Dozens turn out to plant trees on the Laigh Hills

Update Sunday Lunchtime 3 December

Dozens of people including lots of children have been out on the Laigh Hills today planting fruit trees - a great success!

laigh orchard Alan Ter

Help Plant an Orchard on the Laigh Hills
We will need help planting fruit trees on the Laigh Hills. So if you can help please come along on Sunday 3rd December (weather willing) to dig a hole and plant a tree or three. If you are a child, please bring along an adult. If you are an adult please bring a spade and a hammer and join in the fun. We will be having a try out of the planting scheme on Saturday 2nd December so if you want to do a little more and maybe help groups who come along to plant on Sunday 3rd December please contact Alan Booth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call on 01786 824791.

Improving Access to the Laigh Hills

Members of the Laigh Hills Park Masterplan Steering Group have managed to secure a significant sum of money from the European funded Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) to Improve Public Access to the Laigh Hills. Almost 2km of improved paths and steps with drainage, seats, signs and fingerposts will be constructed by Stirling Council’s in house team from early November

An Orchard in the Laigh Hills

Thanks to a grant obtained by the Laigh Hills Steering Group from Tesco’s Bags of Help fund, we hope to plant some 300 fruit trees in early December. This time we will need help from the wider community to help plant the trees Further details will be posted closer to the planting dates. The fruit trees will include a Scottish Apple Collection, a Plum Collection, Modern Apples – Dessert (eaters) and Cookers, a Scottish Pear Collection, Damsons and other fruits

Some Background : A Community Orchard was alluded to in the Laigh Hills Park Dunblane Strategic Landscape Master Plan 2014. This document and process had wide community support.  The development of a "heritage" orchard or orchards on the Laigh Hills -- particularly on the sites that have bracken problems at the moment -- would be the first phase of the Community Orchard development.

The orchard will provide free fruit for walkers and encourage active recreational use of the Park whilst enhancing the biodiversity of the area. The community, through a friends group, would be involved in planting and maintaining the trees.

The orchard will focus on establishing heritage fruit trees, including apples, pears and plums and suitable varieties of bare rooted stock will be obtained from a local fruit tree nursery. Tree will be staked and guards will protect the young trees from deer, voles and rabbits. The trees will be planted by volunteers from the community and from local schools and expert site visit and advice and will also be used to ensure that the orchard is successfully established. As well as providing fruit, the orchard will be an attractive feature in the Park and will attract more wildlife to the area.

For the really interested the list of varieties planned, follow these links

Join the ‘Friends of the Laigh Hills

It was always intended that a Friends of the Laigh Hills group would maintain the orchard and there has been a good number of folk who have expressed an interest. However this phase of the works on the Laigh Hills calls for more community involvement so if you would want to become a Friend of the Laigh Hills and help in some way please contact Alan Booth at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call on 01786 824791.

Play Facilities?

The play facilities at the Laigh Hills are due for improvement by Stilring Council – this from funds provided by developers over the years. More news shortly.

 

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