2024 was a really busy year for KFCG - thanks to all our volunteers who keep the trails clear; to all the people who record what they see in the forest; to all the people who share their knowledge of the forest in our citizen science sessions; to all the children and adults who are part of the developing the Forest School project; to our funders and partners who support our work as co-custodians of Kilsture.
HIGHLIGHTS OF 2024
JANUARY - on a cold evening in January the Whauphill Community Centre was filled to capacity for a fascinating talk about the History, Landscape and Wildlife of Kilsture by Peter Norman and Malcolm Haddow of South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre.
MARCH - We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). This is a big step forward for KFCG as it formalises our role as community partners in the management of Kilsture.
The Kilsture Forest Community Group (KFCG) represents the community interests in the area by having a greater involvement and responsibility into the future management of the Forest through providing a hub for the local communities to support, learn about and enjoyment of the forest with its range of natural habitats and recreational activities. |
Under the terms of the Understanding, we meet with FLS up to four times a year to discuss the management of the forest with the following objectives:
to conserve the natural heritage of the woodland and promote biodiversity
to manage the natural systems of the woodland through data collection to better understand forest ecosystems and how these could contribute to woodland management
to encourage community involvement through recreation, educaiton and health promoting activities.
to improve access and promote sustainable use.
In 2024 we had three very constructive meetings with the local FLS team, based in Newton Stewart. The meetings featured a lot of discussion about the forthcoming programme of thinning, set to start in November with a small area on the West side of the forest. This plan will be discussed at a public meeting we will be organising in April, to update the community on all the events and activities in Kilsture in 2025. Date and venue for the meeting will be announced in March.
APRIL – Kilgallioch Community Fund confirmed their support for Forest School leader Toni Lamont aka Ranger Toni to carry out a feasibility study into how Kilsture could host Forest School activities for primary age children in the Machars. She got started immediately, reaching out to all the primary schools and meeting with the Head Teachers to discuss how Forest School could be integrated into the school curriculum. Her vision is to ensure that every child in Machars will have the opportunity to take part in at least six Forest School during their time at primary school. See below for a quick summary of the taster sessions she ran in Kilsture in September.
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MAY – KFCG’s Mycorrhizal Symposium in May was the flagship event in our citizen science programme, bringing leading scientists and forest practitioners together in the County Buildings, Wigtown, for a day of stimulating presentations and discussions about the vital role played by mycorrhizal networks in the forest ecosystem.Â
See the blog about the symposium here.
JUNE – Our AGM featured a presentation from Malcolm Haddow from South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre giving us a summary of the first year of our Citizen Science Programme - see here for his presentation of the rich variety of species that have been recorded in the Forest. Below is a list Malcolm came up with of species which are under-recorded.
Lots of room for more valuable recording in 2025!
JULY - Ranger Toni ran a very successful and well-attended programme of Forest School activities for children during the summer holidays. Forest School is based on child-centred, outdoor education that supports learning through play and exploration in the natural world. See here for Ranger Toni's blog.
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AUGUST – Art | Science| Forest investigating soil on the forest floor in partnership with MAC-CAN as part of D&G Woodlands Summer Programme. This was a fascinating walk through Kilsture, investigating the soil through the eyes of an Artist a Scientist and a Forester.
See here for a blog about the event
SEMPTEMBER– Ranger Toni ran taster workshops with six local primary school. Groups of 10 children were collected from their school in the Whithorn Community Bus and taken to Kilsture for two hours of fun and learning in the forest. They were a runaway success and we are now looking for funding to run Forest School permanently in the forest from late 2025/ early 2026.
Below is a summary of the activities Ranger Toni ran.
SEPTEMBER
Inspiring Scotland Neighbourhood Ecosystem Fund confirmed their funding of 'Mapping the Ecosystem of Kilsture Forest' the next phase of our Citizen Science Programme. With the help of volunteers and lead by experts we will undertake surveys and other activities (woodland condition assessment; riparian and wetland habitat assessment; specific species surveys). South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre will then create an interactive map of all the new and existing data on all the flora and fauna to inform future nature restoration and woodland management activities.Â
Look out for the public meeting in April, presenting all this years activities.
We launched Monitoring Mondays on the first Monday of every month to go out into the forest to record wildlife together. Over the autumn, we focussed on recording the veteran trees and fungi
All Welcome - meet in the Kilsture carpark at 10am, first Monday of every month.
OCTOBER – Arts | Science | Forest in Kilsture We took another step into our research programme, bringing artist Morag Paterson, Woodland Ecologist Petra Guy and Forester Andy Macqueen together to spend the day in the forest to think about the future of Kilsture Forest from their different perspectives. At the end of the day, they met with trustees to give their first impressions of the forest and how they might work across their different disciplines to open up new ways of engaging to think about the future well-being of Kilsture. They were buzzing with excitement at all the possibilities which we aim to develop in an extended period of research and development into activities for community engagement. We will be posting again about the project soon. This project is funded by D&G Climate Hub, D&G Woodlands and Scottish Forestry. Look out for future posts about this project.
DECEMBER
Our annual Wishing Tree invites visitors to the forest to tie a ribbon on the tree and make a wish. Here are some wishes from this and previous years.
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"Christmas Greetings from Bute Community Forest! Great Idea! Really like your wood. Come and visit ours!"
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"Thank you for making a lovely walk magical."
"Brilliant idea to bring more people to the forest. Heard about the project in Dundowald (Belfast) and came to have a look."
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"One of our favourite woods to walk and now it’s got a special Christmas feel"
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 Coming up in 2025
We will be announcing the dates and detail of our programme in early Spring featuring:
a public meeting to update on events and activities in Kilsture - venue and date tbc.
launching our next phase of citizen science wildlife recording in Kilsture
a woodland condition assessment carried out by local volunteers who will be trained by a specialist
an assessment of the waterways in Kilsture with Galloway Fisheries
a reptile and amphibian survey with South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre
All these events are open to everyone and we look forward to welcoming you this new programme of events and activities.
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