Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust Trustees Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 Deeember 2025 * 'Rural Skills raining Cours¢ 25 , DUN COILLIC HPCLT.. A Company limiied by Guar* aThl not having a kn ¢apital SC227934 Company numlw. A RegIste￿d S¢irttish Charity, Numiw. SC032801 R¢gistered off￿¢: J & H Mitthdl WS 51 Atholl Road PITLOCHRY PH16 5BU llfLT SC227934 2025 Contents Pury)os¢s of the Tru51 Page L£gal and Administrdive Infonnation lard of Trustees BriefHi#ory of HPCLTand rav￿[D8 W1￿1p1c5 Weather sl&i( Th¢ Hydr￿le(tric Natural History at Lkn Coill Rewth collaborati¢Ms io Vtsitin8 groups to Dm Coillich I Wid￿ engageM￿t 10 Hcort ofswdand Forcsi Palthership {HoSFP) For¢siry at txin Coillich Communications 12 Fujmling for thn CoillKh (￿treaCh Proj￿i 2025-28 14 PrOj￿t otricer s Report 15 HlfLT SC227934 2025 Finaticial Review aThl reserves 22 23 Indwd¢nt Examiner's R4N)rt to the Mcmt*XS of HighlaThl Petthsbire Communities Land Twst Statement of Financiol A¢tiviiics (including I1*￿￿¢ aJKi Ex&Knthture Aco)unt} f th¢ hv¢lv¢ months to 31 D¢cembcr 2025 26 Balanc¢ Sh¢et & 31 lknbeT 2025 Notes Ac¢(Mmts ￿ 31 tkcembu 2U25 31>32 HPCLT SC227934 2025 Trusttts, Report Wo￿1¢￿￿Tege￿eran0n along theAlliMor. south-wesl ofDun C￿lI1¢h Pur￿SeS of the Thist The Charitable PuTposes of the Trus( ts set in its Articles of Association. are l. to advance environmrntal protection and improvement by the restoration of native woodland and other habitats as important Mea￿ of conservin8 and increasing biodiversity. 2. to advance education and training in Kology, land rnanagan￿t and njral skilb by facilitating Opp￿ltieS for educational ¢sthblishM￿tr and Oth￿ organisations. and 3. to provide and organise re¢r￿tional opportunities. primgrity by providing arLess to walking and to wildlife olwvatio A wide range of education. training and CA)nservation initiative5 is based at Dim Coillich. which the Tnst acquired in 2(#)2 IIPCLT acquired the Wee Birks Field in Aberfeldy in 2016. Legal and Administrative Infomation Constitstion Highland Perthshire Communities Land Tn￿¢ -the T￿￿ff, is a r￿panY limited by Guarantrt and not Foving a share capital. Liability of each of its members is limited to £1. It w&s incorporated on I l Felmwy 2{￿ as ComEMny No SC227934. It is recognised by HMRC as a Charity for the purposes of Part I l of The Corporation Tax 2010 and is register￿ with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) with Clwity Number SC032801. and tax file ref CR 53179. HPCLT SC227934 2025 The Thtst Nwas ￿￿blIsh￿ undff a Manornndum of Asso¢iation whi¢h set out its Objeds and Powers and is governed undez its Articles of Ass￿latiOn. These were incorporated on 11 February 21XJ2 and amended on I l March 2c￿2 and 24 March 2018. Under these Articles, the direction and business of the Tn￿ is to be nmwed by the B(Ard of Tn￿te¢s. Membership of the T￿￿1 is to any individual aged 16 or over or any organisation inter¢sted in supporting the Charitable Purposes. This can be Annual or Life membership. Each Member of the Trust has the right to attend and speak at the AGM {or any General Meeting) and has one vot< to be exerciwl in person or by proxy {or. if an or8anisatiory via its Authorised Rq)r￿ntht1Ve). Exceptionally. Honorary Life Melnbership may be awardeAI by the Board of Trustees to an individual who has suttstsntially witributd to the Trwst or to its dhos. Board of Trustees The Board must have at least 5 Ixrt no More than 15 Members. of whom no more than 12 shall be elected. The BLwd may