Saplings
Saplings 2023
This year we have worked in partnership with the Glenorchy and Innishail Action Plan Community Development Officer to deliver a series of great Saplings sessions for the children of Crianlarich and Dalmally Primary Schools.
This year we offered five varied sessions, including:
Make your own pot ceramics lesson with local potter, Nicola Lindsay at Crianlarich Village Hall.
Visit to Ben Cruachan Hydro Scheme at Loch Awe.
Nature Crafts with Julia Black at Dalmally Community Orchard.
Canoeing on the River Fillan with Active Stirling.
Mountain biking and cycling skills with Trailcoach in Tyndrum Community Woodland.
We would like to thank Nicola Lindsay, Julia Black, Matt Brook, Ramsay MacFarlane, and all the lovely staff at Drax Power Station for making Saplings 2023 a great success. And a big thank you to all the local children who have taken part.
We hope to see all the children back in 2024!
Saplings 2022
Finally, after the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 we able to provide a more normal offering to children from Crianlarich and Dalmally Primary Schools. This year local children took part in a number of fun and educational activities including:
Two canoeing sessions with Active Stirling on Loch Iubhair, visiting Glen Dochart Castle and enjoying our beautiful landscape.
Cycling session in Tyndrum Community Woodland with Trail Coach, exploring our woods and having great fun.
Pottery making with Nicola at Crianlarich Village Hall, making beautiful objects from nature.
And felt-making with Heartfelt at Dalmally Community Orchard, making lovely creatures in wonderful surroundings.
Sadly, two of our sessions were cancelled, however, we hope to offer a session to the Scottish Crannog Centre during the Easter Holidays.
We would like to thank the following people for helping make Saplings happen this year: Nicola Lindsay, Matt Brook, Liz Gaffney, Ramsay MacFarlane, Seona Anderson, Kelda Platt, and Catriona MacLennan. An a big thank you to all the children who took part and made it all worth while!
If you fancy leaving some feedback or register your interest in an Easter Session (and your children are primary school aged and attend either Crianlarich or Dalmally Primary Schools) please fill in this short survey - https://forms.gle/UmfiD18zNp2TZXr39.
Hope to see you in 2023!
What is Saplings?
The Trust's Saplings Sessions have been going for over a decade and are weekly sessions that take place during the summer holidays. They provide the opportunity for local children, aged 5 to 12, to get together and enjoy fun, educational and challenging outdoor activities that also boost their health and well-being.
Over the years we have provided a variety of activities, from woodland arts and crafts, to orienteering, to learning about deer stalking. The sessions are led by professional local or regional people with support from an employed session assistant.
Recent Activities Provided
In 2019 our activities comprised:
Canoeing with Active Stirling
Deer stalking and estate management with Glen Falloch Estate's stalker
Wood crafts with Green Aspirations
Pot making with a local ceramicist
Bushcraft with a Ranger from the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
Shoreline ecology - a visit to the Ocean Centre and beach in Oban.
Due to the 2020 pandemic all sessions are cancelled and we hope to return in 2021