Company Details
Name: Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands
Date Founded: 2023
Sector: Environmental
Key Products/Services: Supporting trees, habitats and the people that depend upon them.
Website URL: www.dgwoodlands.org.uk
Executive Summary
Our core aim is to fulfil landowner ambitions for native woodland creation across the region. In addition to this, we have a thriving education/engagement role, we are working with the commercial sector to ‘add value’ and community wealth building benefits to woodland creation schemes and are leading the ‘Woodland Laboratory’ project at a woodland near Dalbeattie, with funding support from SOSE.
The Challenge
The Woodland Laboratory is a recently clear-felled commercial site, badly impacted by Storm Arwen in 2021. The terrain, the layout of the site and the impact of weather events in our changing climate means this is a sub-optimal site for commercial production, a vital part of the South of Scotland economy. Trees – primarily Birch – are getting established across the site through natural regeneration. This project aims to better understand the role natural regeneration has on sub-optimal commercial sites, and the impact of innovative treatments on ecology, amenity and economic implications on the site and the wider area.
The Solution
Focusing on natural capital innovation, treatments under consideration include the application of fungal treatments, wildfire suppression technologies, strategic thinning and companion planting. Baseline surveys have been undertaken, including soil carbon cycling and mycorrhizal surveys. Research partners are being engaged, including the University of Glasgow and University of Birmingham Forestry Department.
The Impact
The woodland laboratory project aims to draw research activity into the region, aligning with the ambitions of the national Natural Capital Innovation Zone, transforming the South of Scotland into a living lab and learning hub. It is using this opportunity to trial the impact of innovative, and as yet untried, forestry management techniques to influence the economic, environmental and social opportunities deriving from woodlands that might be considered ‘sub-optimal’ for regular commercial forestry activities.
Undertaking the project itself is already delivering an economic benefit for the region, with more than 75% of expenditure so far being with D&G based businesses.
Future Plans
2025 will see the completion of baseline surveys and visitor infrastructure on site.
2026 will finalise the agreed list of treatments to be adopted in the woodland laboratory, potentially with the appointment of key research partners.
The visitor infrastructure will ensure this becomes a local asset, delivering benefits to the local community and local businesses as a case study and innovative woodland laboratory in the region for knowledge transfer.
The impact of the project will be measured through economic, environmental and social indicators and will feed in the Borderlands SOS Natural Capital Programme and the Regional Land Use Partnership.