c(Fopt any numiw of individuals as ¢(H)pted Trustees who serve until the nextAGM The totsl number of all T￿￿te£S must not exceed 15. Trnslees d¥rin8 Year Appoitilm¢n¢ Status Fiona Danks Keith Myers Jerany Robinson Having cornplthl a thr*year te￿1 were re- ¢le(thl S￿nd thre¢-year terni 26 April 2025 23 June 2022 Douglas w(￿drOw Ridwd Paul 15 A￿}1 2023 C(Mnple* th¢Ar cy¢le 25 Aprtl 2026. lan Harper lan Selmes Colin Stsnfield , 27 A￿1 2024 Can cmtinue for one more year. Andrew Walker 15 Apfil 2023 R￿L￿d 25 April 2025 , Elthl 25 Atyil 2025 Jamie Grant c￿opted 16 January 2025 David Balfour 25 April 2025 El￿d 25 April 2025 Kirsten Parrish 27 Apnl 2024 l￿d 15 S¢ptemtv 2025 Charlotte Davis Cfrorrtal 12 May 2025 Can be el￿d 25 April 2026 HPCLT SC227934 2025 Honorary Chair lan Selmes Pickston Meadow, Glen￿MOnd. PHI 3RX Honorary Vice Chair Fiona Danks. (knh Fortingall. PHI 5 2NF Honorary TTeasurer Keith The Cthp HOUK Croftnamuick. Aberfeldy. PH15 IVE Registered OtTi Solicitors J & H Mitchell WS 51 Atholl 14tl(xhry. PH16 5BU Bankers.. Royal Bank of Scotland Independent Examiner J M T Arnbrose ￿ FC& cfAIFellow) 8 Cleveden Road. Glasgow. G12 ONT Woodland re8￿￿ation on the west side of Dwi Coilli¢h Brief History of HPCLT and founding principles In 2￿1, 421 over-grazfyl hectsres of a lo(xl deer fann adjacent to the iconic 1083 m mountsio Schiehallion were put on the Op￿ market. It comprised heather moorland wÉth wet arw. some limestone outcrops. a small pinewood. two burns. and two hills. Dun Coillich {572m) and Dim Beag {403m). There w&s clear potential for a community buy-out for the purposes of Kologial resiorntion. open access tracks. and viildlife conservation. The HtfLT SC227934 2025 purthase of £205k ￿lSed Io(311y and the Highland Perthshire Communi¢tes Iand TrusL a knttish Charity, w&s set up through J & H Mitchell WS. Pitlochry. An existing Fore5ty Commission Grant Scheme was amended and adopted with the aim of estsblishing native woodland. 38 feral g(ots w￿¢ transfuted to the Kent Wildlife Trust. A car paTk for about 12 vehicles. an adjacent huL a toilei and a second carpark for 8 vehicles have all been built. Pon&s have been created. MO￿ tFAn 230.1￿ trees hve been planted. by school pupils and other visiting groups as w¢ll as by prof￿1[￿1 plantry and considaable $￿Stained efforts continue to be made to Qtclude sheep and deu. A footbridge was built acro&s the Glengoulandie burn and a network of walking rout£s has beth ¢stablished. with boardwalks on the boggier areas. Sin¢e 2CK)9, a hydrfrde¢tric scheme on the Allt Mor has provided HPCLT with a regular income. By 2011 it was clear that a more professional appr4Mch to tree nuintwKe and deer control was nethd. Willie M¢Ghee came on b(wd as Forest Manager. providing a wealth of practical know-how and advice. an4 cnKially. considerable experien¢e of the workings of fOr￿ty grant schemes and charity fund-raising. Early in 2016. the D￿n￿n Menzies TTUSt offered theiT Iha field in Ai*rfeldy for community us& Situaled b&ween the Lowtt Birks and Burns Braq it consists of rough grassland and some tre￿. After consultation with Perth & Kinross Council, Aberfeldy Conununity Council and other local Trusts, HPCLT was felt to be the most appropriate b(￿Y to own the land. Ownership wa5 duly trnnsferred to HPCLT and, following I￿1 trndItiO￿ we nam￿ the land the Wee Birks Field. It will k keFrt as an OF￿ spac¢ for public ￿JoyMen¢ ￿hapS with some picni¢ tsbl& seats and some adth'tiona] native flowering trees. Other uses may be consits In June 2016. Heather Hamilton was