Ned

Leaving Edinburgh

Flytipping #2. "Won't Be Needing These Anymore". West Dunbartonshire. Artist Unknown.

...That said keeping the fence up means there's no browsing at all, which also isnt ideal for the habitat. I decided that as the vast majority of areas are over grazed rather than under that it was best to keep the fence up as long as possible. But it isnt the perfect solution.

...but the issues around suppressed natural regeneration and ground flora will come back the second you take the fence down. All my sites are in central scotland where there are multiple land owners across relatively small holdings with little to no at scale deer management...

Client asked me recently when is the best time to remove a deer fence from a native woodland creation site. I struggled answer. Yes you can get your trees established and clear of any browsing risk...

Walking fencelines. Classic.

Holiday

Pretty extraordinary that the head of the NFU has a pop at beavers *twice* in this article, claiming they threaten food security - but has nothing to say about how half our cereals are fed to livestock (2% to pheasants alone!) and a big chunk diverted to biofuels.

@samleesong @guyshrubsole @derekgow Perhaps the wrong derek gow tagged here? @gow_derek

Unreal getting to meet two critically rare species this weekend once prevalent in the UK but hunted to extinction. All courtesy of the brave and radical rewilder @derekgow at his Devon HQ for ReWilder festival. Fab to hear about Uk temperate rainforests with @guyshrubsole too

Thats why I'm proposing the Twitter Crank 3000 (patent pending). A rusty metal crank that you have to pump for atleast an hour before you can send a tweet. The crank generates electricity and gives the person time to rhuminate on if what they're saying is really worth the toil.

In the olden days people needed to really believe what they had to say was worth it, to get their thoughts printed into books or pamphlets, or to devise a speach. But they also needed lots of money and priviledge to get to do that which was bad too.

In a way, it feels like it might be almost too easy for people to spout their views to the world nowadays. Such that they barely think it through before saying it and its often not really a hot take, or worse its uninformed nonsense.

@GreenActionT @ramblersscot @GlasgowCC

Opening of the Magnificent 11. An 11 mile path linking many of Glasgow's best greenspaces. Ranger Gary Linstead spent YEARS working far beyond his job's remit to see this become a reality. Here he is giving his quintessential oratory before the last waymarking post is hammered in

@lwhemmings Side note: recently been told all tubed trees have to be stock fenced! I'm querying this too as I cant find guidance saying such; there's no stock on the land!

@lwhemmings That's our recourse if the fence into the loch concept isnt a go-er. Its got more than the woodland creation scheme going on in it; 5km cycle route going through, visitor's centre being belt etc so the client is understandably not keen on a fence on that side if avoidable.

Does anyone have any examples of woodland creation schemes next to a loch / lake with a deer fence open on the lochside just running a short length into the water? Comments on their effectiveness also welcome?? @lwhemmings?

@lwhemmings Oh shoot. I've seen it done on a few sites. I've a site where the client wants the water front open for amenity. Trying to build an evidence base of it working or indeed not working. Have an allowance for a few deer to swim round which would be removed - just not too many!

@treesnthat Don't have any examples, but deer are good swimmers!

You know it's kicking off on twitter when the two combatants begin putting the other person's first name at the start of their replies.