Living in the Highlands, you are never far from a forest, in fact, you are never far from a forest anywhere in Scotland, as woodland covers almost 18% of the total area of Scotland. My house looks out over forestry from all sides, and a couple of weeks ago I noticed activity just down the road. First, a few trees were marked up with orange spray paint, soon after a harvester arrived and slowly started making it’s way into the depths of the trees.
I’ve always had an interest in woodland and went on to study Forest Management at Aberdeen University, long before I moved into photography and the outdoor industry. Today I still love nothing more than walking through trees and woodland, there is something undeniably special about a living organism, which can in some cases be hundreds of years old.
As the harvester got to work, I had a feeling that my local landscape is set to change, so I plan to follow the progress as it moves deeper into the forest over the next few weeks. I don’t know at this stage if this is planned thinning, to clear an area of windblown trees a little deeper in the woods, or large scale clear fell.
Your thoughts are welcome...