Community Rangers

Our Community Ranger Gavin will be back in action this Summer after we received funding from the our partners at the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Countryside Trust! 

Unfortunately, the Better Places Fund from NatureScot was not relaunched again this year, meaning  the Trust were facing a funding shortfall and the possibility of losing our Community Ranger service. Thankfully, our partners at the Wild Strathfillan Project have came to the rescue with additional funding to keep Gavin in post. Gavin had been employed through Wild Strathfillan on a part time basis over Winter 2023-2024, as an off-season Ranger. We are delighted that further funding has been allocated to allow him to continue his work throughout the 2024 Summer season. 

The funding for the Community Ranger service was granted by the Heritage Lottery Fund through the Wild Strathfillan Project, which is an ambitious long-term nature and heritage restoration initiative directed by the Loch Lomond & Trossachs Countryside Trust and many partners around the Strathfillan area.

A big thank you to our 2023 Seasonal Rangers, Gavin and Diane (and Oss) for all their hardwork this year. Our two rangers have worked hard to keep Strathfillan litter free, provide advice and information to visitors, and record and report any antisocial behaviours.

This year has been the year of the Gold Panning Permits and the Fire Pits! With the start of the year being very hot and dry, our rangers had to be on the ball regarding open fires. They have been issuing firepits across the area to those who need them, reducing the risk of wild fires and the impact on the environment. 

This has been the first year the Trust has required gold panning permits for Tyndrum Community Woodland. This has been very successful, helping us monitor and manage gold panning in our fragile habitats, and provide a bit of income that will help us maintain our woodlands better.

If you are interested in reading the Rangers end of year report then you can find it here Rangers Report 2023.

The high season of 2022 was the first ‘normal’ season since 2020, with Covid-19 restrictions relaxed and visitor levels returning to normal. We saw a wide variety of tourists over the summer; national and international visitors; campers, walkers, fishermen and day trippers. They still brought problems, with littering, open firepits, abandoned campsites, and some aggressive antisocial behaviours, though these were in the minority. Our rangers, especially Gavin, worked hard to mitigate these issues, clearing and maintaining sites and providing information and advice. 

This year was also the first year employing rangers after our 2021 pilot. It was pleasing to see that last year’s work had not gone to waste, and our ranger Gavin, who worked last year, found that return visitors had taken heed of advice and brought their own raised firepits, wood, and removed their litter on leaving. This illustrates that having someone on site, providing information and keeping an eye on things does have a lasting impact. 

We would like to give a big thank you to Gavin Macnab for all his hard work over the 2022 season. If you are interested in reading the Rangers end of year report you find it here Rangers Report 2022.

The Trust was very pleased to have received funding from NatureScot's Better Places Green Recovery Fund to employ two Seasonal Rangers to help keep Strathfillan cleaner and tidier over the tourist season, as well as providing information and advice to visitors.

We were very lucky to employ two local people, Gavin Macnab from Tyndrum  and Clare West from Crianlarich, who did some sterling work over the Summer season. They had to deal with a variety of cases, from littering, irresponsible fires and camping, and illegal parking. They both did a great job and we would like to thank them for their hard work. 

As part of our funding conditions we had to produce an End of Project Report. As part of this we asked for feedback from the local community and the National Park's Rangers Team. This has proved interesting and insightful. If you are interested in reading the report then you can find it here Rangers Report 2021.

We would like to thank Gavin Macnab and Clare West for all their hard work over the 2021 season!