Future Development Blog |
The development blog |
| 15th February 2012 |
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| Moving Forward |
It’s been a cold wintery February so far with lots of cold, sunny, crispy days at the forest and a much need respite from the non-stop rain and wind that we endured for most of January. The evenings are getting longer and spring is just around the corner and I for one can’t wait.
I’m pleased to announce that Green Energy Partners Ltd have been awarded the contract to deliver the next phase of our community wind turbine project. GEP have been brought in to bring technical assistance to help take the project to pre-planning stage. There are a number of phases that need to be undertaken with consultation exercises with key stakeholders such as the local community, Scottish Natural Heritage, Argyll & Bute Council and the Forestry Commission. These phases of the project will be lengthy, taking us well into 2013 and it will be then that we will know if a project can proceed with planning and construction stages. This is very exciting for us as a successful project could see major financial benefits to the forest and the local community.
I’m also pleased to say that we have had our Forest Design Plan, Statement of Intent (SoI) approved by the Forestry Commission and we can now proceed with our Forestry Outcome Plan. I will be working with Alana Hyslop on this next stage of our application over the next few weeks but approval of our Forest Design Plan is still some way off.
Eamon |
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| 31st January 2012 |
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| Forest Damage at Achacrossan |
Well that’s January just about gone and its been an interesting month. We’re still recovering from the onslaught of the storms earlier in the month and still finding new pockets of windthrow all over the forest. Some of it is quite small but we have large areas (football pitch size and bigger) of trees that are down. Unfortunately there’s not much we can do about it other than do make sure that when we replant areas of the forest over the coming years we ensure that the trees are well spaced apart and cared for. A healthy forest needs trees that are able to develop good root formation and root strength in soil with good drainage. Soil quality is essential and its important that certain trees are planted in certain areas to fit into the natural regeneration of the land. Nature has a diverse, complex and instinctive development system and it’s not as difficult to copy it as one might think.
January also saw us receive planning consent from Argyll & Bute Council for our wind meteorological mast which will be going up at the beginning of March. The community wind project is going to be a long process but there are several key milestones in the life of the project and this is one of them.
We also had good news from SEPA who have issued us with our waste exemption licence which will allow us to accept compost from the local community. Well done to Sara and Jean from the Growing Green Team for all their hard work with the composting project. KCF aims be able to accept garden waste from the beginning of March.
Next update in February.
Eamon |
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| 15th January 2012 |
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| New Year New Blog |
Welcome to the first forest blog post. I thought Id kick it off this week as its a New year and 2012 feels like its going to be a good one so here we go....
We’ve some good news – wood fuel is now up and running and open for business. It’s quite a milestone for us as it’s our first real bit of ‘self-generating income’. I certainly feel like it’s a real step towards our vision of a sustainable forest for the future. Sales have been low but that will improve with time and we reckon our prices are pretty competitive (M3 loads £36, half loads £18, bags of logs £6.50 and large bags of kindling £3.50). And by buying from us you’ll be investing in your community, as every penny will get ploughed back into developing the forest. The wood we’re currently selling is spruce that we felled from the areas that are now occupied by the polly tunnel, allotments and site offices. It’s well seasoned and is testing at between 25%-30% moisture content, so it will burn well.
The forest has an extensive supply of wind-thrown and standing timber, which is really only suitable for firewood. We plan to fell some of the 1963 plantation (which is due for harvesting) in the next few months. The forest development plan, which we’re working on, will identify the next priority areas for felling. One of the key things for us is to build an access road so we can get to these areas of the forest and start the next phases of the projects aims and objectives and of course the replanting of trees. This, however, involves a significant investment and we’re trying to source funds at the moment. Wood fuel is something that local people identified as a priority in the initial community consultation carried out back in 2007, so it’s great to finally be able to offer it. If you’re interested in buying some logs, either call us or pop up to the forest office. Unfortunately the wood is for collection only at the moment, but there’s staff on site Monday to Friday and they’ll be happy to load the logs onto your vehicle. We hope to provide a delivery service in the future. If you’ve any questions about storing your wood, just ask. We’re always happy to help out and advise. 2012 is going to be a big year for us and there will be loads of exciting developments and plans coming to fruition. So do keep an eye of the blog for the latest updates. Any feedback, ideas, comments or insights are always welcome – this is, after all, your forest.
Next post will be about the recent storms and the damage they brought to the forest.
Eamon |
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