When is a Woodland Really a Woodland? (And what does it have to do with a picture of curlews, not in a wood...)
Recently, while researching the historic Duchrae Bank Wood featured in Crockett’s novel ‘The Dark o’ the Moon’ , I stumbled upon a consultation proposal that stopped me in my tracks. The plan? A 307-hectare "woodland" at Duchrae Farm West. Sounds promising, right? But here’s the catch—this so-called woodland is actually a Sitka Spruce plantation. As someone who espouses the mantra "woods are good," I find this troubling. A plantation is not a woodland. In fact, it’s not even a forest—it’s a commercial venture designed for timber, not biodiversity. And yet, the term "woodland" is being tossed around casually to describe something that lacks the essence of a true natural space. Let’s break it down: What’s the Difference? 1. Woodland - Tree Density: Lower density, more spaced-out trees. - Understory: Rich in shrubs, grasses, and wildflowers thanks to sunlight. - Biodiversity: High—teeming with a variety of plant and animal life. - Human Influence: Often shaped by natural activities like grazing. 2. Forest - Tree Density: Dense canopy with less light reaching the ground. - Understory: Shaded, with mosses, ferns, and fungi thriving. - Biodiversity: High, with species adapted to low light conditions. - Natural Processes: Shaped by nature, from fire to natural succession. 3. Plantation - Origin: Human-made, with trees planted in uniform rows. - Biodiversity: Low—usually just one or two tree species. - Structure: Uniform, with trees of the same age and size. - Management: Intensively managed for commercial purposes like timber or biofuel. Now, does option 3 sound like a woodland to you? Because it doesn’t to me. I believe we need to be more careful with the words we use. Calling a Sitka Spruce plantation a "woodland" not only misrepresents the truth but also diminishes the value of real woodlands. True woodlands are biodiverse, rich ecosystems that support a variety of life—from plants to animals like the whaup, (or curlew) a bird native to these parts. Planting more trees is great, but not all tree planting is equal. Replacing muirland with a monoculture plantation doesn't support local wildlife or ecosystems. It’s brilliant to restore and create woodlands, especially in Dumfries and Galloway, but calling a commercial plantation a woodland is misleading. In Crockett’s ‘Night in a Galloway Wood’ (listen here) [from Bog Myrtle and Peat 1895) he gives us a vivid picture of what a true Galloway wood feels like. The sounds of birds, the sense of life buzzing all around—that’s the picture a "woodland" should conjure. A Sitka plantation, with its rows of identical trees and lack of biodiversity, paints a very different picture. Words matter, and using "woodland" and "plantation" interchangeably doesn’t do justice to the environments we’re trying to protect. We need to restore and protect our natural spaces, but we also need to be honest about what’s being created. Let’s champion true woodlands, and make sure we preserve the essence of what makes them so vital to our planet and wildlife. Let’s not give woodlands a bad name. The 'consultation' exercise is to be held on 24th and 25th September. Find out more HERE. Whaups were important to Crockett as is evidenced by their mention on the poem R.L.Stevenson wrote for him which is quoted on the Crockett Memorial: Blows the wind to-day, and the sun and the rain are flying, Blows the wind on the moors to-day and now, Where about the graves of the martyrs the whaups are crying, My heart remembers how! Grey recumbent tombs of the dead in desert places, Standing Stones on the vacant wine-red moor, Hills of sheep, and the howes of the silent vanished races, And winds, austere and pure! Be it granted me to behold you again in dying, Hills of home! and to hear again the call; Hear about the graves of the martyrs the peewees crying; And hear no more at all.
0 Comments
‘Time brings changes’: Duchrae Bank Woods and the Roman Camp.
