Lothians Conservation Volunteers
COVID-19 outbreak Phase 3: We are pleased to announce that our tasks are resuming from October 4th 2020. Please keep checking the task list page for updates.
Some background: On 2020-09-10 the Scottish Government released a further set of updates to the control measures used in Phase 3 of the exit from lockdown. LCV initially cancelled our tasks as a precaution. After reviewing the new guidance, the LCV trustees' view is that LCV, a registered charity, operates "organised outdoor activities" for those over the age of 18 and furthermore provides "voluntary and charitable services". These activities are expressly permitted in the legislation.
COVID-19 outbreak Phase 3: On 2020-09-10 the Scottish Government released a further set of updates to the control measures used in Phase 3 of the exit from lockdown. At the time LCV operated tasks under the guidance allowing 5 households to meet out of doors. As this was no longer permissible under the revised guidance, the LCV trustees decided to cancel the remaining tasks in our programme while we reviewed the situation.
After reviewing the new guidance, the LCV trustees' view is that LCV, a registered charity, operates "organised outdoor activities" for those over the age of 18 and furthermore provides "voluntary and charitable services". These activities are expressly permitted in the legislation.
Tasks will resume on 4th October and our task programme will be updated on a rolling basis. Please check back frequently to see what tasks are running, and the restrictions currently in force. Thankyou for your patience.
Further announcements are expected from the Scottish Government every 3 weeks, and it is likely that that LCV will make changes to our activities as a consequence. Please keep checking back, as the advice from the government often changes quickly.
The major changes you will notice on task are:
You are strongly encouraged to bring the following items if you can
Please book with our Transport Secretary before the task. First you will need to read how to book, then read about what to bring and finally where to meet us on the day.
If you would like more information about whether a task is suitable for you then please check our information about volunteering with us or if you prefer contact us by email.
Hover (or double tap on touchscreen devices) the mouse pointer over the coloured square next to the task you are interested in for information about the spaces remaining.
| Date | Site | Task and availablity | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct | Sun 4 | Springfield Mill | Meadow scything and raking | |
| Sun 11 | Easter Craiglockhart Hill | Meadow raking and gorse cutting | ||
| Sun 18 | Vogrie Country Park | Meadow management | ||
| Sun 25 | Bawsinch and Murder Acre | Pond management | ||
| Nov | Sun 1 | Skolie Burn | Bracken control |
Bracken control
2020-11-01
There are some spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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| Sun 8 | Vogrie Country Park | Pond management |
Pond management
2020-11-08
There are some spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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| Sun 15 | Black Moss | Sapling control |
Sapling control
2020-11-15
There are plenty of spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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| Sun 22 | Spottiswoode | Birch thinning |
Birch thinning
2020-11-22
There are plenty of spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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| Sun 29 | Black Moss | Sapling control |
Sapling control
2020-11-29
There are plenty of spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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| Dec | Sun 6 | Granton Castle Walled Garden | Scrub control and Hugel mound creation |
Scrub control and Hugel mound creation
2020-12-06
There are plenty of spaces remaining on this task. Please click to view booking information
Book
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Plenty of spaces left |
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A few spaces left |
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Task full. You can still book and put
yourself on the reserve list - spaces often become available at short
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Task cancelled. This will only be done in extreme circumstances. |
| Space information last updated: Monday 26 October |
If you would like to print out our task list, here is our current newsletter, The Puggled Mucker (296K) which contains a task programme.
The map below shows the sites in the work programme this quarter
There is also an interactive map of all our work-sites.
Springfield Mill is a site in the North Esk Valley between Loanhead and Bonnyrigg just south-east of Edinburgh. A paper mill until the late 1960s, the site has now been reclaimed and restored as a wildlife area for use by the public. It has been seeded with wildflower mixes and planted with various native trees. Located at a bend in the River North Esk there are two seasonal ponds, areas of birch and willow woodland and grasslands.
On this visit we will be scything the meadow and raking off the cut material to help reduce nutrient levels and thus reduce grass dominance to favour a wider range of plants in the meadow.
Update 2020-10-01: Thankyou for the overwhelming level of interest in this task! Regrettably the task is now full but rest assured there will soon be more tasks on the programme. Many thanks.
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Craiglockhart Hill is above Craiglockhart Sports Centre and as one of Edinburgh's seven hills, offers excellent views across the city towards the castle and Arthur's Seat. The area is owned jointly by the City of Edinburgh Council and Napier University. We will be working with the Friends of Craiglockhart Nature Trail - a local group supported by the Scottish Wildlife Trust - who have produced a management plan and a trail leaflet, and continue to manage the site for wildlife.
