AGM & Langholm Meeting

We had an excellent day for the AGM and discussion meeting at Langholm in Dumfries-shire, yesterday, and thanks go to Mark Oddy, the estate manager and chairman of the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project Board, for hosting us.  Some photos of the occasion can be viewed here.

The AGM dealt swiftly with the business of running the Trust, and this was followed by a discussion meeting that focussed mainly on the work of the Langholm Moor Demonstration Project.  The Project is now 5 years into its 10 year programme, and it was clear from the discussion that even though a large amount of very interesting work had been completed, there was plenty still to do.  I suggested that, if the project was able to review progress against the objectives set for the work, there were four areas that should be considered: predation issues, communications with the 'upland industry', a more challenging approach to muirburn and more monitoring of heather restoration areas.

The afternoon visit to Langholm Moor was very ably led by Simon Lester, the Head Gamekeeper, who has gathered a wealth of knowledge in a very short time.  Simon's Diary is well worth a read to learn more about the work he has been involved with.  The visit took place in sunshine, which has been a very rare commodity for Dumfries-shire, as was evidenced by the very wet state of the ground.

Thanks go to all who attended and helped to make the day work so well.