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t en th a nn iversary ye a r a b u sy o ne for
st e wa rton wood lands acti o n t r u st
I’m sure we can all agree that, for the most part, it was a wonderful
summer! It was such a pleasure to be working outdoors, whether as
individuals in the garden, or, like SWAT members, as a team keeping
the paths in order, and trying to keep the weeds at bay. Everything that
was growing seemed to be twice the size of normal, weeds being no
exception, so as usual our weed sprayers were out in their “Ghostbuster”
suits, tackling the Giant Hogweed which is so prevalent along the
banks of Annick Water. Japanese Knotweed has been tackled too, and
it is our aim to completely clear a huge bank of the weed which lies on
the right hand side of Fisherman’s Path as you approach the steps. This
could take another year or two, but if we succeed, we intend to have
seats at a viewpoint close to where the SWAT container is situated at
the moment.
Two essential pieces of work have been carried out. First has been the
digging of a long drainage ditch alongside the path up Anderson’s
Mount. This was necessary due to the severe flooding earlier on in the
year, and we hope that the work done will prevent the same scenes of
huge puddles of water across many parts of the path happening again.
Secondly, we cut a new path through fairly dense woodland, so that
walkers didn’t have to risk life and limb, by struggling to get under a
fallen tree across the Fisherman’s Path, close to David Dale Avenue.
The tree in question is too big for SWAT to tackle, and is actually the
responsibility of the landowner, and will be dealt with in due course.
We have been delighted by two particularly generous donations this
year. The recently formed Facebook group, Stewarton When We Were
Growing Up, gave us a cheque for £250 which was raised at the “Get
Together” in The Centre, Standalane, and Moira Redmond’s Keep Fit
Group raised over £400 specially for SWAT. This money has now been
spent on new pieces of equipment and protective clothing. Many thanks
to all concerned.
This year sees the 10th anniversary of SWAT, and there have been some
events to mark the occasion. There was a Woodland Quiz Walk, held on
28th June in Lainshaw Woods, and all local schools were invited to take
part in a competition to design a plaque to commemorate SWAT’s 10th
Anniversary. Nether Robertland Primary took up the challenge, and
the plaque has been made using the designs submitted by four pupils,
three from P7 and one from P6. Look out for photos in the next issue
of The Review. Leading on from the competition, one of our members
spent an afternoon at Nether Robertlands Primary speaking to a large
number of pupils about the work that SWAT carries out in Stewarton.
Lastly, there are two more events to come this year which we hope will
be supported by the good people of Stewarton, especially those who
regularly congratulate us on the work we do. There will be a Table Top
Sale in October (date tbc), and on Saturday 22nd November there will
be a Ceilidh and Party Evening held in The Centre Standalane. (see
advert below for details)