Heritage & Access Project
Enhancing the Big Tree Country experience
The Heritage & Access Project is a £1.9 million partnership venture to develop and enhance essential sites across each of the six Big Tree Country clusters.
It aims to conserve and protect Perthshire’s woodland heritage whilst promoting greater awareness and understanding of the area through improved access and involvement for everyone.
An upgraded path network, and interpretation inspired by local stories and folklore, will ensure people of all ages and abilities experience the very best of Big Tree Country.
Other work includes:
- conservation and management of eighteen Heritage Tree and woodland sites, with careful monitoring of the biodiversity in these areas
- developing over 12,000 metres of all-abilities paths
- upgrading 20,000 metres of paths overall
- improving signage and waymarking to and within sites and clusters
- planning and implementing interpretation across key ‘gateway’ sites and at specific Heritage Tree and woodland locations
- a fun school project involving both a mobile classroom – the Woodland Bus – and a forest classroom
- extensive community involvement through the local Tree Warden network, woodland user groups and the development of Big Tree Country themed cultural events, such as Enchanted Forest
The project recognises the importance of connecting people to their natural heritage and it works to involve local schools and communities as much as possible.
The Woodland Bus is a great way of making the initial contact, particularly with schoolchildren, providing them with information and encouraging them out into the forests to enjoy their woodland heritage.
Visitors to HAAP sites will also benefit from new and enhanced interpretation telling the story of the area from plant collectors to record breaking hedges; planting dukes to the birthplace of Scottish forestry; designed landscapes to the oldest organism in Europe.
The project is managed by Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust, and is supported by: The Heritage Lottery Fund; Perth & Kinross Council; Forestry Commission Scotland; Scottish Natural Heritage; Scottish Enterprise Tayside; PKCT; Rural Tayside Leader +; Gannochy Trust and Perth & Kinross Quality of Life Trust.
