Transforming Forestry on Bunloit Estate

Ruaridh Philips is currently undertaking a forestry placement at Bunloit estate, learning and working alongside our Head of Woodlands and Ranger team. Here he explores the wooded landscape of Bunloit and how he hopes the future of forestry changes with a more holistic approach in mind.

After several months into my placement, I feel like I am gaining a deeper insight into the land around Loch Ness. I feel incredibly lucky to be working in such a tranquil location, and at such an exciting project. I first heard about Bunloit when looking for a forestry placement as part of my HND. I was disinterested in many of the more commercial placements offered for the college, so did my own research, to find landowners who were adopting more progressive approaches. 

I saw Bunloit as an interesting project as it is still in its beginning stages, and thus full of potential. I have been surrounded by such interesting people from different backgrounds, with different areas of expertise. Its heartening to be working with others who share a passion for nature, it's preservation, growth and study, but who have more experience, and who I could learn things from. 

Fungi fruiting on a hazel nut

Over the past few months, I have been surveying the estate’s woodlands; compiling a forest inventory that will hopefully give some insight into the species composition of different stands, their ability to capture carbon and their commercial value.  

The areas of native broadleaf and conifer forest contain many oaks and pines that could well be several hundred years old. In these areas the canopy is diverse and multi-layered, with light hitting the forest floor and allowing seedlings to grow. A huge variety of other plants, animals and fungi are present in these natural areas. The native woodlands see the majority of wild boar activity, where they turf through the undergrowth looking for subterranean deer truffles, acorns and tubers.  

Carrying out the forest surveys has allowed me to pay much closer attention to my surroundings. I’ve been immersed in the environment, noticing small details of the forest floor: tiny fungus fruiting on hazel nuts for example, or other rare tooth fungi present in the pine woods, or tiny springtails and spiders that hitch a ride on my jacket. 

Bunloit broadleaf woodland bordering a plantation

It has been interesting to compare this with the areas of non-native plantation however, and has made me reflect more upon the intention behind commercial planting, and how things might be different. Much of the plantation on the site was stocked by the previous owner with the sole purpose of making profit. This resulted in dense, monoculture forests with very little biodiversity.  

At times this has involved becoming quite intimate with very dense and spiky Sitka spruce, and spending my days under a shadowy, oppressive canopy that blocks out most of the sun’s energy. 

Plantations should also be thinned, to allow for selected trees to grow taller and to a bigger size. This makes the plantation more profitable, but also allows light to penetrate the canopy and reach the forest floor, improving biodiversity in the undergrowth.  

Many of the plantations here were left un-thinned, resulting in dead and dying trees, of small size, infested by rot. These were not the most fun places to work and navigate around, to say the least. With one of the rangers, I have been gaining experience using a chainsaw to thin around old Scots Pine specimens, hopefully letting enough light in to keep them alive. Some ancient trees were overshadowed by densely planted, non-native species, that take a strangle-hold on the landscape.   

One thing that is now plain to me is that forest management requires much more sensitivity and engagement with the land if it is to be done well. Hopefully this estate will be one among many others that will engage with and value land differently, not only for it’s ability to produce private revenue, but for its own sake. 

I think the Bunloit Estate has loads of interesting potential and I am looking forward to seeing how the project develops in the future. 

Ruaridh Phillips