Donors help Dumfriesshire charity by land to preserve natural habitats

Private donors have helped a Dumfriesshire charity buy 30 acres of land at Glenmidge near Auldgirth to preserve and enhance a diverse area of natural habitats.

The land, a mixture of pasture, rough grazing, wetland and steep scrubland, will form the focus of an environmental project seeking to sustainably manage, research and restore habitats for biodiversity and community enjoyment.

Mark Zygadlo, chairperson and founder of the Glenmidge Burn Project, said: “Thanks to the support and extraordinary generosity of donors, we now have an exciting opportunity to ensure this piece of land is sustainably managed for the benefit of its ecology and the community.

“We hope these 30 acres can become a place of cultural and environmental learning and exchange.”

The group now plan to begin a period of ecological investigation and community consultation to determine, within the framework of its aims and purposes, what will be possible and most beneficial to the area culturally and environmentally.

Since the Glenmidge Burn Project, based at Glenhead, Auldgirth, was formed in 2022, they have carried out baseline ecological surveys and community environmental engagement events along the Glenmidge Burn to advance environmental protection, learning and improvement.

These have included regular survey walks, BTO wetland bird surveys, invertebrate counts in the burn, bat walks and moth and day insect counts.

The group have also recorded many hours of video of wildlife with motion sensitive trail-cameras.