In the aftermath of April’s wildfire in Glen Rosa, action to regenerate the area has already begun. The damage is still being assessed but early surveys estimate that over 15,000 trees were lost, as well as numerous reptiles and amphibians. Luckily, a few of the young, and extremely rare, whitebeams survived. The response by the community has been overwhelming, and just a couple of weeks after the fire, 90 volunteers set out for the day, planting over 6,000 trees. The National Trust for Scotland has also set up a page for people to donate to support the Glen’s recovery. See details below. All image credits: Arran Ranger Service.
The Arran Ranger Service has been posting updates on their Facebook page:
Small miracles amongst the devastation
Yesterday I went out to assess the impact of the fire in Glen Rosa. A fairly depressing sight with thousands of burnt young trees, dead reptiles and frogs and all our yellow meadow anthills seem completely destroyed.
However, there are some miracles out there… the Rowan tree who we consider the ‘Guardian of the Glen’ is completely untouched, in part due to Jo and John beating out the fire around it. I found two adders still very much alive, and some of our family planting area has escaped the flames as well as one or two Arran whitebeams.
We have big tree planting plans for the glen on top of replanting those we’ve lost – please consider dedicating a tree today and you’ll help this special place recover.
Please help us look after Glen Rosa by taking your litter home (it is thought a glass bottle was probably the cause of the wildfire), not lighting fires, and supporting our tree planting which will eventually reduce the impact of future fires as woodland can act as a natural fire break.
Once again thank you to all those who have helped, offered help and given words of support.
