Two RSPB supporters, Elizabeth and Roy Weir from Aberdeen, recently had a chance to discover a bit more about the conservation work that we undertake on the Forsinard reserve. They were kind enough to write about this conservation voyage of discovery...
"We have just spent an unforgettable day with Norrie Russell (Senior Site Manager) learning about forestry and peatland management on the Forsinard reserve, with rare birds, mosses and lichens thrown in just to add to the magic. Our main impression was awe and admiration at the scale of what RSPB has already done (more than 2000 hectares of forestry bought and cleared to date) and plans to do even better. 12 years ago I saw the beginnings of the tree culling programme to restore and preserve the precious blanket bog, but at that time one of the problems was that the felled timber was commercially unwanted and so there was very little income to balance the huge outlay in equipment and staff for the felling, and the challenge seemed enormous. Now, climate change has brought a range of researchers to explore what is happening to explore for example the water table, carbon capture and release, and the return of invertebrates to areas that have been cleared. And support for biofuels means that the necessary tree felling equipment is improving and becoming more efficient and, very excitingly, the removal of felled trees at Forsinard may become of commercial interest. Making the restoration of areas of damaged peatland even more viable.
I could rave on about the detail of what we saw and learnt about - tree diseases, tree survival, endangered bird species – but our main message is a huge thank you to Norrie and Fiona for giving us their time, and to the RSPB for the amazing work that they have done and will continue to do. This is not just for birders- more people should know about it!"