Friday 13 March 2020

Friday 13 December 2019

Report from Open Community Meeting and AGM

Quick summary of the Open Meeting and AGM on 10 December 2019

We had about 33 people present which was a great turnout for a cold, dark night.

We had two excellent talks about tree safety and how community woods work - thanks to Judith Webb (University of Highlands and Islands) and Jon Hollingdale (Community Woods Association).

We gave a summary of progress to date including:
-       research into land ownership
-       survey of tree safety in December 2018
-       the community consultation in Feb 2018
-       the on-going tree felling programme to tackle about 50 dangerous trees. The very good news from the night was that the Highland Council had recently agreed to deal with ALL the dangerous trees in the woods. Thanks were especially noted to Cllr Alasdair Christie for his assistance.

Plans ahead include:
-       moving towards claiming ownership of the land – grant aided by Highland and Islands Enterprise
-       starting a volunteer programme of small scale projects
-       developing a management plan for the woods

An update on the new Charity highlighted the opportunities for people to get involved with the Group – especially as Membership secretary, Volunteer coordinator, etc. Please contact the email above if interested.

The AGM for the original Culduthel Woods Group (unincorporated association) was held and it was agreed to close down the organisation with all the work to be taken forwards by the charity of the same name. The funds from the older organisation will all be passed to the new Charity. Minutes of the AGM will be posted here is due course.

Membership forms were distributed – we need to develop a strong base of members. It is only £10 a year to be a member of the organisation which win time will own/manage such a valuable local asset.
There are options for life and corporate membership. Membership forms to be posted here soon.
Finally, thanks were noted to a wide range of organisations and individuals who had helped us over the last 18 months.

Sunday 24 November 2019

Tree felling and branch removal to start 27 November




Please note that some tree-felling and branch-removal works are due to start soon on some trees in the woods that are close to paths and pavements. The map at the link below shows the trees  that will be tackled (within the shaded area only). These trees are either dead or diseased and are potentially dangerous  - they were identified in the survey we undertook late last year (see an earlier blog post below). Replacement trees will be planted in due course.

Map: Shaded area shows where tree work will take place

The work is being commissioned by The Highland Council, supervised by Peter Kelly (Mob: 07876576643) who is Amenity Officer and undertaken by a firm called Apex. The work will start on 27 November  - we have no details about how long it will take. The Council and contractors are responsible for all safety arrangements. We have advised the IRA and Parent Council. Please follow all on-site instructions and signs and avoid the site when the works are under way.


It is great that The Highland Council is taking a lead on this essential tree safety work. However, the remaining trees identified in our survey as being potentially dangerous are not due not be tackled at this time and we have no immediate plans to do this work - we do not have funds nor permissions in place to do so. We are still concerned about this issue. Until this further work is undertaken, people are advised to avoid the woods during periods of high winds in case of falling trees and branches.

Please come along to our meeting  on 10 December at 1930 in the Green Drive Hall to find out more about our long-term plans for the woods and how you can get involved. See blog post below.

Tuesday 19 November 2019

Invitation to Open Community Meeting about the Woods



Please come along to an open community meeting (which includes a short AGM) of the Culduthel Woods Group on Tuesday 10 December at 1930 at the Green Drive Hall.
We have arranged for two short talks by excellent speakers:

  • Tree safety and woodland management”  by Judith Webb MBE, UHI Scottish School of Forestry
  • How community woods work in the North of Scotlandby Jon Hollingdale, Community Woods Association
And also:
  • Hear more about the work of the Culduthel Woods Group over the last year to secure a better future for Culduthel Woods.
  • Consider the proposals for the year ahead including some felling of dangerous trees,  the development of a management plan and the start of a volunteer work programme. 
  • Help launch our new charitable organisation and find out about opportunities to get involved.
As part of the AGM we will consider the proposal to dissolve our current unincorporated organisation which will require a vote by members.  The work programme will then be taken forwards by the new charity with the same name - the Culduthel Woods Group.
There will be tea/coffee at the end of the meeting!
We look forward to seeing you there.  To help us plan the event, please let us know if you are coming along by replying to culduthelwoods@gmail.com
Lastly, please share this invitation with anyone you think might be interested!

Tuesday 22 October 2019

Progress Report




It has been a while since we posted an update but a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes to secure a positive future for the woods. This includes:
-        Establishment of a new charitable organisation:  This will make fundraising easier and limit any liabilities for trustees. We will share more on this at our upcoming community meeting/AGM (date to be confirmed).

-        Removal of the dangerous trees: We have obtained quotes for the work from professional foresters and had five meetings with Highland Council, along with the Chair of the Inverness Royal Academy Parent Council. We hope we will soon be able to announce a plan of work on the trees near to the paths, roads and pavements that will help keep the woods safe.

-        Fundraising: We have been trying to raise funds to help develop our work, with some modest success. We will need to raise more funds soon and would welcome any ideas or offers of support.

-        Land ownership: The woods remains ownerless. We have continued to gather information about the legal processes involved in owning or managing land and we have shared information about our work with others. 

-        Networking: We have had a lot of advice and support from the Community Woods Association, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Forestry, The Highland Council, the Land Commission for Scotland and the Altnaskiach Community Woods Group.  We are members of Community Land Scotland and attended their annual conference on Skye.

Looking ahead, we are keen to keep members (and anyone else who is interested!) updated on our progress and future plans.  Watch this space for further updates and details of the next community meeting/AGM!





Tuesday 14 May 2019

Litter-pick 2019

Thanks to everyone who attended the  Great Lochardil Litter-pick last night - about 40 bags of litter removed from Culduthel Woods, Lochardil Woods, Macdonald Park and Culduthel Park. Thanks to Cllrs Ron MacWilliam and Callum Smith from Highland Council for coming along to help out - and judging the prize for  best litter story. And thanks to the Stratherrick Scouts in assocation with the  Community Council and the IRA for organising it all...


Thursday 28 March 2019

Community Engagement Report - and Next Steps


The report from our community engagement exercise that we held during February can be accessed via this LINK.  Many thanks everyone who got involved - and thanks to the Abriachan Forest Trust for helping us with the work.

The summary highlights from the report are:
  • We had  around 80 people at our “drop-in” event and more than 50 online surveys were completed. So, counting the  pupils that were involved in local schools, the Scouts and the local Rotary Club that we engaged with, that means that nearly 200 people were involved overall.
  • Most people responding  used the woods daily (32%) or weekly (31%)
  • The overall response was VERY positive - 90% of people agreed (29%) or strongly agreed (61%) that we should move to form a community group to own/manage the woods
  • Over 80 people were willing to volunteer to help and over 30 to contribute financially

The Management Committee considered the report of all this feedback at a meeting in early March and agreed to move towards forming a charity or similar body.  To be clear, we haven’t taken any steps towards owning the woods yet and so the ownership position remains unchanged - no-one owns the woods.

Also, guided by the feedback we got from people, we are taking further steps to look the management of the trees that we have had surveyed.  There are 43 trees that have been recommended for removal, and 18 trees need remedial work, for example having dangerous branches removed.  These are mostly trees near the paths or woodland boundaries which are potentially dangerous.  We are having discussions with The Highland Council - and with the former owners of the woods, Tullochs Homes - about how that work might be financed. We will post updates as the situation develops.

Thanks again to everyone who gave us their views.