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Framwellgate School students had the idea to construct bird boxes in an attempt to provide assistance to all birdlife, not only as resource in the community garden/ allotment, but also to gift to different community groups to assist their respective environment. All the student were fully employed and enthusiastic with the project . . . . to differing levels of success!!!
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Students planting bulbs in the Community Garden/ Allotment. All students were involved in the planning of the planting process, the preparation of the ground and the planting of the bulbs. The students enjoyed the fresh air and are looking forward to the bulbs flowering in the springtime!!
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As I live on the edge of the Trossachs, I thought it would be nice to explore this area in more depth as part of my award. I want to visit at different times of the year, in different weather and really explore the nooks and crannies! As part of our health and wellbeing, employees of the National Park are involved in a Fit for Life project, taking 15 minutes out of their day to exercise. I have been using this time when in the Callander Office to walk around some of the wonderful areas in Callander, including Callander Meadows. The weather has been really wild over the last couple of weeks with a lot of rain, wind and sleet. It was incredible to see the meadows flooding on 2nd February, but by 7th the levels were right down again, although a little damp still. Traditionally, the meadows would have been cut in the summer months,. but they are now left, with areas of alder recently being planted, and some really important wet meadow and wet woodland.
Despite it only being February, there are already signs of spring! There are catkins on the hazel, and buds on the willows are looking really plump, ready to burst. On 7th, there was a woodpecker drumming away. The fishing season has started and the water was still high but still. I love watching the stillness of fly fishing, and it was so nice to see people out enjoying the river.
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Pic 1 - The cottages at Clifton, built for the workers of the lead mines in the hill above. Pic 2 - Heading down through the forestry towards Cononish, Ben Lui towering over the trees. Pic 3 - Ben Lui
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Pic 1 - Litter collected in the car park. Pic 2 - Lochan of the Legend of the Lost Sword. Pic 3 - Deer on the hillside. Pic 4 - The barren landscape where theLead Smelting Mill once stood.
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The Tyndrum area of the National Park was one that I was very keen to explore. I knew that the area was great for walking and has an interesting history, but I'd never been able to spend any time there. So when I saw that there was going to be a good day of weather that coincided with some last minute annual leave, I decided to head North and do some exploring, discovering and conserving.
I parked the car at Dalrigh, the start of my circular walk. Loki, my German Shepherd Dog was joining me for the day and was raring to go! Unfortunately he had to wait for a while, as I did a litter pick of the car park. The rubbish all looked fairly recent and I'm happy to say that there wasn't as much as I thought there would be. Mostly cans and sweet wrappers. By the end of the day though, picking litter as I walked, I'd managed to fill a large bag-for-life. Really pleased that, for now, this beautiful walk is litter free.
We set off along the West Highland Way towards Tyndrum, stopping to watch a bird of prey glide overhead. Not sure what it was, but it was smaller than a buzzard and it's silhouette was definitely the wrong shape for a buzzard. Whatever it was it was on the look out for an early lunch!
At a waterfall we gave a friendly wave to a couple of men who were clambering on the rocks, we were to bump into them a couple more times during our walk. The water was crystal clear, without the usual peaty brown colouring of many of the rivers here.
Not much further on we stopped at the Lochan of the Legend of the Lost Sword. How could you not stop here? The legend says that when Robert the Bruce was defeated in battle at Dalrigh, he ordered his men to cast their swords into the Lochan, so that they could make quick their escape. Today the Lochan was mostly frozen over and looked quite deep and dark.
I settled myself down on a heather covered knoll to eat my lunch while Loki stood guard. It's funny how you take a quick glance at a scene and think you've taken it all in, but then with a bit of time and patience you realise that things aren't quite what they first appeared to be. Looking across at the slopes of Creag Bhan Eigheach I first saw a scattering of boulders near to the horizon. It was only after a period of time that I realised the boulders were slowly making their way across the hillside. It was a herd of deer! I zoomed in with my camera to take a better look, it was a lovely sight and a special moment in the day.
The two waterfall men appeared on the path behind me and asked if they were heading the right way for Tyndrum. After showing them their location on my map I pointed out the deer to them and they were quite excited. We chatted briefly before they went on their way, leaving me to the peace and quiet of the Lochan. I noticed that it wasn't just heather on the knoll, but also lots of tiny saplings. In a few years time it will probably be quite a different view.
Having finished lunch and still having a long walk ahead of us, we set off again along the path. Soon we arrived at a totally barren area, where the Tyndrum Lead Smelting Mill used to be. Not a blade of grass grows here. Lead ore was brought down from the mines in the hills above to be crushed and smelted here before the ingots were taken by pack horse to Alloa, 30 miles away. Our new friends the Waterfall men were reading the information board here and we got chatting again. They were doing their own form of Exploring and Discovering, having recently got their bus passes. They pick a day, head to Buchanan Street Bus Station and just get on a bus to somewhere with no destination in mind, a mystery tour! Today had brought them up to Tyndrum. I thought this was a great idea, always going somewhere new.
I said goodbye to the men and didn't see them again. I wonder where they'll end up next?
The path took us away from the barren landscape and back into beautiful woodland alongside the Crom Allt. Loki went for a quick swim in the sparkling water. We detoured into Tyndrum, past the cottages at Clifton which were originally built for the workers in the lead mines.
Back on our route again, we crossed the railway line at Tyndrum Lower Station and followed the signpost to Cononish. The woodland was now typical forestry, row upon row of pine trees. There wasn't a bird singing or any sign of wildlife. Soon the snow covered slopes of Ben Lui were rising up in front of us, towering over the trees. We stopped for a while where the trees ended, at the junction with the track leading to the Cononish Gold Mine. The view of Ben Lui at the head of the glen was just stunning.
We joined the track leading back down to Dalrigh, noting the old Scots Pines covering the banks on the far side of the River Cononish. It became a lot colder as the sun disappeared behind Beinn Dubhchraig behind us. The moon rising over Beinn Challuim in front of us. A noticeboard told us that to our left had once stood the township of Newton, which housed the workers from the lead smelting mill. The lead mines closed in 1865 and by 1898 Newton had been abandoned. We soon met the turning for the Lochan where we had stopped for lunch and were back on familiar ground.
Back at the car we took a moment to reflect on our day, the people we met, the wildlife we saw. It was a wonderful day of exploring. My plan is now to organise a walk here for the Scottish Women's Walking Group, to share with them the things that I have learned about the area. I hope they enjoy it as much as I have!
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Towards the end of the day we set about planning our new Wild Flower Garden at the front of our Springburn Campus. This garden will be flooded with sunlight and home to what we hope will be a new family of wild flowers! However the litter would come across would be our first task before a spade is even put into the ground! As a team we worked for the second half of the afternoon working in pairs to gather as much litter as we could, only through working like this and supporting the other teams within our college can we hope to conserve and maintain our green spaces that have become so vital to our learning! Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in.........
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Today we found ourselves back at our college Green Space with a full afternoons work in front of us! Through the generosity of our friends at Pollock we were able to plant almost sixty Crocus Bulbs throughout the Wild Flower Garden. These are certain to add some light and colour as the weeks go by and we creep towards Spring!! It was the idea of the Rangers to re-use these bulbs that would otherwise may not have been used to such great effect. Adding these to the Primrose is certainly a colourful way to spend your day as shown by the learners in the pictures. Little did they know their day was about to go from Great to RUBBISH!!!!