Volunteers help spruce up Rumster forest site
A small band of volunteers helped make improvements to the community forest at Rumster ahead of a family event next month.
Willie Marshall, chairman of the Rumster Outdoor Centre Management Group, revealed that another funding application had been successful, with “a significant and very welcome grant from the Baillie Wind Farm Community Fund”.
He said: “Thanks to those few volunteers who turned out to help, we had a very successful two days on site on site last weekend. Crucially, the grass was cut and the edges strimmed making the site ready for our event on August 13 when we will host a family forest painting day run by Haven House Art.
“We were also able to tidy up some of the trees planted earlier this year and put a few finishing touches to the bothy so that the site now has both toilets and a shelter for the use of all visitors to the forest.”
The group has been working towards the establishment of a new building in Rumster Forest to replace the old Outdoor Centre which closed in 1998. It aims to facilitate the use of the forest for any and all activities to support the general wellbeing of the people of Caithness. It is hoped work on the facility will be able to begin in 2024.
The latest funding award comes on top of grants from the RWE Camster Wind Farm Community Fund and Foundation Scotland.
Several hundred trees have already been planted at the site with help from Forestry and Land Scotland.
