Thatching of sand dunes Roseisle Forest 1932
Photo album courtesy of Moray and Aberdeenshire Forest District which was located in Newton Forest Office thanks to good work by Lesley Hutcheson.
Photo Album possibly originated by R Cowell-Smith when District Officer in Culbin and Roseisle Forest areas in 1932-34. Many of the photographs on the pages are from a lantern slide collection by the same author. The lantern collection was at one time retained by George Dey, Auchenblae but by courtesy of his family since donated to Aberdeen University Library Archives. (See George Dey Forestry Collection under ‘Groups’ on web site)
The album has quite a number of pages missing but does convey the scale of the afforestation challenge of the Culbin sand dunes and the replanting of those areas which had previous been planted (Low Wood) and mostly felled during or shortly after WW1. This is the only image which shows some thatching with branches and may have been a trial but was impractical on a large scale in 1932 due to very few available vehicles and almost no material close at hand. The benefits of thatching with branches and other material were obviously well recognised but resources allowed only the continued use of Marram grass and cover from any growing tree crop.
The photo caption reads ‘Roseisle Forest May 1932 Compartment 40. Fixation of steep faced dunes by thatching with branches. Note how the growth of marram grass is fixing the thatched part and how erosion is continuing in the unthatched part to the right of the photograph.’
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Groups: Forestry Areas, Forestry in Action, Northeast Scotland