appointed as a part-lime ProJ￿t Officer, resFK)nsible for the development and implejnentstion of a youth training and all-age volunteering initiative. thereby fostering links with the l(xal community. Initial funding for one yw was from SSE5 Sustaifygble Development Fund with additio￿1 funding from the Robertson TrusL the Hugh Fraser Foundation and Keltneyburn Hydro Group, the fundNsuw c4)OTdiTrated by Willie McGhK HPCLT'S Foresl Manager. The youth training COU￿ eath ran for 20 wths, covering rural land rnana8ern￿t skills, such as dry-stone dYkI￿ bTush-cutting and chain saw work. tree planting and maIntMan￿ all helping to prewe trainees for employment in the land-lmsed sector. Heather also coordinat￿ a regular programme of volunteer activities. SUbsequ￿t funding from Th¢ Gannochy Tft￿l SSE'S Gn'tTin and Calliaclw Communtty Fund, the B&sAI Death TrusL Foresty & IAnd Scotland, The Enchanted ForesL and PKC secura the continuation of this wjst until the e￿d of 2021. Durin8 this period thue was a steady increase m danand for all ow ￿Mmunity outreach artivits'es. In ￿sponSe to this derna￿ a new proirt artitled 'Positive Destination5', was begun in 2022. significantly expanding the reach of the previous wogrnmme.. 1ft￿￿1n8 the HPCLT SC227934 2025 ca￿CIty of the training eA)urses by 5(P/o and the level of supiy)rt we olyer our trainees" broadening the scope of ow edu(*ion deliv￿Y' and Increasing OUT engagement the local community. In order to manage this in¢Ttased provision. a part-time of A&sistant PrOj￿t Officer was Creat￿ to support the Projert Offi￿. The e4nployment slatus of IM)th posts was improved by making thern ￿ploy￿S of HPCLT. with Nation￿ Insur8nce and pension benefits (previously the PrOj￿x oificer was self-employed). We are grnteful to the Ganno¢hy TrusL SSE'S Grilyin and call1￿har Community Funl The Robertson TnsL the Hugh Fraser Foundation. the John Muir TrusL the Nirteveh Chanttble Tn￿t and the Basil Death Trust foT their financial support for the Positive Deslitiations proj The successor to Positive Destinations. the Community Outsch Proj￿ began in Spring 2025. Funding was se£ured for an expanded rural skills training programme. together with two Modern Apprentictships. the latter providing ￿ld employment leading to a fornMI SQA qualification. Additional ¢ommunity outreath will continue through volunteering and our work with s¢hools and the wider public. We are very grnteful io the (knnochy TrusL SSE'S Grilyin and Calliachar Community Fund and PeTth & Kinro&8 Council for the fundin8 that will allow this valuable work to go ahead. In July 2017. The Heart of Scotland Forest Partnership ￿0SFP} was launched. Its vision is to reate a restorol and viiyant landscape that provides opportunitias for wildlife to thn'v4 for local employment and for pw)le to enjoy. The partnership now comprises nine organisations: Foresty & Land Scotland HPCLT. the John Muir Tru8L Dalchosnie & Kyna¢han the Scottish Wildlrfe TrusL the w{K￿land Trust S¢otlarf (knh Wood Wilding Project and two alyiliate partners. Grenich and the National T￿￿ foT Soxland Ben IAwers- working together to connect woodlands ¢￿ate wildlife Corrido￿ aLYoss Highland Puthshiro The Modern Apprenticeship inits'ativ< refe￿ed to abov< involves the employmtht of two young people per year, who sp￿d time v￿rking with some of the partner organisats'ons- in the first year with HPCLT. Foresty & tAnd scotlan￿ Dalchosnie & Kynaclwn Estste and the National TTUSt for Scotland at Ben LAW￿9. In addition. the HOSFP rA)ntinu&s to provide opportuntties