Volunteers Ellie, Jenny, Gavin and Calum on the Allt a Mhuilinn Path Despite a poor forecast of wind and rain 7 hardy volunteers braved the weather to join a volunteer work party on Saturday 5th November.
The group split into two with volunteers Steve and Helen heading into Glen Nevis to tackle vegetation along the Lower Falls to Paddies Bridge path and the rest heading up with NLP Participation Officer Rory to tackle cross drains along the Allt a Mhuilinn path to the CIC hut below the north face of Ben Nevis. It was great to have two of the ex 2022 Nevis Rangers, Charlotte and Ellie, returning to help as well as regular volunteers Jenny, Gavin and Calum. Both teams met their objectives and the Allt a Mhuilinn team cleared up within a couple of hundred metres from the CIC hut, meaning the path has had its final clear before the winter season. A huge thanks to all the volunteers for their efforts in this vital work.
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NLP and JMT Ranger Team at Ben Nevis Summit Cairn during Summit Litter Clear The NLP base at An Drochaid has been strangely quiet for the last few days...sadly our 2022 Seasonal Rangers finished at the end of October, however the legacy of the results of the work they did over the summer months lives on. They played a vital role in caring for the Glen and the Ben and were a key presence at the tourist hotspots during the busy season, mitigating impacts and engaging with visitors. They also helped on many of the Friends of Nevis Volunteer Work Parties throughout the summer. Without their efforts the Glen and the Ben would look very different this autumn in terms of litter, waste, path condition and general visitor impacts. Friends of Nevis would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to the three ranger teams for their hard work and great company: Michaela & Angus from Jahama Highland Estates; Steph from John Muir Trust; Ellie, Evie, Charlotte and Julia from the Nevis Landscape Partnership.
Dates for November and December are as follows:
Friends of Nevis AGM will be held face to face for the first time since 2019 and as in previous years will take place at the Glen Nevis Restaurant, on Friday 4th November.
Meet at the restaurant at 6.30pm and business will commence at 7pm. This year's guest speaker is Sophie Aziz who is the newly appointed Nevis Landscape Partnership manager and who has done several seasons working with the Icelandic Conservation Volunteers. Despite a forecast for strong winds and showers a mixed group of Friends of Nevis Volunteers, a John Muir Trust ranger and three NLP Nevis Rangers accompanied Participation Officer Rory to do some essential path maintenance on the Ben Nevis Mountain Path. Both volunteers stayed with Ranger Charlotte to clear cross drains on the lower sections of the path while Rory and Rangers Ellie, Evie and Steph headed further up the hill to clear cross drains at the Half Way Lochan. Some further work needed on some higher drains on the path but other wise the drains are looking good for the end of the season.
Despite an ominous forecast of thunderstorms, hail and torrential rain a combined team of Friends of Nevis Volunteers, Nevis Rangers and Jahama Highland Estate Visitor Management Rangers set off to tackle cross drains on the Ben mountain path, up to the first corner beyond the Red Burn. This was successfully completed and even better we stayed dry, if somewhat hot and sticky. With considerable cloud cover and little or no breeze the midges were often out in force and at one stage we had to share our midge repellent with a couple of distressed hill walkers.
Similar to the task of painting the Forth Road Bridge, once the drains have been cleared its time to start at the bottom again so we'll be back! Our next work party is scheduled for Saturday 10th September, if you are keen to enjoy a rewarding day out in good company in the outdoors then pop over to our events page to sign up or visit www.nevislandscape.co.uk/get-involved/events and scroll down the events list. The Friends of Nevis Volunteer pathwork party will now take place on Monday 15th August.
If you would like to come along and join our rangers and volunteers doing some vital path maintenance on the Ben Nevis mountain path pop over to the events page or sign up here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/friends-of-nevis-volunteer-path-maintenance-day-tickets-393028206947 Eight young people and two staff from the Wilderness Foundation gave two days of their time as volunteers this week to help with conservation work in Glen Nevis. The group had just completed a multi day open canoe journey on Loch Awe and after a rest day got stuck in with some bracken bashing with Volunteer Coordinator Rory and Seasonal Ranger Evie. Their hard work is much appreciated!
On Saturday 2nd July two hardy volunteers plus two NLP seasonal rangers plus Rory headed out for a day of bracken bashing in the newest of the NLP Future Forests tree exclosures in Glen Nevis. This exclosure was chosen as it has the most recently planted trees and many are still being shaded out by the stands of bracken. It was a typical West Highlands 'soft' conditions: mild, with intermittent light rain and drizzle but thankfully an occasional breeze to keep the midges at bay for most of the time...well maybe! It was a productive day with the bulk of the bracken beaten / cut down around planted trees. As well as planted trees there were plenty of regenerating seedlings in places, mostly birch and rowan but also some sessile oak. Most show evidence of previous herbivore browsing but the protection of the deer fence has allowed them to get away. We came across numerous moths as well, including the two gorgeous Large Emeralds pictured above. Dates for the Diary
The weather gods were smiling today for our lower Ben Mountain Path maintenance work party! Volunteers Laura and Catriona joined Volunteer Co-ordinator Rory for the morning, clearing ditches, cross drains and removing litter on the first section of the Ben Nevis Mountain Path. As expected on a bank holiday weekend it was a busy day for the path with a fairly constant stream of walkers heading up and some early birds returning down. Its still lambing season on the hill and thankfully everyone passing us this morning with dogs had them on leads, we made a point of thanking them for taking heed of the signage. Sadly there have been some recent cases where dogs have been chasing sheep on the hill resulting in injury and death to ewes and leaving lambs without mothers.
There will be more pathwork parties to follow, having cleared the cross drains all the way to the top once this season we are starting over again! Our July work party is different however, tackling bracken in some of the planting exclosures where it is still shading the young trees. If you would like to get involved pop over to our events page to see what we have on offer and sign up!. |
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September 2023
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