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www.johnmuiraward.org

JOHN MUIR AWARD 2007 by Mary Mckay

The John Muir Award scheme encourages us to do 4 things:
Discover, Explore, Conserve, Share.

The environmental Award comes in 3 levels and for the Introductory Level Discovery Award, some pupils from Perth High School, 2 members of staff and myself went to Loch Garry in Perthshire. The Introductory Level requires at least 4 days to complete.

Our first 2 days were 28 and 29 April this year. Loch Garry is an estate that has suffered much damage over the years, for example by erosion. Despite this it is a very beautiful and special place. The loch is flanked on both sides by towering hills, and although it is just off the main A9 road, it feels like it is very remote. It’s a very peaceful place.

There are not very many trees there now, as grazing animals, such as deer and sheep, have wiped the land clear of them. Members from a local tree group have been working hard to re-establish trees in the glen. There are several plots in the glen now dedicated to the growing of native trees, in a bid to return Loch Garry to the way she once was.

Perth High School has been given responsibility for one of the tree plots, plot No 6. As part of our project we dug up the non-native trees, and planted native trees (Willows). We had to dig up the non-native trees as they would hinder the growth of the native trees.

Later on, we all found a quiet place in the tree plot, on our own, and we sat there for a while thinking, watching, reflecting … It felt so nice to be able to take the time to do this. It was a beautiful sunny day, with a light ripple of a breeze from time to time. Afterwards we swapped thoughts and most of us felt really happy and safe in this beautiful wild place.

As we walked through the estate (along the public right of way which goes to Rannoch), Ali, the Ecologist in our party, pointed out the difference in the bird sounds. When we were near any of the small tree plots, the bird sounds were from woodland birds, whereas when we were away from the plots and nearer to the vast expanses of heather, the sounds were of moorland birds, or marsh birds in the marshy areas.

We stayed in the bothy on the estate overnight. Tony did the cooking and we did the eating and the washing up. Pasta, cheese and beans never tasted so good! We made a fire, when it got dark, and played games and told stories until bedtime. The next day, we chopped lots of wood for any people coming after us. We cleaned and swept the bothy. Ali and Tony explained the importance of leaving more than we used. In harsh weather conditions, for example, the next users may be in great need of a fire. So if we are in a position to leave plenty of wood and other resources, that’s exactly what we should do. It could be us who are in need the next time.

Our next opportunity to visit Loch Garry was 20 and 21 October this year. This time we were going to canoe up the loch, rather than hike. We had to get permission from the Estate Manager to bring the minibus and trailer with the canoes onto the estate, so we could launch the canoes.

We arrived, and the wind was stronger than had been forecast. Apparently it is quite common for Loch Garry to defy the weather forecast, preferring its own personal climate. So we were paddling into the wind, but we kept fairly close to the shore and pulled in to various little bays every now and then to discuss a point of interest or just to have a rest!
It was challenging trying to steer a straight course, but it was a great to be out in the loch, seeing the land from a different perspective.

We visited our tree plot again and saw how our trees had grown a bit. We sat in exactly the same spot to reflect again. This time we collected plants and grasses from where we were sitting and stuck them on a piece of card. On my card there was some heather, grasses, sphagnum moss, cladonia (lichen) and a birch leaf.

We were at Loch Garry in the rutting season. During the rutting season, the stags are all trying to gather together a harem of hinds. They are very protective of their hinds and make intimidatory bellowing sounds to warn off any other stags that might think about taking any of the hinds. We saw groups of stags up on the hills, silhouetted against the sky. They shouted and bellowed all day and well into the night.

We got to our campsite and all put our tents up. Tony did the cooking again. We were all starving and polished it off very quickly. Pudding was chocolate Swiss roll and custard. Tony got a fire going on the beach. He put some half-logs at the back of the fire to reflect the heat towards us. It got cold at night, and we were grateful for the warmth from the fire, to huddle around.

The next (and last) day, we inspected all the tree plots in the glen for holes. Small animals like hares can get into the plots and cause damage to the trees there. We blocked up any holes with stones from the beach. We learned that trees are important to increase and maintain the fish stocks in the loch. The tree litter attracts more insects, which gives the fish something to feed on and leads to more fish in the loch.

Later on we canoed to the other side of the loch and did a massive litter-pick. There were lots of plastic bottles and rusty cans, yuk! There were even two traffic cones. We filled nearly a whole canoe full of litter.