The last AFT Newsletter is available here.



The Abriachan Forest Trust has gone from strength to strength providing a wonderful range of recreational and educational opportunities for local people, educational and community groups and visitors. Our hard work was recognised last year when we won the Multipurpose Woodland category in Scorland’s Finest Woodlands Awards. What impressed the judges was the sustained committment and enthusiasm of the volunteers, the innovative ideas and the management of the forest under our consultant Dietrich.

When people visit the forest they are incredulous that such a small community has achieved so much. One of our great strengths has been that Abriachan people appreciate what they have and want to put something back to ensure the survival of their community. We would like all our members and friends to help us celebrate this important landmark. We hope to run the first ever pedal-or-poleathon - a team challenge for nordic walkers and bikers, family fitness days with free mountain bike and nordic walking tuition, woodland arts and crafts and we will be having a Pictish long weekend with storytellers, arts and crafts, children's archaeology workshops and a pig roast. We will be offering our usual range of natural history workshops throughout the year.

Kilchuimen Primary School Day

We were delighted to have the entire school visit us on 14th March. We were lucky with the weather and all the children had the opportunity to see if they could survive in the woods. They planted trees, built shelters, made a fire and to mark out their territory they painted faces to hang up on the trees. Many thanks to Shona Amos who came to help out with the shelter building, Simon our Forest School Leader and the volunteers who helped make this day such a success. After a hard day's work the Riggs, Oich, Ness and Tarff clans earned some well-deserved leisure time in the playground. Thank you all for coming to Abriachan and for your excellent behaviour!

AFT Constitution

Our constitution was written over ten years ago - before Land Reform Legislaton and the Scottish Access Code. To comply with regulations that allow us to be a registered charity we now have to include child protection and equal opportunities and diversity clauses in our constitution. It is therefore essential that we revisit our constitution. Before we can make any changes to our constitution, we need 75% of our members to vote in favour of them. At a recent meeting in the village hall we did not have the majority of votes to adopt the proposed changes. One of the changes we wanted to include was for us to be able to register an interest in any land that might come up for sale. So if for example the Forestry Commission were going to dispose of sections of the neighbouring Creag Nay forest, we would be able to register an interest. Although AFT could register an interest, 49% of the membership would have to vote in favour of the purchase- provided we could raise the essential money- which is another story! All community groups have been advised to include a similar clause in their constitution which would enable them to purchase land that may come into the open market if that land would help them carry out their aims or give necesary access. We would like to thank all our members who attended the meeting on 21st March and those who returned proxy forms and we will be having another EGM on Friday 9th May. If you would like to discuss any of the proposed changes in the constitution you can contact any of our diectors: Chris Shone - chair, Lynn Birch - treasurer, Andrew McMillan, Suzann Barr, George Hawco, Liam Matheson, Rob Burnett, Darryl Thompson, Lorna Lumsden and Christine Matheson - Company Secretary. Similarly if you would like to become more involved in your community woodland we would be delighted to hear from you.

Membership

Yes it is that time of year again when we ask our members to renew their subscriptions and the good news is it remains at £1.00 . Membership is open to all adults on the parish voting role and we also have a category for junior members who do not have voting rights, but who have always been an important part of our organisation and have made many positive contributions. We are very grateful to all those people who pay their annual sub by standing order and we would ask those who have not yet taken out a standing order to consider this option. Standing orders make the renewal process easier for you, it is done automatically so you do not have to think about it and of course you can cancel a standing order whenever you want. It would also be a great help to our treasurer ! We are also giving out Gift Aid forms this year. If you pay tax, we can claim an additional 28p in every £ 1 donated because of our charitable status.

FOREST SKILLS AWARD : LEVEL 1 TRAINING
ABRIACHAN FOREST TRUST : MAY 7th – 9th

The Forest Skills Award is a level 1 qualification and is accredited through Open College Network (OCN). It is aimed at teachers, teaching assistants, parents, outdoor professionals, volunteers and young people over 16. This is an introduction to the Forest School approach to working in the outdoors with children and young people. This is a 3-day training course designed to give a basic overview of Forest School and serve as an ideal precursor to the level 3 Forest Practitioner training and is delivered by the FOREST SCHOOL TRAINING COMPANY with Simon Harry FS Level 3 Leader assisting.
The Forest Skills Award consists of 3 credits at level 1 contained in two units of study:
1. An Introduction to Learning and Development at Forest School - Looking at theories of learning and identifying appropriate experiences that support learning and development.
2. Basic Forest School Practical Skills – This unit covers recognising risk and environmental impact and carrying out a range of practical tasks.

The 3-day training
The formally delivered training elements make up approximately 24 taught hours.
All areas of learning will be covered by the tutors during the training course and will be supported by information from us in the form of handouts, recommended reading and useful websites. Each day will commence at 9am and finish at 5pm.