Peat fired power stations already exist in Ireland and they may be a possibility elsewhere if fuel prices continue to increase. Here's a quote from a 1985 document: "Over the last three years the The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board carried out a major investigation into the possible installation of peat-fired generators on the Western Isles and on Shetland. It found that while the appropriate technology was available the economics of peat energy were not sufficiently attractive in present circumstances to justify proceeding with a pilot installation." And the EU has already got into the "peat" act - just plough through the turgid prose on the web at <http://www.imcg.net/imcgnl/nl0405/kap10.htm> -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "I’m sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone 90 degrees and dial again"

Pollen studies show that after the Ice Age Orkney was covered by scrubby trees, which gave way to grass and moorland by before 4000BC, perhaps under the influence of people and their grazing animals.

Hi Karen The peat coverage and development depends on the rocks (type, permeable or not), rainfall, location, etc. In orkney it develops best on the Rousay flags of Hoy, Eday and Rousay, though most islands have some, except N Ronaldsay and Sanday. There are peat banks all over the place, and with careful management and technique the rebuilding of the banks can be maximised. Peats certainly would never have run out everywhere even at the maxumum usage in the early 19th century, though some banks were severely depleted. The extensive peat banks as mentioned already could supply Orkney for a very long time I suspect. But they have in fact not been around for that long.

A little more on the woods of Orkney. This is the conclusion of an article on pollen analyses at several sites in Orkney: "The presence of birch-hazel scrub on Orkney in the mid-Flandrian suggested by Moar (1969) is supported by this investigation. The status of trees other than Betula sp., Corylus avellana and Salix sp. is still doubtful. Sorbus aucuparia and Populus tremula, both found on Orkney today, may have contributed to the woodland, and the presence of a few grains of Ilex aquifolium pollen in the deposits described here and by Moar (1969) suggest the presence of this species also. The understorey appears to have consisted of tall herbs and ferns. Juniperus communis. is found on Orkney today and its pollen was recorded by Moar (1969) for the early Flandrian, so the presence of this species in exposed localities is likely throughout the Flandrian. "At the time of the regional elm decline, c. 5000 B.p., a climatic change is suggested involving increased onshore wind speeds. This may have been associated with, the formation of the Bay of Skaill, the initiation of sand-blow from the beach, the decline of scrub from around the Loch of Skaill and the establishment of machair. Further inland the decline of the scrub may have occurred some time later. Following the scrub clearance, the vegetation appears to have been dominated by tall herb and fern communities derived from the scrub understorey, similar to the present-day communities of the dales. This then gave way to pasture vegetation under the influence of increased grazing pressure associated with the neolithic occupation. The vegetation appears to have changed little since then apart from on certain areas of the hills where, possibly in response to climatic deterioration and human influences, blanket peat started to form c. 3400 B.P." http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1469-8137.1979.tb02684.x?cookieSet=1 The article supports what was said on the "Trees of Orkney" website, namely that the main types of trees were birch, hazel and willow — at least in certain places in Orkney. There may also have been rowan, aspen and holly. The article also mentions juniper as being found in Orkney today. Where would that be? Berriedale in Hoy? Norman Tulloch

Royce Perry wrote: > Any one know if Orkney had forests in an earlier time,,like Neolithic or > bronze/iron age? Or has it always been a bit sparse on trees? Sigurd's site has a whole page on Orkney's landscape at <http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/orkland.htm> or <http://tinyurl.com/25oebm> -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "I’m sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone 90 degrees and dial again"

