Vandals have trashed Ferryden’s community woodland the latest of a series of incidents to tarnish the coastal village’s legacy to the late Queen.
The woodland has been developed in recent years with enthusiastic support from all ages.
But professional gardener David Pullar, who has been instrumental in the scheme, says the latest setback is a real blow to the project’s success.
The woodland has been developed at King George’s Park and includes trees planted as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy.
Previous incidents
David was shocked to find dozens of trees snapped at the end of last week.
“This sort of thing has happened a couple of times in the past, but just the odd tree here and there,” he saids
“I hadn’t been down for a couple of days and couldn’t believe what I saw – it is very upsetting.
“Someone has stripped the bark off the back of an established tree, but they have also snapped lots of other saplings.
“Other have been purposely pulled out.
“It’s a real shame because this is a proper community venture.
“The kids at the primary school have been planting them and they are so enthusiastic about the woodland.
“It’s going to benefit them, their children and their children’s children and they have really taken ownership of the project.
“I just don’t understand why anyone would do this, what purpose does it serve?”
Native species
The destroyed trees are a mix of native species including birch, rowan and hawthorn.
“I had 50 of my own trees which I had grown on and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with those so I donated them
“The school also got a lot of trees from the Woodland Trust and the eco group planted those.
“The community council funded trees and people donated fruit trees for the woodland.
“I didn’t report it to the police because I think they probably have more than enough to do without looking for who did this.
“But I’m sure there will be people in the community who will know who was responsible and I hope they realise the upset this has caused.”