for trainees and volunteus to contn'iwte to work Dim Coillich and to benefit frorn the greater variety of ¢xpen¢nce Governanct HPCLT hes become a wOgre￿]veIy more compl¢A organisation OV￿ the yea￿. wticularly since taking on onployees: at the sarne time. the amount of fundi￿ for a number of different proj￿ has increas￿. This section outlines our orgart￿tiOnal stnthres that ￿able ¢ffeKtive managemenL HFCLT PL227934 2025 HPCLT'S Strategi¢ Governance Framework provides a struL#y￿ to how the Trus￿ owate that e￿Sure5 traThsparency and guides timing of strate£ic planning through an annual ¢y¢le, so that all are aware of what neab to be done. by whu) or ￿ whith meding aThl by thm. It also contsins details of the sU￿¢0mmit￿&S that manage the ThLSt's work. This should assist new TTUStee5 in understsnding how the charity nll￿ how the r¢$w￿lbIlItieS of all Tnstees are strategically managed and will help individual Truste￿ in tsking S￿¢If1¢ responsibilities within a cycle. It should also a)sure that ¢ulthral knowledge of the charity is maintained as personnel change and that there is a flow of timely strategic decision making. It was drnf￿d and discuswl by Trustrts in July 2024. edited and then agreed at the Board Meeting in September 2024. It is as requir&l. This Framework should be read alongside the Am)ual ALXion Spreadshe& with its dat￿ for adions in the annual Gyd4 including timing of appropriale t￿)i(S for ￿￿$IderatiOn at meetings through a year. The spreadsheet thbs Govtt eath ttustee'5 tenure to help awaren in Succ￿10n planning. the ann￿1 cycle of actions to ¢on$ider. as an agenda guide for Board meetin8s' AGM critical dates and events. to assist in AGM plm'n& the Trustees skills audil to help ensure the Board includes a range of skills important for HPCLT. and grant information so Trustees are awore of fimdi Strate8ie RiskAssesJnKnt As part of EIPCLT'S long.Stsnduw Health & Safety Policy. there have bee￿ operation risk assessments coverin8 stsff and vol￿t￿S worknng on the hill and in-by< and for fire risL fencing. path and tree work. as well as for opernting bn￿h cutters and chainsaws. In additio a StrntegiG Rtsk Asse&8ment for HPCLT wa5 ro5earcheyears of rttorded dats. The Spring and Summer montlLS w￿e unusually dry with only 39cm of ratn over six months. The total rainfall for the year w&8 119mi. around 14(In below avuagq with the low rainfall rducing electrA¢ity output and ratsl incA)me from the hydro schem& The hottest day of the year was the 12th of July when the tempwatwe of over 31T was recorded (hottest day was 24.trc in 2024). The Hydo-electric Scheme As discu&841 in the Fina￿la1 Review. rental income from Keltneyburn Hydro in 2025 was £13.351 (2024: £17,129) with generation related r￿ts1 incnme down in 2025 due to the unusually dry Spnng and SUn￿er weather and a outsge at the plant in sept￿ber. Natural History at Thln Coillich The staff of the Royal Botanic Corden EdinburglL headed by Dr Aline Finw (Conservation Gendicist) and Relxcca Drew Conservation Horticulturalist). Ix)th working for the Scottish Plant Re¢overy team. have planted three S￿leS of rare plant in suithble habitats at Dun Coilli¢lL These are- Alpine Blue Sowthistle (Cicerbih alpina}. Whorled Solomon's Seal (Pofygonathm ￿rI1cl11a1Urn) and Snwll Cow Wheat {Melampyrnm sylwlicum). These plants are all rare in Scotland although nwsarily in other parts of Europe. The RBGE team HPCLT SC227934 2025 have PTopagattyJ the plants in their plant nursery in Edinburgh from spec1nw￿ of (xrefully chosen genetics. Small Cow Wheal is a