Update - the year 2000

Projects in 2000 included making an otter holt in the Pentlands, developing a sensory garden at Vogrie Country Park, carrying out a swan survey at Holyrood Park, repairing footpaths in the Pentlands, planting trees, making willow lanterns and a whole lot more.

In the early part of the year an otter holt was constructed in the Pentland Hills in an area which otters have been shown to use. This was a major construction and will be monitored for signs of use as part of a continued study of the otters in the area.

In July a nesting ramp was constructed to enable cygnets, nesting at the Wells o' Wearie in Holyrood Park, to get onto their island. Work continued at these ponds in September to shore up the bank of the most newly created pond to ensure that water levels remained at a suitable height for the swans.

We also carried out a census of the swans of Holyrood Park. This involved recording the letters of the leg rings of individual swans who were on St Margaret's Loch in July. This information has been passed on to the Edinburgh and Lothians Swan Conservation Trust who use these results to monitor the numbers and movement of swan populations. This exercise provided a focus for a broader study of the birds of the park, both migratory and nesting birds. Time was also spent recording birds seen from the bird hide at Bawsinch.

Rhododendron clearance is always a popular task for young people with lots of energy and the Green Team waded in at several sites this year. Clearing by hand is very much an on-going task and the Green Team has returned to the same sites for several years and will be going back to Vogrie and Corstorphine Hill again in 2001. It is rewarding to see progress being made and at Wiston Lodge, rhododendron has almost been eradicated from the beech woodland.

Clearance is only one part of the woodland management that we have carried out this year. The Green Team has also been involved in the collection and planting of seeds and the planting out of seedlings as part of the whole cycle of woodland management.

The maiden pink, a Red Data Book species received the attention of the Green Team this year in Holyrood Park where it still grows in reasonably large quantities. As part of its management an exclusion area 5m² was created to protect it from rabbit damage. This site will be monitored and comparisons made with the area outside the exclusion zone.

Due to visitor pressure the paths in the Pentland Hills are becoming eroded. As part of access management by the Pentland Hills Ranger Service the Green Team repaired some of the paths in Bonaly Country park by removing and replacing path edging which had become unsafe, using locally felled trees for the purpose. The Green Team will be continuing this work in 2001.

Our October weekend at Vogrie Country Park was spent working on a sensory garden, putting in plants with interesting smells and textures for people with poor sight to enjoy. The Green Team also helped in the construction of a path for disabled people.

Here's what some of the participants said:

"The Green Team has been a very fun and interesting experience" David

"So much more fun to spend time in the countryside. A really nice way to appreciate nature" Andrea

"Great fun and very educational!" Gordon

ONE DAY PROJECTS:

Last year also saw the launch of the one day project programme. These projects enable the Green Team to work more closely with the local community, joining forces for local events and encouraging young people to come and do some conservation work in their own locality.

One successful community event this year was a tie-in with the Water of Leith Conservation Trust who were having a tidy up of the river on June 4th. The Green Team helped to uncover some millstones at the side of the river which have been chosen as the emblem of the Trust. These had become swamped in vegetation and in fact many more were discovered than had been expected. We also joined with other community groups in the general tidy up of the paths and river bank, cutting back vegetation which was blocking the path and removing large pieces of litter which had been thrown into the river.

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