2024 marks 300 years since the peak of the Galloway Levellers Rebellion. For more about this see the links at the end of this blog. So what is the Crockett Connection? The Levellers Rebellion of 1724 is the historic setting for Crockett’s 1902 novel The Dark o’ The Moon (the little known sequel to The Raiders). As is usual with Crockett’s work, ‘big’ history is relegated to subplot behind the adventure/romance. In this case the story revolves around Maxwell Heron (son of Patrick Heron and May Maxwell of The Raiders fame) and his love for Joyce Faa (daughter of Hector Faa, the ‘evil’ gypsy brother of John Faa -aka Silver Sand). One key location for the novel is the meeting of the Levellers at ‘the Roman camp’ at Duchrae Bank Woods. In Raiderland (1904) Crockett’s final chapter (Thirty Two) is ‘The Diary of an Eighteenth Century Galloway Laird’ (pp327-358 in the Galloway Raiders Digital Edition available free below) He writes of Duchrae Bank Woods thus: A son of the richest tenant on the estate is called upon to decide the worth of certain grazing privileges, which will be forfeited if the wood in the Duchrae bank is cut down. The young man takes two days to arrive at a decision. We can see him standing, gravely computing what his father and he will lose by the new arrangement—knit brows, bonnet pulled well down, neither anxious to favour the new powers that- be (who may one day have the letting of a larger farm), nor yet willing to do anything unjust to the interests of his father. He will not ‘blood the laird.’ Neither will he curry favour with him. So after maturest consideration he assesses the damage at two bullocks of the value of five pounds each. And on that basis, without a word the bargain is struck... "That I might have an Idea of this wood of Duchrae Bank, now fitt age for cutting, I went through the whole on the morning of the 24th, Andrew McMin of Urioch being my conductor. In his house I afterwards breakfasted. I found that the wood consisted but of small bounds, planting irregular, with a deal of brushwood owing to its not being taken good care of in its infancy; but few oaks and ashes – and few even of those, particularly of the oaks, good... "Having been applyed to by an English company through Mr. Livingston of Airds, whose woods they are presently cutting, to know if I would sell them such woods as I inclined to cutt, I made answer that as my wood of Duchbrae Bank was of a proper age for cutting I inclined to sell it. But as damages must be paid the Tenant, for the liberty of cutting, burning, carrying away and haining the woods afterwards, during the remainder of his Tack (and as I always incline to do all my business with the partie I have to do with, without troubling a third) I aplyed to the Tenant, William McConochie, a young man, son of James (McConochie), who is the richest tenant on the estate, to know what I must allow, desiring him to think of it and to inform me. He accordingly, after two days' consideration, informed me he reckoned the ground was equal to the maintainance of two Bullocks through the year, which he valued at 5 guineas yearly, upon which terms I might proceed to sell, cutt, etc., when I pleased. Less he could not take, as the shelter of the woods through the winter, with the food therein, was of importance to his cattle."... I should note that a lot of the above very much reads like the plot for Crockett’s novel The Loves of Miss Anne (1904) so that I suppose Crockett is re-using historical research material readily available to him while compilation of Raiderland is underway. All this aside, it has me wondering, what is the state of Duchrae Bank Woods (and the ‘Roman Camp’) today. I know that the Hensol Estates were sold in 2018 and at that point in time the following was written about the woods: The forestry element of Hensol covers almost a third of the estate, and is a particular feature. Of the 352 acres of woodland, 182 acres are conifers and 170 acres are mixed broadleaves. The woods are a key part of the landscape. They provide amenity, shooting coverts, timber production, and livestock shelter. The vendor has a long term forest plan (prepared by Langholm based consultants, Forest and Land Management Ltd.) which began in 2014 and runs up until 2034. It identifies plantations which can be maintained, thinned and in due course felled. The objectives of the forest plan incorporate a cash flow for the estate, create a long term positive carbon sequestration sink, protect and improve environmental and archaeological features, and increase the estate’s sporting capability. There is considerable potential for a large scale afforestation programme. I feel an (armchair) adventure coming on. If anyone has any ideas please either email [email protected] or get in touch via Facebook Links. To the ‘history’ of Galloway Levellers Rebellion. Local historian Alasdair Livingstone who died in 2018 did a lot of research on this topic. https://greengalloway.blogspot.com/2017/10/galloway-levellers-talk-22-october.html https://theses.gla.ac.uk/874/1/2009livingstonmphil.pdf (2009) And there are a couple of other history based YouTube videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FA4fuGqfSk and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPiv5v3Ea-M Links to Crockett’s work (all free PDF Galloway Raiders Digital Complete Crockett Collection) The Complete Collection https://www.gallowayraiders.co.uk/read.html The Dark o’ The Moon (1902) https://srcrockett.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/4/7/18474692/dom21.pdf The Loves of Miss Anne (1904) https://srcrockett.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/4/7/18474692/missanne21.pdf Raiderland (1904) https://srcrockett.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/4/7/18474692/raiderland21.pdf |
2024Celebrating Galloway Raiders 10th Anniversary. Archives
October 2024
Categories
All
|