Volunteers create orchard
Dozens of volunteers looked out their spades and got digging to help to help create a new community orchard at the Laighhills in Dunblane.
Families came out in force at the weekend to help with the planting of 300 new fruit trees after an appeal by Friends of the Laighhills.
The orchard, one of the biggest in the area, is being created thanks to funding from the Tesco Bags of Help grant scheme.
Trees, which came from a specialist fruit tree nursery near Perth, include Clydesdales, Scotch Bridget, Stirling Castle, Lemon Queen, Green Chisel, Gordon Castle and Black Oliver.
And a variety of apples, pears, plums and cherries will provide fruit for those visiting the area in years to come.
Alan Booth of Dunblane Community Council was delighted with the number of people who supported the planting events at the weekend.
He said: “Everyone seemed to enjoy the day and we’re grateful for the Bags of Help funding which has made this possible.
“The orchard will be a great asset, encouraging wildlife as well as producing fruit for all to enjoy. It forms part of our plans to make the Laighhills a better place for people and wildlife.
“We are keen to set up a Friends of the Laighhills group to take this forward, so anyone who is interested in getting involved with this can get in touch at cc@ dunblane.info.”
The orchard received the support of the community when it was mentioned in the Laighhills Park Dunblane Strategic Landscape Masterplan three years ago.
It has been reported that around a mile of improved paths will be installed in the area as part of a wider scheme of improvements.
New steps, seats, signs, fingerposts and drainage are also planned and teams from Stirling Council are currently carrying out the works, supported by funding from the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP).