Glencoe pupils add a touch of colour to local forest

Pupils from Glencoe Primary School have been busy getting their hands dirty to help put the finishing touches to a tidy-up of their local lochan.

They rolled up their sleeves to plant hundreds of daffodils, snow drops and bluebells that will make the walk around the lochan a riot of colour next spring.

Pupils joined Forestry Commission Scotland’s Fort William team, who were improving the area around Glencoe Lochan, which drained in the summer because of a faulty sluice gate.

As well as clearing views and pathways, a host of bulbs were planted to make next year’s walking experience something extra special.

Ruari Watt, for the Commission in Fort William, said:

“Both the main Lochan and The Japanese garden around the small pond had become very overgrown and untidy.

“We cut back a lot of the trees along the waters edge to open up views and let more light in and we also resurfaced areas of path that were churned up and muddy.

“Silt has been dug out and Japanese knotweed dug out, so the area does look a bit bare but thanks to the Glencoe pupils, that bare ground will be a wash of colour next year.”

The pupils put in a great team effort, with older pupils looking after the younger ones as they organised a planting production line that really speeded up the work.

Ruari added:

“We’d like to say a big thank you to all the pupils, parents and teachers that helped out on the day. It was a brilliant community effort and the results should be pretty spectacular.”