Argyll and Islands at the forefront at Tree Oscars
A native wood planted on Mull in memory of the loss of a family member and a forest in Cowal which balanced commercial aims with biodiversity and the wider environment have both scooped major honours at this year’s Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards.
The winner of the Woodland Trust Scotland Trophy for New Native Woods was Martyn’s Wood, Crannich, Isle of Mull.
It was planted in memory of Martyn Osmond, the nephew of owner Robin Sedgwick, who passed away as a result of a tragic accident on January 1, 2009, at the age of just 21.
Robin told the judges: “We felt planting this woodland at a time of great sadness would turn a negative situation into a positive ‘living’ future.
It was difficult to have a good tree establishment on infertile, exposed, treeless land. Because of that they used Alder and Poplar, both fast growing, to nurse the more tender stems of Oak, Willow, Rowan, Silver Birch and Hazel. The bulk of the Poplar will be removed once the woodland is fully established.
Robin continued: “Every year we restock it and now it is an absolutely gorgeous woodland. It takes a heck of a long time to get woodland established on Mull because the trees were all taken out 100 to 150 years ago.
“Our farm is called Crannich which means land of trees, but when we started this there was only one tree on our land. We are showing you can plant trees and run a farm – trees help shelter, drainage and so many things.”
Dr John Osmond, Martyn’s father, said: “When my son died Robin rang me up and said he was planting a wood. It is brilliant that after all these years it has become such a special thing. I live in London but when I go to Mull it is like a pilgrimage.
“I am sure he (Martyn) would be delighted because it is a lot more interesting than a stone memorial.”
Winner of the Dulverton Flagon, an occasional award given at the judges’ discretion for a successful balance between commercial forestry and competing objectives was Ardachuple, in a National Scenic Area at the Kyles of Bute, Cowal – owned by Bamberg Ltd, the trophy was collected by Bryan Pearce the manager for Tilhill.
The work saw them establish a productive crop using sound silviculture. At the same time they developed biodiversity for the benefit of wildlife and raptors, and enhanced where possible existing native woodlands.
The judges said: “Ardachuple was an extremely well designed, planned and implemented scheme which showed how commercial woodland can be established in a very sensitive landscape.”
Jean Nairn, executive director of Scotland’s Finest Woods, said: “Once again, Scotland has excelled itself in producing some world-beating examples of forestry and woodland, not least in the important sphere of climate change.
“The awards ceremony is a well-established fixture on the calendar and it is always pleasing to see such a wide range of entries, from early years through to more seasoned foresters, community groups to farmers. I think another benefit of today was that everyone learned something from each other – all doing things differently but with the aim of the environment and trees at the heart of it.”