Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation trustee George McIntyre, left, and manager Kay Jackson with Alan Watson Featherstone, executive director, Trees for Life
A charity is pushing for final funds to enable it to restore a remote Highlands bothy.
Trees for Life is £30,000 short of its target to bring back the Athnamulloch Bothy in Glen Affric into use.
The bothy was used by volunteers planting new Scots pine trees in the Caledonian forest in the area, but it became unsafe and was closed in 2008.
Its appeal for a total of £137,000 has been boosted by a recent donation from the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation. Film-maker Gordon Buchanan, whose television credits include Big Cat Diary and Springwatch, is also backing the appeal.
Trees for Life wants to plant 250,000 trees to extend Glen Affric’s endangered forests further west, creating vital forest corridors and habitats for unique wildlife.
Mr Buchanan said: “For me, time spent in Glen Affric’s ancient forest is precious.
“Watching eagles soaring against the mountain peaks, red squirrels in the branches and glimpsing pine martens hunting amongst the heather is as wild and remote an experience as Britain can offer. How lucky we are to have this unique and wonderful landscape.
“The problem is that this forest is tiny, and these ancient pines are just a fragment of the forest that once filled the glen. Further west, the grasslands are silent and empty, and the only signs of the former forest that once grew there are tree roots scattered in the peat.
Gordon Buchanan
“I am thrilled to be supporting Trees for Life’s appeal for a new base in Glen Affric. It’s not possible to plant trees in this remote location without a place for volunteers to stay. We now have a fantastic opportunity to renovate Athnamulloch Bothy in the western glen, saving it from dereliction and bringing it back to life.”
Detailed plans have now been drawn up to renovate the building to a high ecological standard while retaining its rustic character, and the charity has signed a 25-year lease for the building with Forestry Commission Scotland, which manages the area. Donations and grants have contributed towards much of the total £137,000 cost.
The most recent of these grants is £20,000 from the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation based in Fochabers. Brothers Gordon and Ian Baxter, with their wives Ena and Margaret, established the foundation in 1981 so that the family could continue to extend its support for the Fochabers and district communities. In the past 12 months, the foundation has widened funding activity to assist projects in the north of Scotland and the Highlands and Islands.
Kay Jackson, manager of the Gordon and Ena Baxter Foundation, said: “We’re proud to support Trees for Life’s restoration of the Caledonian forest and its Build the Bothy appeal.
“It is inspiring to think that this will lead to the planting of thousands of trees and create opportunities for hundreds of people to benefit from being physically active in spectacular Glen Affric,” said
A final £30,000 is now needed to complete the project. This will bring the bothy back to life with new timbers and flooring replacing rotten woodwork, and the installation of a kitchen, living room, bedrooms, drying room, and a bathroom with eco-friendly energy and water systems.
Anyone wanting to support the Build the Bothy appeal can visit the Trees for Life website or call 0845 458 3505. The names of those donating at least £250 will be listed on a celebratory plaque at the bothy.
