Elisabeth Baudoul is a European Solidarity Corps volunteer from Belgium. She started her placement in the North of Scotland in July and will finish at the end of October.  She is working with our Reserves Project Officer, Beth Harwood and is undertaking a variety of practical management and species survey tasks on our reserves in the North of Scotland.  This is the first of her blogs.

Let me introduce you to one of my favourite workplaces: the beautiful Wildlife Reserve of Talich, located in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands.

The first time I visited Talich, it was to help in the monitoring of the Lesser Butterfly-Orchid and the Heath-Spotted Orchid which grows  in clearings in the middle of the woodlands. I will never forget how I felt carried away in a fairy tale that day. The place appeared so quiet and mystical to me. Since then, I have always felt a little guilty while strimming the footpath or speaking out loud there.

Beyond that, the reserve includes a forest of alder which is one of the most important remaining in this area. The alder tree is a pioneer species of riparian zones. It helps enrich the soil with more nutrients (thanks to its symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria), offers sheltered habitats for fish or water animals, provides support for mosses, lichens and fungi with which it creates mycorrhizae.

Due to deforestation, those forests have become scarce today. No wonder it is so important to protect and conserve those lands. Last time we went to Talich, we have contributed to it by setting up biodegradable tree guards on young alder trees recently sprouted around. I feel lucky for doing fieldwork there and being involved in the conservation of such a place.

Elisabeth Baudoul