The sun made a brief appearance just in time for our latest Biosphere Explorers visit to Taliesin Community Woodland south of Castle Douglas. Castle Douglas High School John Muir Award pupils have a small area of woodland in the school grounds of which they have been put in charge, and the trip to Taliesin was able to showcase to them how a woodland can be managed for the benefit of wildlife and humans.
Taliesin is a remnant of native wet woodland - a high focus habitat for the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere - which sits underneath Screel Hill. The woodland is sustainably managed by the South West Community Woodland Trust which aims to increase biodiversity while at the same time as providing a resource for local people to sustainably use for generations to come.
The students were entranced by the laid-back approach of Ed Inglehart who gave an insight into the history of the woodland, followed by a tour around the top half of the site. They left feeling inspired to work in their own wee patch of wood – their next step will be to come up with a management plan which will leave a woodland legacy for future pupils at the school to enjoy.