Eykolina de Zwart has recently joined Solway Heritage as
its new Wood Pasture Project Officer. The Wood Pasture project has been developed, as part of the Heritage Lottery Funded
Sulwath Connections Landscape Project, in order to raise awareness of and to enhance this habitat in the Lower Dales of Dumfries
and Galloway and secure its continued presence for future generations. Eykolina has moved to the Dumfries and Galloway
area to help advertise and motivate people to recognise the importance of wood pastures in this area.
Wood pasture is a type of land use that includes the deliberate grazing
of grassland or heathland, combined with the management of trees and shrubs. All Wood Pasture contributes to landscape,
biodiversity and cultural heritage, but sites that have a long history of Wood Pasture are especially valuable for the conservation
of veteran trees, lichens, fungi and invertebrates.
This project aims to provide high quality advice
and practical assistance to landowners in the management of Wood Pasture, in order to enhance biodiversity, landscape and
cultural heritage values of these landscapes, and to raise awareness of the importance of this habitat with the public and
decision-makers. Eykolina will be carrying out site visits and assessing whether the wood pastures need more
trees to be planted or tree protectors to be erected.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is currently enhancing
a Wood Pasture on Barclye Farm, close to the RSPB Cree Valley reserve at Newton Stewart. The Wood Pasture presently
consists of a few trees and scrub but they have started a programme of selective native tree planting to ensure that when
the existing veteran trees start dying, new trees will extend the life of the Wood Pasture. So far they have planted
210 trees.
The Wood Pasture project is part of the larger Sulwath Connections Landscape
Project. This scheme covers the rivers and coastlands of the Scottish Solway between Stranraer and Langholm and includes
20 partnership projects with themes as diverse as riparian habitat management, disabled fishing access, access enhancement
and conservation of historic churchyards.
The Wood Pasture project is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, the Tubney
Charitable Trust, Landfill Tax Communities Fund, Forestry Commission Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.
If you have wood pastures on your property and
you would like to help protect this habitat please contact Eykolina and she will arrange to come and see you to discuss how
she can help.
