Swapping fossil fuels for climate sustainability and abundant biodiversity, the Douglasdale Community Woodland, at the top of Station Road off the A70, has literally grown to replace the old Douglas Castle Colliery, spoil tips (bings) and former mining village of Douglas West.

Councillor Norman Rae, the chair of the council’s Climate and Sustainability Committee, said: “This project is a fantastic example of how a dedicated group of volunteers can create a climate friendly asset from an industrial wasteland.”

The woodland is now officially owned and managed by Douglasdale REAL Group (DRG) after securing funding from the SSE Clyde Wind Farm Fund which allowed the DRG to complete a Community Asset Transfer with the council, who owned the site.

The group’s vision is producing a sustainable resource that will provide current and future generations with an enjoyable outdoor space that will have both a positive environmental and social impact on the wider community.

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the DRG, almost 18 hectares of land is now predominantly woodland, along with some small areas of grassland and moorland, either side of the disused Muirkirk branch railway line that bisects the site.

The woodland is a mixture of new plantings, fragments of semi-natural woodlands typical of the Douglas Valley Special Landscape Area (SLA) and natural regeneration (renewal by trees self-seeding themselves).

The DRG’s vision for the woodland is that the Douglasdale Community Woodland will be a special welcoming, attractive and valued asset for the benefit of current and future Douglas community and visitors to our area.

Maintaining and improving the area’s biodiversity is at the heart of our woodland management plans.

This commitment to biodiversity is evident in the flourishing numbers of wildflowers and insects spotted at the Douglasdale Community Woodland throughout Spring and Summer. Their most notable success of the season has been the increase in various butterfly species (above - Small Skipper Butterfly; below - Dark Green Fritillary and Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary), a clear positive impact of the Douglasdale REAL Group’s effort.

So why not come along and walk the myriads of paths and trails throughout the Douglasdale Community Woodland and see some of the biodiversity thriving there.

If you want to find out more of the Douglasdale REAL Group and the Douglasdale Community Woodland please go to www.douglasdalerealgroup.com

If you want to help combat climate change please go to the council’s website for more information about what you can do to help the environment and the council’s sustainable development and climate change strategy for 2022 to 2027