A £1 million appeal has been launched by a conservation charity bidding to buy a second side of the Devil’s Beef Tub in Dumfriesshire.
Borders Forest Trust wants to purchase just over 115 hectares of the dramatic hollow in the hills above Moffat as part of its aim to restore denuded landscape into a wildwood flourishing with plants and animals – as it would have been centuries ago.
The land they are fundraising for includes the northern portion of Ericstane Farm and the ancient wood pasture which is known locally as The Dairy Wood.
Its boundary sits alongside the existing Corehead land – including part of the Devil’s Beef Tub and Hart Fell Shoulder – which BFT has owned and been restoring since 2009 by planting native trees.
The trust has said adding the Ericstane extension to Corehead, also in the hills above Moffat, would unite both sides of the Beef Tub under one unified management plan, alongside the restoration of Carrifran Wildwood and the new native planting and peatland restoration at Talla and Gameshope.
The charity told the Standard that obtaining the Beef Tub would give them “the opportunity to take a major step forward in our ambitions for the Wild Heart of Southern Scotland through habitat and species restoration, woodland creation and, the eradication of invasive
non-native species.
“This will also complement the ambitious Lottery Funded Destination Tweed project focusing on improving a 113-mile trail from Moffat, past the source of the Tweed, to Berwick upon Tweed.”
The Beef Tub hollow is 150 metres deep and formed by four hills – Great Hill, Peat Knowe, Annanhead Hill and Ericstane Hill – and is one of the two main sources of the River Annan.
The £1 million appeal, Donate For Ericstane, comes after the forest trust launched a review of operations two years ago to put in place plans for the next phase of the ongoing work to help nature once again flourish across this part of southern Scotland.
For more than 25 years BFT has been improving the landscapes and nature of the Southern Uplands by planting new native woods, trying to work without deer fencing, chemical spraying, or use of plastics.
It is currently “talking with major donors” to support the purchase, planning and early stages of habitat restoration at Ericstane and is calling on the public to donate online at https://bordersforesttrust.org/ericstane; or to contact them at 01835 830750 or email: enquiries@bordersforesttrust.org.