hemi-kyrasite whos¢ T&)ts tske nutrients from the rcrt)ts of grasses. and it h&s seas, which have Structur￿ called elaiosomes that are attractive to ants. As a result, the ants play a role in the dispersal of the sefyts. This bthaviour is bffi'ng Studi￿ by Breadalbane pupil, Henry Mclntyr4 at the suggestion of Dr Finger. Both Henry Mclntyre and Sarnh Oflynn (also a Breadalbane wpil) have a¢a)rn￿nIed staff from the CairngoTms National Park Authority in the s¢ar¢h for rare ants (Forniica exse¢th) in Rannoch and Dun Coillich Tn￿tee. Jamie GranL in Glen Lyon. Thry are both heading for biologi£zl courses at UnIv￿$lty and have expr￿￿1 a wish to be 'Young Consmationists. at Dun Coillich. Dun Coillich has four species of ants. Lasius flavus (a sm&ll yellow ant), Lamus Niger (a small black ant), Myrnii¢a rubm (a small ant with a formidable sting) and Formi lugubns (a larger wood ant). There is just one forniio7 lugubris ants. nesL which is indi(xtive of a more forested history for Dim Coillith. As with many ant s￿1¢$ they have a symbiotic relationship with aphids Bnd in their ￿se an aphid called Dysaphis sorbi that lives on the leaves of the Rowan tr￿. causing the leaves to curl into a gall. The ants enter the gall and take sweet honeydew from the aphid& In return they pnrt&t the aphids from predators and parnsites. A large Fort of the reasoo for the rarity of Alpine Blue Sowthistl4 Whorled Solomon's Seal and Small Cow Wheal is thatihey have suffered excessive grazing by sheep and dett. At Dun Coillith they are prote&d from this by the perimeter fence and in addition. where appropri*< the plants have protect&l with vole guard& Bird and plant surveys have ¢ontinueAI to be undertaken using the Dun Coillich network of paths and the Goulandie burn as tra￿ects. These studi&% continue to suggest that Whitethroats and Whin¢hats are benefiting from the conservation measures being taken. Climate ¢han8e Is also having an dTeL# with Nuthatshes be￿rnIng common where once they were absent. Hen Harriers are a Dun Coillich speciality and a pair suclxssfully rai￿ chicks this year. It is always a great SP￿Cle to see th¢ 'Sky Danc￿, displaying in spring and to witness the skilled food passffi as the male tqsses prey to the female in a gTrceful midair manoeuvre. An unexpected event in spring of 2025 wds the appwatKe of a pair of beav&4 which built a series of small dams and a lTrJge along the burn that runs along the boundary Eetween Di Coillich and the John Muir Trust Fast Sthidthllion r￿erVe. Thtse ￿eav￿S may have been a pair tra￿Slocated by Forest and Land Scotland to L(Kh Kinardothy. By the end of the summer HPCLT ￿227934 2025 the beavers had moved on. but they PAve left behind wdcome pools. which will be a g￿&t habitst for dragonfli&s and other aquatic creatures such as water voles. In March 2025 Albert Bonrt of At¢rdeen UnivcT5ity survey￿ Dun Coillith fly water voles and he also trained apprentice Tony Marshall in surveying techniques. Albert found two active water vole colonies. one at whitebn.dge and one on the western side of the hill bordering John Muir TTUSt land. At the other previously identsfied area (near the hydro water intake) no recent sign was found only historic signs of water vole presence. Further surveying by Tony of other wIt￿tial areas for water vole found no further Colonies. but we can repeat this ourselves In firture yea[5. This winter there have been pl￿ty of Fieldfa￿S and ReA￿ingS visitin& but as yel no waxwings. Dun Coillich has from coMp￿￿t{￿y planting of native tree5 by SSE on the