In previous tasks on this LNR LCV has raked two cut meadows and cleared rubbish from the habitat enhancement pond areas - two large areas of vegetation have been planted to add to the biodiversity and give cover for the breeding birds.
On this visit we will be raking the wildflower meadows on the site to reduce nutrients and disperse seeds. This will help the meadow regrow in future years
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Vogrie is a popular country park half an hour from Edinburgh and four kilometres south-east of Dalkeith. It is run by Midlothian Council. About half the area is covered by woodland and scrub, with smaller patches of grassland, three ponds, an alder coppice and a conifer plantation. Over the years we have cleared the ponds, cut meadow grass, repaired part of a drystane dyke, cleared scrub, coppiced alder and planted trees.
On this visit we will be raking cut material from the meadow to reduce the nutrient levels and improve the habitat
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Bawsinch and Duddingston Loch are found in the heart of Edinburgh on the southern edge of Holyrood Park, just below Arthur's Seat and only three kilometres from the city centre. Formerly a derelict industrial site, Bawsinch is a triangular area next to the south shore of the loch. This 26 hectare reserve, partly owned and managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, is a bird sanctuary and has been designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest. The area boasts breeding and wintering wildfowl, marshland with reedbeds and willow, patches of scrub and woodland, some freshwater ponds and an area of grassland named Goose Green. In the past LCV has felled trees, cleared ponds, built log bridges and cleared invasive vegetation. In recent years an additional area of land known as Murder Acre has been leased from Historic Scotland to extend the reserve.
On this visit we will be clearing and maintaining the ponds on site to improve the habitat.
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Skolie Burn is a SSSI near Addiewell in West Lothian which was notified for its geological and biological interest. There are nationally important rock exposures dating from the Lower Carboniferous, around 330 million years ago, and the underlying geology supports one of the largest areas of unimproved grassland in West Lothian. The grassland hosts more than 160 plant species including uncommon plants such as the greater butterfly orchid and melancholy thistle.
This is our first visit to the site and we will be working with West Lothian Ranger service to removing bracken. This will help to regenerate the grassland habitat and increase biodiversity
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Vogrie is a popular country park half an hour from Edinburgh and four kilometres south-east of Dalkeith. It is run by Midlothian Council. About half the area is covered by woodland and scrub, with smaller patches of grassland, three ponds, an alder coppice and a conifer plantation. Over the years we have cleared the ponds, cut meadow grass, repaired part of a drystane dyke, cleared scrub, coppiced alder and planted trees.
On this visit we will be removing excess vegetation from the pond to keep the habitat in balance (open water, reedbeds and water margin). Weelies are essential!
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Once derelict land Black Moss Nature Park was established by the Central Scotland Countryside Trust in 1991 and has since been managed by volunteers. It is managed with the aim of creating new habitats, managing existing ones and to provide a resource for outdoor recreation and education. The site is on the edge of Armadale, 25 miles west of Edinburgh. There is a small area of woodland, boardwalks, meadows and a pond on which moorhens, coots and dabchicks breed. The adjoining moss area was included within the boundary of the Nature Park as part of the SNH peatland restoration project in 2014.
On this visit we will be pulling saplings from the bog to help increase water retention and thus improve the bog habitat
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Dr David Long from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, has purchased land near Lauder that contains a spruce plantation. He has gradually removed the spruce and replaced it with natural broadleaf woodland to increase biodiversity. LCV has visited Spottiswoode a number of times in the last few years, clearing and burning spruce and planting trees.
On this visit we will be thinning regenerating birch trees in the woodland to encourage development of the understory and to provide habitat for insects that enjoy the recently cut birch stumps
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
Once derelict land Black Moss Nature Park was established by the Central Scotland Countryside Trust in 1991 and has since been managed by volunteers. It is managed with the aim of creating new habitats, managing existing ones and to provide a resource for outdoor recreation and education. The site is on the edge of Armadale, 25 miles west of Edinburgh. There is a small area of woodland, boardwalks, meadows and a pond on which moorhens, coots and dabchicks breed. The adjoining moss area was included within the boundary of the Nature Park as part of the SNH peatland restoration project in 2014.
On this visit we will be pulling saplings from the bog to help increase water retention and thus improve the bog habitat
Please note due to COVID-19:
Find out how to book onto this task.
This site is a category B-listed medieval walled garden that once belonged to Granton's lost castle. Whilst the castle may be gone its two acre walled garden has survived through many centuries of change thanks to its fertility and the unique microclimate created by its high stone walls.
On this visit we will be continuing scrub control works to enable future plantings in the next growing season and preparing a Hugel mound (a type of raised bed) to use up some of the brash from previous tasks at the garden.
Please note due to COVID-19: