On Friday, 25th March, a band of volunteers from the local community met to plant approximately 100 native trees in the recently established wildlife area in the Castle Douglas Carlingwark Park.
A mixture of native species including Alder, Cherry, Birch and Rowan were planted around the site, primarily in the recently established wildflower area. The project was led by Castle Douglas Community Council, with input from volunteers in the local community.
Martin Fortnum from Castle Douglas Community Council, said:
“Lochside Park is a major attraction in the town and the Community Council are keen to keep it looking as good as possible. The benefits from tree planting are well known so we are glad to have been able to lead on this initiative.”
Dumfries & Galloway Councillor Iain Howie oversaw the project and took part in the planting. Councillor Howie said:
“This particular area in the park has proved problematic for a number of years due to flooding making it impossible to cut the grass with large lawnmowers. This is in fact phase two of a programme to remedy the issue and compliments last year’s sowing of wildflower seeds. Hopefully the benefits will become apparent in the not-too-distant future’.
The trees were purchased using funding secured through the South of Scotland Tree Planting Grant Scheme – this is just one of what is now more than 60 grants supported by the scheme across Dumfries & Galloway, with planting taking place from Langholm to Stranraer. It is planned that the scheme will fund the planting of more than 11,000 native trees in Dumfries & Galloway before April 2022. The Scheme is funded by a range of partners, including the Galloway Glens Scheme, Woodland Trust, Scottish Forestry, the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, the Region Wide Community Fund and South of Scotland Enterprise.
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