Remodelling and revising

The works in May gave us a great head start to take advantage of the fantastic June weather

Scottish Water paid for the fence to be replaced with new and for the line of the sewer to be marked giving us a clear and certified guide to inform our planting aspirations.

The sewer was cleaned and a local invitation to keep our sewers clear was sent on Carrbridge Community Announcements.

Because things took longer than expected the main contractor for Scottish Water offered compensation in the form of 3 half standard Apple Trees which were gratefully received and triggered another conversation...

The land at the bottom of the slope from Carr Rd continued to be wet despite the near drought conditions and Stephen came back onsite to investigate whether this was seepage of ground water from the upper level or a spring.

 The conclusion was seepage and the rich organic soil was excavated a little, to dry out for us to use elsewhere on the site in due course.

 Some boulders were deployed to create a field drain and the pland go underways to investigate a bog garden for wildlife when we get to 'Day 2'.

Reuse Recycle

Wheelbarrows  and Waterbutts, Pallets and Slabs

A shout out on local social media yielded a couple of Wheelbarrows which were put to good use immediately. Pallets were sourced to create composting bays in due course but initially used for screened topsoil and manure for planting.
4 large plastic barrels were donated and repurposed  as waterbutts collecting rainwater from the Fire Station Roof.

Nearly new slabs were donated by a new neighbour in Woodside who had other plans for their garden, these will be put to good use when we get to the tool shed stage.

The number of people who gave up their time to put all of these things in place are too numerous to mention individually  -  we thank you all!!

Events

A pop up Shout out for help on Saturday  went out to help deploy raised beds made of sleepers and the posts for the tree planting day as well as planting the tree support posts.

Planting holes were dug, soil screened and mixed with manure, the  Fire station Gutter cleared of pine needles  and waterbutts installed!

Team building activities indeed!

Plants and Planting

The outcome of the Plant Circle meeting at the end of May and expert advice received from Speyside Fields for Wildlife resulted in an order to Scotia Seeds whose product is seeds of Scottish origin.
£231 was spent on Mavisbank Meadow mix for the open orchard area and Hedgerow mix for under the Goat Willow tree.

 After some harrowing, raking and stone throwing by volunteers we were able to sow the seeds under the expert tutelage of Desmond and Aileen, then rake, re-harrow and do a little rain dance.. 

The seeds remained dormant however as soon as the first rains came along they sprung into life and the site is greening up again.

Meanwhile the Meadowsweet, Creeping thistle and a few things that need to be redeployed are doing very well indeed.

Planting the Apple Trees

One P7 mum suggested that the Class of 2023 pupils might plant an Apple tree to commemorate the P7 transition to Grantown Grammar School. We loved this idea but wanted to extend it to all the children at Carrbridge Primary School to launch the Orchard proper.

So we contacted our friend Des Kelly at Torbreck Orchard for recommendations.  With a bit more research and discussion we chose 5 more trees to supplement the 3 received from Tivoli as part of the Scottish Water remediation. The result was posted on our Facebook Page and shared on Carrbridge Community Announcements.

Legals and Financials

Carrbridge Ahead continue to pursue the Asset Transfer proper and have engaged a solicitor to progress this when they hear from Highland Council.

As the bills started to come in against spend, the processes for payment through Carrbridge Ahead were refined and are working well.