Site works have started on a community woodland in Inverclyde – shaped by community input and a desire to improve accessibility alongside creating more diverse habitats for wildlife.
The popular 20 hectare site on the edge of Kilmacolm includes woodland and expanses of grassland and enjoys views out to the Arrochar Alps and Ben Lomond. Community consultations showed that the two most popular aspirations were, ‘better habitats for wildlife and plants’ and ‘tree planting (done sensitively)’.
Respondents to the consultations also said they valued the views out to distant hills, so we have ensured our planting scheme won’t obscure the views. Tranquillity and access to nature were also valued
Habitat diversity
Works taking place include improving habitat diversity by planting new oak woodland and creating areas of wet woodland. The oak trees should attract a range of birds, mammals and invertebrates along with a variety of plants in the understory. Oak trees planted near the north western boundary will stop seeds from neighbouring non-native conifers dispersing across the site.
Species being planted in the wet woodland include white willow, downy birch and alder. A wetland area is being created through digging wader scrapes in a naturally boggy section of the site. These habitats should attract beetles, craneflies, moths, fungi and mosses.
Pathways through the woodland will be bordered by shrubs such as hazel and rowan – creating a natural transition between woodland and open ground. One section of the path gets very boggy where it crosses a small burn, and we are upgrading this to improve accessibility.
Louisa, Head of Operations at Green Action Trust, says, “We are excited to continue improving this site in Kilmacolm that we took over a couple of years ago. After a difficult winter and stormy winter (2024/25) with lots of fallen trees impacting our neighbours, we have now finished dealing with those trees that posed a risk and are ready to start wider site improvements.
“Our aim is to improve the woodland, grassland and wetland habitats of this site for wildlife and keep it a natural, interesting place for people to walk locally. As well as planting trees, we will plant pollinator-friendly wildflowers.”
Please get in touch if you would like to help with planting wildflowers, or want to get involved in any other opportunities on the site.
Read more about the background to the project, along with detail on results from the community consultation.