Tights for Trees Appeal!

The Blog has received this slightly odd, but absolutely serious, appeal from Jenny Penfold.

Jenny writes:

The Woodland Trust advisor paid us a visit in late August to see how we were managing with our small, newly planted, native woodland. And one of his recommendations was to take the tree guards off once a tree had reached about 3m+. However, as they’ve been grown in tree guards which act like mini greenhouses, the trees have shot up in height without developing sufficient root systems to support them properly – some being really floppy when you remove the guard.

So, he has suggested tying them between 2 stakes using something stretchy enough to support them, but also with enough ‘give’ to allow movement to encourage strong root growth. And tights are the perfect material!

I’ve now used up all available old tights from the family and am in desperate need of hundreds more – we have over a thousand trees!! So, if you have any old tights/stockings/’pop socks’ (clean ones, please 😊) I’d love to repurpose them… and save them from landfill, too.

If you can drop them off to me when passing our house (Clach an Tuirc – by the Boar Stone), I’ll leave a box in the front porch for donations, or if you’d like me to collect them please phone me on 07917 685626.

The photo of the smaller tree on the left shows how most will be staked, though the dog roses and blackthorn will probably just need one stake and tie. The photo of the larger tree (on the right) was the first one out of its tube and I’ve used 3 stakes and lots of ties as it has so many branches and lots of foliage and will catch the wind over winter.

Many thanks in advance for all donations – much appreciated!

Jenny

You can read more about Jenny and Trevor’s newly-planted native woodland in this Blog article from earlier in the year (see Life Under Lockdown at Clach an Tuirc).

Squirrel Appeal

Staying at Clach an Tuirc, Jenny has been interviewed by STV News about the recent sightings of grey squirrels in the Aberfeldy area and the threat that this poses to our native red squirrel population.

Jenny recently posted an article on the Aberfeldy Community Facebook page about the fact that greys have broken through the Highland Line for the first time and have been spotted in this area.  So, this is the crucial time to monitor their numbers and locations in order that targeted containment measures can be most effectively used by the Scottish Squirrel Organisation and Scottish Wildlife Trust who are working to protect the reds.

Jenny says “I think that people who have lived up here for a while have got very used to seeing reds around and may take them for granted, but where I grew up in Hampshire, I remember lots of reds and a few greys in the woods around us, but within about 10 – 15 years there were only greys – reds having been totally wiped out 😦 .

So I guess that’s the key message: if you leave them here, they will eventually spread and out-compete the reds for food and living space (and maybe infect them with Squirrel Pox – a nasty way to die) and we will be left with only greys.“

So, all sightings of grey squirrels need to be reported to the Scottish Squirrel Organisation (https://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/) so they can be monitored and hopefully removed from this area.”

Jenny’s interview will be on the STV news this week (we don’t know exactly when).

Picture Gallery

We have some fabulous pictures of the area this week from Stuart Brain (on water) and Peter McKenzie (on land).  Many thanks to both.

Meanwhile, up the Glen and beyond …..

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