Royce Perry wrote: > Any one know if Orkney had forests in an earlier time,,like Neolithic or > bronze/iron age? Or has it always been a bit sparse on trees? > R Here's something stolen from the website called "The Trees of Orkney": ________________________________________________________________________ *The History of Native Trees in Orkney* It is often assumed that the windswept Orkney landscape has always been largely open and treeless. However, it seems that Orkney, like many other parts of the British Isles, originally had an extensive tree cover. This consisted mainly of dense birch/ hazel scrub with a tangled understorey of roses and honeysuckle. Approximately 5000 years ago, the Orkney climate may have deteriorated, perhaps with an increase in on-shore winds. This may have started the decline of the woods, at least in exposed coastal sites, or perhaps the activities of Neolithic farmers (eg grazing, fire etc) brought about the rapid loss of most of the tree cover. Towards the end of the Neolithic period, there seems to have been a period of less extensive farming which permitted a minor regeneration of the woodlands. The blanket peat which covers large areas of Orkney today did not start to form until about 1800 BC ie. well after the woodlands had declined. Perhaps the loss of the trees produced more water-logged soils and this stimulated the peat formation. By Norse times, there were probably only patches of woodland remaining in sheltered areas. There are still unanswered questions about the original tree cover of Orkney - did it cover all of Orkney (including the outer isles), was it complete or in scattered groups, exactly which species were present and, was it climate or man (or both) that caused its almost complete, and very sudden, loss? ________________________________________________________________________ http://www.firth.orkney.sch.uk/trees/natrees.htm Norman Tulloch

Although peat will renew itself over time, considering how long that would take I wouldn't think you could call it a "renewable" or "green" energy source either since you have to burn it to get energy. R -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Fletcher (Stronsay) Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 1:29 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ORCADIA] Peat Peat fired power stations already exist in Ireland and they may be a possibility elsewhere if fuel prices continue to increase. Here's a quote from a 1985 document: "Over the last three years the The North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board carried out a major investigation into the possible installation of peat-fired generators on the Western Isles and on Shetland. It found that while the appropriate technology was available the economics of peat energy were not sufficiently attractive in present circumstances to justify proceeding with a pilot installation." And the EU has already got into the "peat" act - just plough through the turgid prose on the web at <http://www.imcg.net/imcgnl/nl0405/kap10.htm> -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "I'm sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone 90 degrees and dial again" ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

SIMON TREASURE wrote: > or the woodland being created by me at the Hall of Heddle. just > ordered my winter stock for planting, (hazel, hawthorne whitebeam, > willow ,alder, rowan and birch) a further 500 to add to the 1200 or > so already in the ground, to augment the three and a half acres of > naturalising garden landscaping i am doing. Sounds like a very attractive selection of trees, Simon. Do you find that they all do well on your land or are some more successful than others? Have you had to establish a shelter belt of some sort? None of the ubiquitous sycamore, I see! It's a tough tree but not exactly one of my favourites. I'd guess it must be about the commonest tree in Orkney, though. Maybe elder (boorwid) might be the next most common? However, I suppose it tends to be more of a big shrub than a proper tree. I don't know if you've come across John Burns's book "Gardening in Orkney and Shetland", published back in 1976? On trees he says: "Species you can grow with a reasonable chance of success are as follows: Lodgepole Pine. Alaskan and Washington Coast varieties. Sitka Spruce. Alaskan or Queen Charlotte varieties. Willow. (Salix capres) Sycamore. (Acer) Common Alder. Sorbus. (Whitebeam) Birch. Requires maximum shelter. Larch. Rowan. (Mountain Ash) Common Ash. Requires maximum shelter." As someone who lives in a part of Scotland that has suffered from blanket afforestation with Sitka spruce, I'd certainly be reluctant to see too much of that in Orkney, though it may be a handsome tree in some situations. I'm a little surprised that he says that birch requires maximum shelter, since I seem to remember seeing it growing quite happily in exposed coastal areas in the West Highlands of Scotland. I should think there's been quite a bit of tree-planting in Orkney and Shetland over the past thirty years or so, though, so maybe Mr Burns's information is a bit out of date. Norman Tulloch

In a message dated 9/10/2007 12:07:34 P.M. Central Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: ..... and with careful management and technique the rebuilding of the banks can be maximised.... Is there any formal management/rebuilding program? I've never heard it mentioned in the way I hear concerns about depleting certain fish, or wearing out the soil from poor agricultural practice. It's probably just not likely to be a problem, but I'd been curious and kept forgetting to ask. I don't guess the EU has meddled with peat cutting yet--or I'd have heard the shouting over here.!! Karen ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

