Recently, Clydesdale Community Initiatives (CCI) and the Clyde and Avon Valley Landscape Partnership (CAVLP) were awarded £45,000 for environmental volunteering projects throughout the Clyde and Avon Valley. They are going to deliver a whopping 168 volunteering sessions on a wide range of environmental and conservation projects such as path maintenance here on the Falls of Clyde Reserve.

Many of the free sessions are open to local communities and will take place on sites owned or managed by CAVLP partners including Falls of Clyde, New Lanark, South Lanarkshire Council, North Lanarkshire Council, RSPB – Baron’s Haugh and SNH – Clyde Valley Woodlands National Nature Reserves.

They are looking for volunteers to help them carry out the works and in return there will be opportunities to undertake formal training certificates in disciplines from chainsaw skills to pesticide applications. If you know of anyone who is looking to get into conservation as a career or is just interested in doing some practical conservation volunteering then I urge you to get in touch with CCI. Please email dawn@cciweb.org.uk or call 01555 664 211 for further information.

Practical conservation work is vital in helping improve the quality of habitat for plants and animals to thrive. You may remember a few weeks ago the Rangers were carrying out a rare wildflower survey. We have a list from many years ago and we are going back out to see how they are doing. We have recently been lucky enough to find a patch of Early Purple Orchids flowering on the reserve (pictured). Also, regular visitors to the Falls of Clyde may have noticed that areas we have opened up through conifer thinning are now flowering with Bluebells and Red Campion. These flowers have lain dormant just waiting for the sun to shine upon them once more!

Laura Preston – Scottish Wildlife Trust, Falls of Clyde Ranger