Project Examples

Balmacassie, Ellon
Delgatie Castle
Craibstone Estate
Troup Head
Kittybrewster Primary School
The Allotment Project

Balmacassie, Ellon

In 2005 BTCV started work in Balmacassie community woodland. A large 5 hectare area of farmland nestled between industrial and housing estates. The first step to transforming the area was to plant the trees to comprise the woodland.

To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the National Tree Week about 400 volunteers from in and around Ellon managed to plant 7000 trees. The trees planted included native broadleaves Willow, Alder, Ash, Oaks, Elms, Hawthorn and Blackthorn.

The tree planting project was a cooperation of the Ellon Biodiversity Action Group, the Aberdeenshire Council, the Forestry Commission, the Rotary Club and BTCV. Since the initial tree planting event, a further 3000 trees were planted by members of BTCV Aberdeen Green Gym and Midweek Group and work has begun to restore a drystane wall which marks one of the woodlands’ major boundaries. The progress on the wall is clearly visible with a significant portion having been rebuilt already. Our Midweek Group have also been involved in building a kissing gate at one of the entrances to the woodland with another gate due to be installed in the near future.

The woodland at Balmacassie has come on in leaps and bounds and is continuing to become not only a thriving woodland creating a habitat for many native plant and animal species, but also a delightful community park enjoyed by many local residents. With the Broomies Burn flowing through the site, the glades within the woods, the picnic area and the proposed interpretation panel the area is blossoming.

To date the work and effort of hundreds of volunteers has transformed a barren piece of former agricultural land into a young woodland, creating an oasis where people can relax or take a peaceful walk and watch as the trees grow into a beautiful native woodland.

Delgatie Castle

One of the Aberdeen Midweek Group’s longest running projects has been in the grounds of Delgatie Castle. The original castle dates back to around 1050, although much of the modern building was rebuilt in 1570 to provide fortification against siege guns. The castle has largely been in the hands of the Hay family since 1314. The death of last Feudal Baron, Captain Hay, left the castle in Trust in 1997. It is still the oldest inhabited building in Britain. The grounds also hold old farm cottages converted to self catering holiday homes and an artificial loch.

The castle houses the extremely popular tearoom run by our ‘Aunty Joan’, whose lunches for volunteers have always made this our most heavily subscribed project. In order to earn those delicious lunches there are always a variety of interesting tasks to undertake which increase its popularity. From taking care of the flower beds to improving access through the creation of steps and paving surfaces, it is a marvellous area where the results of our work are clearly visible.

Our latest project at Delgatie involves renovating the ‘Three Island Pond’, a network of islands in an artificial pond which will provide rich new wildlife habitat. This has so far involved extensive scrub clearance from encroaching willow. The hugely popular task of wading through the pond to reach the more extensive and often submerged willow provides a great deal of excitement for all involved. We are already seeing remarkable results with the island network now clearly visible from the path. The original bridges adjoining the islands are also more apparent and the scrub which we are removing is providing some excellent habitat piles for many small members of the Delgatie wildlife community. In December 2007 we designed and built a wooden bridge at the end of the Victorian terrace to provide a safer crossing point over the Delgatie Burn into the surrounding woodland.

A hedge consisting of different species of holly has been planted to provide a natural border to the woodland path Future plans for Delgatie are likely to include opening up the woodlands through the improvement of the woodland path and completion of the Three Island Pond clearance.

Craibstone Estate

Craibstone Estate is situated on the outskirts of Aberdeen city. It houses the Scottish Agricultural College Aberdeen campus and throughout the estate there are numerous areas to explore including the Arboretum, walled gardens, woodlands and farmland. Being an active agricultural college there is the opportunity to view real life farming practices, with cattle, pigs and sheep all being raised on site. One of the main purposes of BTCV’s work on the estate is to improve access so that both students and members of the public can use the estate as a recreational walking area.

Craibstone houses a wide array of plants and wildlife and the arboretum is home to a large selection of tree species from throughout the world. Within the arboretum BTCV Aberdeen has been involved in clearing smaller tree specimens to create greater space around the more successful trees and plants. Trees overhanging the paths are also trimmed to keep the paths clear and safe for their users.

Much of the work done by the green gym and mid week groups involves footpath creation and maintenance in order to increase access within the woodlands. To date this has included constructing waymarkers to provided some guidance on where the various paths lead, building a footbridge over one of the streams which weaves through the estate and creating borders around the paths in order to encourage people not to stray off of them.

Being an active agricultural college with a thriving student population BTCV regularly works with the students throughout the summer months. Students can volunteer as part of their courses and get involved in all the practical work we do within the estate. The SAC at Craibstone is also the location of some BTCV Scotland training courses which run throughout the year. These courses provide opportunities for people to learn new skills relevant to conservation at a place where the application of these skills can easily be observed.

Troup Head

Troup Head RSPB Reserve is home to the only mainland gannet colony in Scotland. It also provides habitat for significant populations of fulmar, cormorant, shag, guillemot and razorbill. In the spring and summer months puffins are also frequent visitors to the area. The reserve offers incredible panoramic views of the Moray Firth coast with the opportunity to spot dolphins, porpoise and seals off the coast. The area is managed for its excellent wildlife habitat whilst members of the public are encouraged to visit and learn about the birds and mammals that live there.

BTCV volunteer groups from Aberdeen and Inverness are working together to improve visitor access to the steep rugged cliffs of the reserve through the construction of stone steps. This will allow visitors to explore the cliff top more safely. The project is set to continue to completion in spring 2008.

Kittybrewster Primary School

BTCV Aberdeen Midweek volunteers and Green Gym volunteers have been working on the creation of a wildlife garden for the children of Kittybrewster Primary School in Aberdeen. An existing neglected grassy area of the schools playground has been transformed by the construction of a wood chip path that allows children of all ages and abilities to easily access and explore the garden. We have also carried out repairs to the eroding soil and grass border of the area and built a wooden revetment to contain it. The garden is designed for use as an outdoor class room for environmental education so wooden benches have been installed as seating for the children.

Children from the school have been planting native wildflowers throughout the garden to encourage insects and birds to visit. Bird nest boxes have also been put up high in the trees for breeding songbirds. The schools pupils will continue to add more features to the garden in 2008 to make it their own.

We are looking forward to attending the opening ceremony of the garden with the children, parents and teachers who inspired the project.

The Allotment Project

BTCV Green Gym's allotment is situated within Aberdeen and is part of an allotment site consisting of 6 plots. Green Gym has 1.5 plots that are used for organic vegetable growing and composting. Volunteers from all walks of life can learn how to grow their own organic vegetables by “learning by doing”.

At the same time the landscaping and construction tasks are a real challenge - at the moment we are laying a path, building several cold frames and vegetable beds. From March onwards we will plant lots of different vegetables such as turnips, potatoes, cabbage, salad, courgettes, beans, radish, rhubarb and many more. The harvest is happening throughout the year and will be shared between all participants on the project days.

A future aim is also to create different habitats to attract wildlife. So we are planning to have our own small wildflower nursery on site to accompany and support the growth of our vegetables by attracting pollinators and keeping off pests.