Our final tree planting job for this season was in the Stinchar valley on the Pinmullan Burn, a small but productive tributary of the upper catchment.
It isn’t ideal weather for planting owing to the dry, warm weather we been enjoying this spring and it is a bit late in the season for planting however, we secured a grant from the Biosphere of £952 for planting riparian land alongside the Pinmullan Burn and the River Stinchar DSFB also contributed towards this and repairing broken watergates.
The Pinmullan Burn: A large proportion of the burn is protected from livestock. The burn was fenced by the District Salmon Fishery Board almost 20 years ago however there has been little development in tree growth since then.
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The burn runs parallel with the road here before crossing under the road and then snaking up the hill. The River Stinchar can be seen on the right handside of the image.
Effectively, with the support of the two funders we are able to plant the lower end of the Pinmullan Burn which is important for trout and salmon spawning. There are a few trees alongside the burn but we always considered planting more as a priority action should we be able to fund this.
Trees are going to become increasingly important as climate change threatens to warm our rivers by up to 4ºC over the next 50 years. This could be devastating for salmon and trout populations as we already see peak summer temperatures dangerously close to lethal levels in most years.
The lower section of the burn, now planted with low density trees which should provide dappled shading and improve the habitat connectivity within the area.
We planted several good sized birch trees on the site. We dug these out of a nearby estate as there were to be removed – one mans trash is another’s gold! These will provide shade and stability to the banks quickly.
All the trees planted this week have been produced by ART in our own very small nursery. In the last year we estimate that we have grown over 8000 trees from locally collected seed or cuttings. As we expand this side of our activities, we hope to be able to tackle many more priority areas for the benefit of fish, fish habitat, and wider biodiversity.
The upper section of our planting – in a few years time these trees will make a world of a difference to the burn and the surrounding area.
Our thanks to the Biosphere, the Stinchar DSFB, volunteers and the staff for all their generosity, hard work and tireless commitment that allows us to achieve these goals.
