Boat of Garten is looking for a part-time, seasonal ranger to help people enjoy their local woodlands more responsibly, with funding to support this initiative coming from the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA). At a recent meeting of the Boat of Garten community council it was agreed that the community should find ways to improve the local woodlands natural heritage value as both a recreational resource and a habitat for wildlife.

The Boat woods are highly valued by the community and are well used by locals and visitors alike with people enjoying a range of activities including walking, cycling and bird watching. The local woodland is also an important area for capercaillie, crested tits and red squirrels.

The people of Boat of Garten, through the Community Company, are looking for someone on a part-time basis from May until mid-August who can help raise awareness of the special nature of the woodlands by meeting and greeting people using the woods. The ranger will also be asked to collect and collate comments and questions received from users and feed this back regularly to the community to enable it to develop a woodlands action plan.

Alison Fielding, Chair of Boat of Garten & Vicinity Community Council, said: “It was very clear from our meeting in February that many people wanted to see a Ranger in our woodlands, and wanted us to use the highly successful Abernethy Ranger as a model. The Community Council, the Community Company and the Community Hall are working together on this pilot project and are pleased to have the support and funding from CNPA. The feedback from the ranger and the community will help us develop the next steps in ensuring that this wonderful place continues as a great resource for recreation while maintaining its status as a special habitat for wildlife.”

Bob Grant, Senior Outdoor Access Officer at the CNPA said: “This is a really positive move by the Boat of Garten community to ensure that the special nature of the Boat woods remains as such for everyone to enjoy and we are very happy to support this with funding and with input from our own ranger services co-ordinator. Although this is just a pilot project as this stage, we hope that the Boat community can reap the benefits and perhaps look to developing the post into something more permanent in the future.”

Details of how to submit a tender can be found at: www.boatofgarten.com/woodlands-ranger, or by email from info@boatofgarten.com.