The visit allowed us to speak with staff and volunteers, young and old and to recognise what an important asset Dunnet Community Forest is to a fairly wide community. It has prompted me to follow up on certain specifics, such as the Volunteer Friendly and Scottish Ranger awards and to look into ways of engaging young people in the management and study of our own community wood. It was good that one of our younger volunteers, who is making his way as a forestry professional, was able to make the trip and pick up lots of information that will serve him well in his career.

Although the woods are very different in terms of location and landscape there were lots of great ideas that are transferable to our woodland. This includes using brash as a deterrent for deer when planting trees instead of plastic tree guards, working with young people and volunteers, improving grasslands and learning about long term woodland management. Although our woodland is not as large we have the same challenges and it was great to discuss ways of meeting them.

Learning Outcomes

• Learn some of the methods Dunnet Community Forest has used to sustain engagement with different community demographics and about their small enterprise by joining for Saturday morning log sale to learn more.
• Learn about the results achieved and the plans created for the future.
• Learn about some of the extensive collaborations that support this community woodland group.

"Dunnet CF is a very different forest from our own and has required a huge effort to even start to get it into shape. I applaud the effort of the team of volunteers and staff over the years. I do not see us running a similar log scale operation but I picked up some tips about log extraction and storage which may be useful to us. It was good to learn about the youth volunteering sessions and to meet some of the keen participants. Also good to learn about the butterfly bank and what is involved. I will look into the Volunteer Friendly Award and the SCRA Scottish Junior Ranger Award. "