Press Release
FLEMISH FORESTERS VISIT APPLEGIRTH
11 June 2008
Applegirth estate in south west Scotland recently played host to a party of 46 Flemish foresters at the request of a local college.
The Barony College, who specialise in forestry and agricultural training, organised the tour at the request of colleagues in Belgium with whom they are working on a European distance learning course for forest workers and owners.
They travelled to south west Scotland to visit forestry land, including the 672 ha on the Applegirth estate.
As a group the Flemish foresters represent nineteen regional areas throughout Flanders and are responsible for the management of woodland holdings that range from one to forty hectares. Two board members from each region attended and in addition there were five co-ordinators of the landowner groups plus Tom Embo, the Director of Inverde, a Belgium-based private conservation and environmental training organization.
To provide an overview of forestry in south Scotland for the group demonstrations included commercial forestry production, harvesting and regeneration, recreation (mountain biking), wetland conservation and management and sporting issues.
The Crown Estate were one of several estates that hosted the visit, and of particular interest to the group was the raised bog restoration work currently being carried out, and the sandstone quarrying which adds to the diversification of income for the estate.
Further Information
 The Barony College
|
