Lochend Woods: A brief summary of current management proposals

(Nb. The full text of the current version of the management plan can be downloaded here.)

Lochend Wood is part of the old Lochend Estate and contains the old garden and some ruins. It has been a managed woodland for two hundred years or more but the trees now growing in the woodland (mostly Sycamore and Scots Pine) were mostly planted about sixty years ago. A recent survey showed that the natural woodland on this site would have been pre-dominantly Ash (with Field Maple) and Alder (with Elder) in the wetter areas. The woodland is currently quite low in conservation value and there are quite a few dead, dying and fallen trees, wet and overgrown paths and some dumping.

The new management aims are equally to improve the:

• Safety
  
• Accessibility: for walkers and cyclists
  
• Recreation opportunities
  
• Wildlife value
  
• Educational opportunities
  
• Appearance (landscape)
  
• Timber value

The kind of work planned will include:

• Developing educational activities with local schools.
  
• Removing unsafe trees but leaving some dead trees for wildlife.
  
• Creating more open spaces, slowly thinning dense areas and encouraging more ground flora
  
• Removing the Spruce trees and gradually bringing in more native trees
  
• Managing some of the trees to produce timber
  
• Creating a clearing as a children’s play space.
  
• A whindust surfaced path through the centre of the woodland
  
• Creating or re-surfacing other smaller paths and making bridges and boardwalks where necessary.
  
• Using some of the felled trees to make benches etc. along the paths.
  
• Putting up simple notice boards at key points.
  
•  Managing the pond and wetland areas for wildlife
  

A report from our recent community consultation will be available shortly and will be used in finalising a long-term management plan.

Your ideas and opinions are welcomed – please send them to: Philip Revell, 27 High Street, Dunbar

Tel 01368 863211

Email: convenor@dcwg.org.uk

Or leave your comments at the ‘Crunchy Carrot’