Laide Wood was planted in stages between 1963 and 1967 as a commercial forest consisting predominantly of Lodgepole Pine and Sitka Spruce but with small stands of Douglas Fir, Grand Fir, Scots Pine and edged by Hybrid Larch. Once planting was completed there was very little management carried out and it was finally sold by the Forestry Commission in 1993.
After changing hands several times the Wood was once again put on the market late 2002. With the assistance of the Scottish Land Fund and the Community Land Unit, along with generous donations from locals and visitors, the Wood was finally purchased in February 2003. A local Community Steering Group had been formed to take it to the purchase stage at which point a Company Limited by Guarantee was established with recognised Scottish Charitable Status. The main aim of the company was to develop Laide Wood in areas of conservation and recreation. Our members are the strength behind any progress in developing the Wood and we have enjoyed a healthy membership since the project began.
A five year management plan was created prior to purchase to show our prospective funding sources and members that we meant business.
Everything went well for two years. Laide Wood was at last open to those who wished to venture inside and trails were being created, although the dense planting was proving difficult ground on which to establish good paths. The task was not one for the feint hearted but those involved continued with enthusiasm and conviction.
Unfortunately in the January storms of 2005 we lost a quarter of the Woodland through wind blown damage and two years of work was lost in one twenty four hour period. To cope with this a recovery plan was put into action which, through necessity, looked beyond the five year plan we had in place already. This new management plan not only dealt with the current problems but embraced the existing five year plan and bolted on new ideas which had been discussed at previous meetings. What we had considered, might be worth while thinking about at some future date went on the immediate agenda. The recovery plan soon developed into a major development plan for the Woodland which would probably take at least a decade to achieve. This was called the Phoenix initiative 2005.
It began by dealing with the impenetrable mess the hurricane force winds had left behind when they ravaged across Western Seaboard of Scotland and on into Scandinavia devastating many commercial forestry units. In this storm Laide Wood was the worst affected Community owned land in the CWA (Community Woodland Association).
It was clear from the start that selective removal of just the damaged trees would prove almost impossible so areas would have to be clear felled to make the land safe and doing so would leave behind fully mature tall stands which had once been sheltered by the trees that had taken the brunt of this last storm. These now vulnerable stands would also have to be removed leaving the remaining trees shaped to resist future high winds.
Fortunately Andrew Jackman a director of Laide Wood and professional forester was able to survey and plan the whole operation and, assisted by other board members, this was achieved by September 2006. Andrew has been instrumental in redesigning Laide Wood. The late Dame Sylivia Crowe was involved in the original planting design and went on to greater things in Woodland and garden design. Towards the end of her career, assisted by her friend Sally Race, she designed the roof garden for the Scottish Widows Head Office overlooking Holyrood Park in Edinburgh. Bearing in mind Dame Sylvia's design was for a commercial unit, there is no doubt that Andrew's design will be the winner from both a conservation and recreational point of view.