slopes north of the matur¢ plantation and it is also intenda that montane scrub viill be piant&l in the higher areas. The guided ￿]kS program has Continued this year with the following walks - E¢osystffft restoration. regeneration and rewilding at Dijn Coilli¢h - is it working? . led by Forest manag￿ Willie McGhee. The StTU8gle for Existenc4 led by Richard Paul - TnLStee and Volunt&T. Meet the Badgers Art ll- led by Fred cochr￿ Assisiant Project O￿l¢er. Black Grouse at the Lek! Part Two- Led by Fred Codwan4 Assistant PrOj￿t o￿te£r. Unfortunately. 'Where there ￿ Rock there are Lichffls. _ leA by Petta Vergunst had to be Cancell￿ twi￿ f￿￿lY tttause of illne55 and se￿ndlY of the weather. We have been cnnscious that Wh￿ the Trust was first eslablished no bAse-line biodiversity study was done and so in an effort to r￿1]fy this we are Und￿lakIng an 'over-the-fence' study to compare land on the John Muir TnLst East Schiehallion R¢gerve. which is not protected from herbivor¢s with land on Dim CoillidL whith is w0￿￿eAl from herbivora We are grateful to the John Muir Tn￿ for their pmisslon to estsblish a tranS￿t on their land. A similar transrt with the same aspect and approximately the same altitude, is being used on Dun Coillich for compansoTr So far. the birds and plants have been stsdirt but we are discussing which othu laxa might alw fonn of the T￿r¢h. At T(xnphubil, which is just outside of the boundw of Dun Coillith, thtre a￿ two lim&qtone quarri¢s. One is likety to be a very suitsble habitat for the intrcduction of Oblong W0￿11a (a rare fem) by RBGE. The Oth￿ quarry hs be￿ investigaled by Anthony Mccluskey of Butterfly Co￿￿erVatiorL and he has able to show us Northem Brown Argus buttertly eggs on the leaves of Rock Rose. He also observed a Hummingbird Hawkmoth at the site. HPCLT SC227934 2025 The rare butterfty. the Pearl B(￿red Fritillary. continue5 to thrive on Dun Coillich where it makes use of violets for the caterpillars to feed 0￿ dead bracken for sheltsring the adults in spring and bugle for the adults to find neL#at. Research collaborations Royal Botani¢ Garden EdItibUr￿ (RBGE) Our collaboration with RBGE is noted in the Nalural History section above. Suitable habitats at Dun Coillich for five plant species that are rnre in Scotland have be￿ identified. Specimens of Wyth Elrn. selthd for p)ssible resistsn￿ to Dutch elm diseas4 have been planted and theiT health will be monitored over the yea Butte￿y Conservation We supported a proje£t by Buttertly Conservation aimed at fostering community intertst in buttertlies and moths as Imrt of the goal to conserve some of the rarest Sp￿1&$. including Pearl-bordered Fritillary and Northern Brown Arg￿ vknich are found at Dim CoillidL Further details are In the NathralHislory seL#ion above. in March 2025 we partne￿d with the Univetsity of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) ￿tre for Living Sustsinably to inde￿￿ evalU￿e t￿ wtdff impa¢X of our Rwal Skills Training and write a protocol kn help us to ith evaluate outcomes moving forwar(i Furth d¢tsils are Sho￿ in thePnpJec¢ OfficYr& Repprt S￿l0n below. Visiting groupsl Wider community engagement Visits organised as part of the Positive Destinations and Community Engagement Projects are noted in the Pmjea Officer& Report below. Other visits to Dun Coillich were made to seek HPCLT'5 views andlor to learn more atx)ut our activities. Throughout 2025 we host￿1 10 other 8r(wps at Dun Coilli¢lL We I￿1 guided walks and tslks on site for walking holiday group5 from Wildern￿5 Scirtlan4 the U3A 