A Long Overdue Update!

Hello from ULFP! It has been a long time since our last update but don't worry the project is still in full swing, and we're pleased to say that since our last post, big progress has been made.

April 2022 finally saw the completion of our massive 6km deer fence! This was achieved thanks to kind donations, and many, many, many hours of voluntary help. Since its completion and the removal of the grazing pressure, we are witnessing notable improvements to the land's flora and fauna. The fence will still require regular checks and maintenance until such a time that the trees are up and out of reach of grazing animals

With the first major hurdle complete there was not much time to rest; in October 2022 full scale planting began. During the winter and into the early spring of 2023 ULFP planted out 10,000 trees, made up of a broad range of native species; including Rowan, Hazel, Oak, Birch, Aspen and Scots Pine to name a few. Again, this was thanks to donations via organisations such as the Woodland Trust and International Tree foundation, who awarded us funds to purchase trees and to help towards hosting volunteers to join in the planting effort. Also a huge thanks to 2 of our core team (MegaBlaze) who worked right through the winter months to get the job done on schedule.

This was the first in 3 years of scheduled planting. This coming season we will be planting another 10,000 and all going to plan, 10,000 more will be planted during the winter and spring of 24/25. After planting out there will be ongoing tasks to ensure a high survival rate of the trees and to upkeep the density of the young woodland.

Alongside these key achievements, we have been working towards major infrastructure improvements at base camp. A large barn is currently under construction; this barn has been designed and built utilising the skills of the core members and again, many, many hours of voluntary labour. The frame is almost complete and has been built entirely from sitka spruce timbers felled and processed from the site by members of the organisation. The sitka spruce trees that are still standing are part of the retention stock left over from the felling of the plantation forest back before ULFP acquired the land. These trees have to be removed, as they are standing on ancient peat bog causing detrimental effects to this key habitat. The removal of the trees is the first task of the long but worthy process of peat bog restoration. This coming October we are hosting yet another volunteer week to make headway in attaching the roofing sheets and cladding the barn, where we will be using larch, sourced from another site on Skye. The barn will provide a safe sheltered space to store equipment and aid in the smooth(er) running of all operations involved in the project.

Over the last few years we have been working on establishing a humble but satisfying wee tree nursery. This is an area designated for bringing on young tree saplings and storing tree deliveries while they wait to be planted out into the woodland. We have been collecting seed from nearby trees, which has been an enjoyable task, especially for our younger members, and have successfully germinated several hundred trees from seed. These could be used as beating up stock for the woodland site or surplus trees could be sold on to generate an income for the project. We have recently acquired a large quantity of compost, helped by a local skye business, JansVans, to improve the area's fertility which in turn should improve its productivity. We have also just put forward a proposal to request funding for a rainwater collection and irrigation system to make the arduous task of watering the tree nursery much more efficient.

All in all things are going (slowly, slowly) in the right direction . We will keep chipping away.