Brownies and Rainbows gather cones in Culag Woods

On Friday 25^th January the Lochinver branch of brownies and rainbows went to collect pine cones in Culag Woods in Lochinver. As outreach officer for CALL one of my key aims is to encourage people and especially children to become more involved in woodlands, trees and wildlife.  Before starting the walk we talked through the uses of wood and trees and the benefits of planting more.  It was a fine but chilly day as we set off with nearly 20 girls into the woods. They gathered pine cones from the woodland floor, collecting mainly the closed ones as they still have their seeds in. The children enjoyed collecting and searching through the woods and were very enthusiastic about their finds. Many of the cones were from Scots pine trees. Once collected the cones will be dried out and then the girls will come out to the Little Assynt tree nursery and shake out the seeds and plant them. Once they’ve grown into saplings, the brownies and rainbows will be able to take them home and hopefully start to grow their own woodland. Well done Lochinver brownies and rainbows.  Romany