8roup from Pitlochry, a team of Natur&ot stsff manbas wue keffl to see what is achievable in tern￿ of community led ecologiLzI restoration and Foresty and land Scotland's Trees and Timt Apprenti￿. We continued to offer experience days to Survivors from the RASAC Ra Crisis Centre in Perth as part of the Cairngo￿s National Park Visitor EXp￿ienCe We also went out aDd aiM)Ut in the local area Spreading the word of what we do more widety through a number of n&working opN)rtunities. this Includ￿ prewtin8 at a gathwing of the Nature COnn￿tIOnS Partnership run by Perth and Kinro&s Countrystde Trus( also preS￿ting at the Wilderness Film Festival at the BiTks Cinmw Abttfeldy. back in the Spring. Fred also 10 HPCLT SC227934 2025 gave talks to I(￿1 Women's Institute and Probus groupB furthu SPr￿ding the word of what w¢ do. Some tntstees also visited Daunafkfield near LUn￿rtY. a community LX)nservation proiecL to share ideas experiaKes Heart of Scolland Forest Partnership {HoSFP) Review The main elem•)t of the HOSFP work in 2025. Involved HPCLT, working in parthership to share Iwo apprntiw wrth the National Trust for Scotland (NTS). Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and Dalchosnie and Kynanchan Estst The apprenticeships are for l year in Rural Skills SCQF (sc￿lSh C[￿1t & Qualifications Framework) Level 5. OUT two Modern Aptffffltices (Tony & Jamie) worked through 2025. doing forast WOTk on Fis lan4 workn'ng on montane scrub rtstoration * Ben Lawers with NIS, and learning atK)ut st￿k handling with staff at Dal¢lKsnie and Kynachan. They dMI extr￿nelY well and we wish them eV￿Y suc¢ess irt their noxt life v￿tures. On a more downbeat not& We lost T¢Jn C¢xke. John Muir TnL8t (JMD Mounlain W(KJdland Project Manager at SthJ'ehallioJL and cathle￿ Thoma5. Tom's ￿ Rw'onal Manager. We wish Tom and Cathleen well in their next ￿￿e&V0urs. ￿ voluntruing at Schiehallion has be￿ loj by Cumbria tosed staff - SI￿5(*¢d by Unt￿1 Utilities. Tom's departure has left no JMT staff on the ground at Schiehallion and some uncertainty over the potential staffing structure at JMT into the future. With this uncertainty, HPCLT has taken on the tempK)rary role of convening HOSFP meetings in 2025 and during 2026 we will hand the HOSFP baton on to FLS in the new amiual rolling of HoSFP'chair'. National Tn￿t for Scotland has also experi¢n¢¢d some stsffing'churn. at tawers, howev they are in the pro(w of r￿ruiting new site-lxsed staff and hve been b￿Y planting montane scrub and providing voluftteering opwrtunities for & host of groups. Foresty and Land Scotland have been surveying their larg￿Scale naturnl re£￿eration at Frennich (180ha) and tree planting at Lassintulli¢lL Forestry at Dun Coillich In 2025 our annual thernial drone survey. done by Ben Ham)wer Wildlife on the 11)h of April, recorded 12 deer. l O Roe deer (mostty bucks) and 2 Red deer (a hind with ¢alfj. This was one more than in 2024 and th¢ deer were mostly clustered on th¢ Schiehallion border. in denser areas of planted and re8enerated trees and scrub. This is likely because this is the least disturbed area providing g(￿ Cover. HPCLT SC227934 2025 lan Muir and ￿ke Morhulffj our deer stslkwj hav¢ been out regularly through the 2025 stalking season and culled 4 Roe deer and l Red deer. A huge thanks to them for their efforts. Piers Voysey of the Communty W(N)dland Association has been hdping us with foresty mapping (using QGIS) and forest management (survvj methodologies). in the expeciation that we will submit three grant applicatiors in 2026 for ACC￿ (fun