Update Lots has been happening on the land this month. Ken Mills has initiated a Red Squirrel survey to assess numbers of these wonderful little animals in the small woodland surrounding the Park; volunteers would be very welcome. Em and Kajedo have just completed their Intermediate and Storm fell chainsaw training and will be assessed on May 1st. That completes our training for this year with twelve people having gone through a grant paid course which will result in operations in the woods being safer and more professional. Again to address health and safety issues when working on the land, this Sunday four members, Alain, Sean, George and myself, will be put through an all day Emergency First Aid course. Last week we had our first green burial take place for someone outside the immediate community, a Mr John Ireland, at the site in Wilkies Wood and today a second green burial will take place. This will be for Peter Shailer from Forres bringing the total number of burials to six with eleven people so far having reserved their lair. (Thanks to the folk that have done this as the money raised goes to aid Hinterland work now; others are encouraged to “book now and die later” as Angus Marland would say! Visit the NFA Office to do this.) The group has just got a valuation of the land completed by the District Valuer and is contemplating a community buy out so that the land could be owned and managed by the community group; I am sure you will hear lots more about this later. There have been more things happening but there is too little time and space to mention them all; it will be great to have our own website up and running so that fuller updates can be posted. We do have grant funding to do this but have not got around to doing it yet. Next month …
AGM Come and celebrate another very productive year that your local community group has had and find more out about the many successful projects that have happened to benefit everyone in the area. There will be a new slideshow shown at our AGM which will be held at 7.30pm in the James Milne Institute on Wednesday the 28th of April. It is usually an inspiring event but unfortunately not always well attended so come and join in the fun!
Tree Planting Work Party Following along from last month where we had over twenty people out planting around the green burial area, we will again be clearing and planting a small area to the south of the woods this Saturday between 10am and 12 noon. We might even get the green burial area sown with grass seed if there are enough people; I hear spring rakes are good for lightly raking in grass seed so bring yours along if you have one. Meet as usual outside the Hinterland tool shed which is next to the tractor shed on the eastern forest edge near the Barrel housing cluster. Contact me if you have any questions but do come and join us if you can as many hands make this work so much more pleasurable and rewarding.
Jonathan Caddy for the Findhorn Hinterland Group Tel:01309 691977
Update, AGM and Tree Planting Work Party
Update Lots has been happening on the land this month. Ken Mills has initiated a Red Squirrel survey to assess numbers of these wonderful little animals in the small woodland surrounding the Park; volunteers would be very welcome. Em and Kajedo have just completed their Intermediate and Storm fell chainsaw training and will be assessed on May 1st. That completes our training for this year with twelve people having gone through a grant paid course which will result in operations in the woods being safer and more professional. Again to address health and safety issues when working on the land, this Sunday four members, Alain, Sean, George and myself, will be put through an all day Emergency First Aid course. Last week we had our first green burial take place for someone outside the immediate community, a Mr John Ireland, at the site in Wilkies Wood and today a second green burial will take place. This will be for Peter Shailer from Forres bringing the total number of burials to six with eleven people so far having reserved their lair. (Thanks to the folk that have done this as the money raised goes to aid Hinterland work now; others are encouraged to “book now and die later” as Angus Marland would say! Visit the NFA Office to do this.) The group has just got a valuation of the land completed by the District Valuer and is contemplating a community buy out so that the land could be owned and managed by the community group; I am sure you will hear lots more about this later. There have been more things happening but there is too little time and space to mention them all; it will be great to have our own website up and running so that fuller updates can be posted. We do have grant funding to do this but have not got around to doing it yet. Next month …
AGM Come and celebrate another very productive year that your local community group has had and find more out about the many successful projects that have happened to benefit everyone in the area. There will be a new slideshow shown at our AGM which will be held at 7.30pm in the James Milne Institute on Wednesday the 28th of April. It is usually an inspiring event but unfortunately not always well attended so come and join in the fun!
Tree Planting Work Party Following along from last month where we had over twenty people out planting around the green burial area, we will again be clearing and planting a small area to the south of the woods this Saturday between 10am and 12 noon. We might even get the green burial area sown with grass seed if there are enough people; I hear spring rakes are good for lightly raking in grass seed so bring yours along if you have one. Meet as usual outside the Hinterland tool shed which is next to the tractor shed on the eastern forest edge near the Barrel housing cluster. Contact me if you have any questions but do come and join us if you can as many hands make this work so much more pleasurable and rewarding.
Jonathan Caddy for the Findhorn Hinterland Group Tel:01309 691977