman Wood.

Instant Woodland!?

creevalley — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 10:04:49 +0000

We often hear about large-scale tree planting projects where `woodlands’ are being created. Ecologists would argue that simply planting trees on land which has had no trees for long periods of time does not make it a woodland. Just as to create an efficient town, in woodlands you also need an infrastructure. Many things make up this infrastructure including soil conditions, microclimate, hydrology, woodland structure including vital dead wood habitats, presence of invertebrates, mycorrhizal fungi and a diverse ground flora and much more.

Woodlands evolve over hundreds of years and are constantly changing. They can`t be instantly created, although this is not to say that planting trees is a bad idea, just that a truly biologically diverse woodland takes time to develop.

Conifer plantations with the associated ground disturbance including ploughing and drainage, can spell disaster for the conditions suitable for broad-leaved woodland. However, where conifers have been underplanted or interplanted in areas containing broad-leaved woodlands, sufficient infrastructure, that is the conditions suitable for broad-leaved woodland, can remain once the conifers have been removed.

An excellent example of this is Chain Wood at Creetown, one of CVCWT`s new management sites. This woodland was interplanted with conifers but still retains a decent proportion of broad-leaved trees in its structure. In parts it has a rich native woodland ground flora and good quantities of decaying timber which should support a good invertebrate population. CVCWT are cutting down the conifer within the wood or ring barking the conifers to create standing dead timber. A section of conifer was felled in March and the rest will be felled in the autumn. The effect of removing the conifers is to turn what looked like a conifer woodland into what looks now like a broad-leaved woodland. Possibly as close as you can get to the `instant woodland’ discussed above!!

Assisting woodland expansion

creevalley — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:11:52 +0000

A vital part of our new Cree Valley Woodland Heritage project is the further expansion of native woodland, especially in areas which were formally wooded but lost in the 20th century when the race to produce a reliable UK supply of timber saw a great expansion in the planting of rapid growing conifers, often at the expense of native broad-leaved tree species.

One such area is Knockman Wood. In the middle section of the wood, the conifer were all removed in 2003, but since then little regeneration of trees has been evident even though there are ample sources of seed bearing trees nearby. Transect surveys carried out by CVCWT volunteers last year revealed very little regeneration and what little there was, even the conifer, was being badly damaged by deer browsing. The resident herd of introduced Fallow Deer are particularly destructive.

Therefore, to aid the regeneration process, CVCWT volunteers have been planting several species of native trees in Knockman including oak, birch, hawthorn and rowan. The oaks and birch have been grown by CVCWT at their tree nursery and the hawthorn and rowan are free trees from E- Forests which are part of the carbon offsetting scheme. Some of the trees have been planted in tree protectors and the birch were larger specimens which should be able to withstand a certain amount of browsing.

The old stumps of the felled oaks can still be found and the native woodland ground flora still exists in some parts, and it encourages us to think that one day, the native woodland will stand here again.

Launch Events

creevalley — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:51:08 +0000

Hello,

CVCWT will be hosting 3 launch events in the coming couple of weeks, beginning with Kirroughtree Visitor Centre on Tuesday 9th April from 10am to 3pm.

All events are free, so please come along to find out about our new, exciting Cree Valley Woodland Heritage Project. We will be showing a slide show and have other displays and information available. There will also be a display of artifacts from the Newton Stewart Museum who will be one of our partners in this project.

The other 2 events will be at Glentrool Community Centre on Friday 12th April from 10am to 3pm (teas and coffees available) and The Belted Galloway in Newton Stewart on Thursday 18th April from 10am to 3pm.

We will also have a table at the RSPB open day on Sunday 14th April.

We hope to see you at one of these events.

Knockman Archaeology

creevalley — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 10:09:55 +0000

An important aspect of our new project is to put people in touch with their cultural and archaeological heritage. We plan to carry out some work in Knockman Wood to reveal and record the features of some old farmsteads on the site. The work will give the opportunity for Schools, Colleges, Community groups and individuals to receive on-site training from a professional archaeologist, to help them learn how people were living on the land in the past.

In preparation for these events (see details below), CVCWT volunteers are now in the process of covering the features in black landscaping fabric to help to kill off the vegetation which will make life easier when we come to carry out the archaeological work.

Another job being carried out by the volunteers is to `high prune’ the conifers which surround the Knockman car park and line the track which leads up to the archaeological site. This entails cutting off the lower branches of the conifers which allows more light in and should enhance the walk to the site. The conifer branches at the edge of the archaeological sites will also be pruned to reveal the boundary dykes.

It is planned to have a week of archaeological days beginning Monday, 6th May and another 4 days beginning Monday 20th May. People are very welcome to come along and take part, but as some school and other groups have already booked certain days, places will be limited. If you are interested please contact us.