& thanks for all the fèis…
As our National Lottery Community Fund-supported work comes to a close, it feels like a good moment to pause, look back, and say thank you.
Not goodbye. Just thank you.
Three years ago, as our ‘Social Forestry’ project began, we hoped it would allow us to expand the ranger role, support volunteering, improve communications, strengthen partnerships and create more opportunities for people to engage with Glenan Wood.
It did all of those things. But like many worthwhile journeys, it also has taken us somewhere we hadn’t entirely expected.
Over the lifetime of the project we have hosted guided walks, conservation volunteering, archaeology surveys, deer festivals, campouts, school visits, citizen science projects, orchard days, apple pressing, community meals, seasonal celebrations, training events, consultation exercises and countless conversations in the woods.
Together we have removed non native conifers, repaired paths, built bridges, recorded species, uncovered stories, explored old settlements and helped care for one of Scotland’s internationally important temperate rainforest habitats.
We have welcomed hundreds of participants, worked alongside volunteers, collaborated with more than thirty partner organisations and built connections that now extend far beyond Glenan itself.
A Place to Gather
Yet the most important things we achieved are harder to count.
The woodland became a safe space where people could gather. A place where knowledge could be shared. A place where history, ecology and community can meet.
One consultation respondent described Glenan as:
“a safe inclusive therapeutic environment where people can reconnect with nature, build confidence, improve physical health and develop a sense of purpose.”
Another called it:
“a standing place of our hearts and somewhere we return to again and again.”
One of the most rewarding aspects of the project has been watching people step forward and make Glenan their own. Volunteers shared practical skills, historical knowledge, ecological expertise and enthusiasm. New friendships formed. New ideas emerged. New leaders appeared. There is pride in saying the project was something done with people rather than for people.
Ecology and Memory
Alongside this, our understanding of the community woodland itself has deepened.
The iNaturalist project, developed as part of the wider West Cowal Habitat Restoration Project, helped reveal the extraordinary biodiversity of Glenan and contributed to growing awareness of Scotland’s temperate rainforest. Through guided walks, herbivore impact assessments, habitat surveying, drone photography, citizen science, volunteer activity and partnership working; more people from around the parish have come to understand both the beauty and fragility of these habitats.
Many among us have come to the realisation that rainforest restoration is not simply about removing invasive species or protecting trees; it is about continuity.
The lichens and bryophytes that characterise temperate rainforest landscapes often depend upon ecological conditions that have developed over decades and centuries. Their future depends upon our willingness to think and act over similarly long timescales. At the same time, the archaeology work, the Cuid Oiche gathering place, seasonal festivals & work parties, craftwork with natural material, songs, stories and the many shared meals reminded us that cultural continuity matters too.
Our community woodland is not simply a collection of habitats, it is also a collection of stories. An ancestral place shaped by generations of people who lived, worked, travelled, gathered and celebrated here.
Perhaps the greatest lesson of the project has been that ecological restoration and community resilience move forward together. It is found in conversations around a fire, children pressing apples, volunteers working together to solve a problem, neighbours meeting for the first time on a technicolour night walk; discovering new reasons to care for a place.
What the Grant Made Possible
The grant also helped transform Friends of Glenan Wood as an organisation.
We created this website with it’s own online booking system, established regular communications with members, strengthened governance, created new partnerships and built the confidence to think more ambitiously about the future.
We even built a place for you to take a poo.
Today, Friends of Glenan Wood is better connected, better organised and better equipped than at any point in its history. Most importantly, we now have stronger foundations and are developing an emerging vision with our membership for the long-term stewardship of Glenan Wood.
None of this would have happened without the support of The National Lottery Community Fund.
We are equally grateful to everyone who contributed their time, energy, knowledge, encouragement and enthusiasm over the course of the project.
Whether you joined a guided walk, attended a festival, volunteered on a work party, helped record species, shared a story, lent a hand, offered advice or simply turned up for a pizza at an unlikely grid reference; thank you.
This post may mark the end of a grant, but it is not the end of the story.
The Story Continues
If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that good things happen when people come together around a shared place and a shared purpose.
Work is already underway on the next chapter, including new opportunities through rainforest restoration partnerships and plans to develop our heritage, archaeology and community engagement work further.
The most enduring legacy of this project may not be any individual event, piece of infrastructure or volunteer activity. Rather, it is that together, we have developed a respect, awareness and love for the social, cultural, ecological and organisational foundations required to steward the nationally important temperate rainforest landscape we call home.
So, So long, and thanks for all the fish.
And the deer.
And the apples.
And the lichen licking.
And the brews & blethers around the campfire.
Rhyddian Knight for Friends of Glenan Wood.