Though peat is not used as much today as in earlier times, was there ever concern of running out of the supply in the days when it was used as a major heating source in the islands? It seems to take thousands of years to form, and it has been a very long time since the woodlands mostly vanished. Has it ever been estimated how much is still available, how long it would last with current use, how long would it have lasted with the amount of use was greater? Was there concern about scarcity when people quit using it for a major source of fuel--or just the availability of other fuels? Today we look at raw materials and the problems from unlimited use in a different way than people did 100 years ago. (Well, some still don't care, but that is an entirely separate discussion. Just asking about peat use, availability, etc. in Orkney.) Karen English in Memphis Re ..... The blanket peat which covers large areas of Orkney today did not start to form until about 1800 BC ie. well after the woodlands had declined....______________________________________ Norman Tulloch ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ************************************** See what's new at http://www.aol.com

I will give it a look when I have a little time to read. R -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Bruce Fletcher (Stronsay) Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 9:15 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ORCADIA] Wind Royce Perry wrote: > Any one know if Orkney had forests in an earlier time,,like Neolithic or > bronze/iron age? Or has it always been a bit sparse on trees? Sigurd's site has a whole page on Orkney's landscape at <http://www.orkneyjar.com/orkney/orkland.htm> or <http://tinyurl.com/25oebm> -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "I'm sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone 90 degrees and dial again" ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Grazing livestock would have more impact on scrub vegetation than it would on forests. Four thousand years ago would put us back into what..the late Neolithic? Is there archeological evidence of herding on Orkney that far back? If so then humans could a cause,,or at least a contributing factor. R -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Charles Tait Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 12:08 PM To: [email protected]; [email protected] Subject: Re: [ORCADIA] Wind Pollen studies show that after the Ice Age Orkney was covered by scrubby trees, which gave way to grass and moorland by before 4000BC, perhaps under the influence of people and their grazing animals. ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

This is really fascinating. I'm enjoying reading all the information that you all have - just fascinating. On Sep 10, 2007, at 10:06 AM, Norman Tulloch wrote: Royce Perry wrote: > Any one know if Orkney had forests in an earlier time,,like Neolithic > or > bronze/iron age? Or has it always been a bit sparse on trees? > R Here's something stolen from the website called "The Trees of Orkney": ________________________________________________________________________ *The History of Native Trees in Orkney* It is often assumed that the windswept Orkney landscape has always been largely open and treeless. However, it seems that Orkney, like many other parts of the British Isles, originally had an extensive tree cover. This consisted mainly of dense birch/ hazel scrub with a tangled understorey of roses and honeysuckle. Approximately 5000 years ago, the Orkney climate may have deteriorated, perhaps with an increase in on-shore winds. This may have started the decline of the woods, at least in exposed coastal sites, or perhaps the activities of Neolithic farmers (eg grazing, fire etc) brought about the rapid loss of most of the tree cover. Towards the end of the Neolithic period, there seems to have been a period of less extensive farming which permitted a minor regeneration of the woodlands. The blanket peat which covers large areas of Orkney today did not start to form until about 1800 BC ie. well after the woodlands had declined. Perhaps the loss of the trees produced more water-logged soils and this stimulated the peat formation. By Norse times, there were probably only patches of woodland remaining in sheltered areas. There are still unanswered questions about the original tree cover of Orkney - did it cover all of Orkney (including the outer isles), was it complete or in scattered groups, exactly which species were present and, was it climate or man (or both) that caused its almost complete, and very sudden, loss? ________________________________________________________________________ http://www.firth.orkney.sch.uk/trees/natrees.htm Norman Tulloch ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message Evelyn, Emma, Robbie & Spencer Sweet Pea Digory waiting at the Bridge (12/8/89 - 11/8/96) Help support Corgi Aid -- http://www.corgiaid.org/ Ohio Corgi Picnic - June 22, 2008 in Marion, Ohio http://homepage.mac.com/evelynhlabse/Home/home.html If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

According to the Orcadian website Historic Scotland conservators have successfully removed the graffiti left on of the houses at Skara Brae last month. -- Bruce Fletcher Stronsay, Orkney <www.stronsay.co.uk/claremont> "I’m sorry, you have reached an imaginary number. Please rotate your telephone 90 degrees and dial again"

On Sep 10, 2007, at 8:51 AM, Norman Tulloch wrote: Included in the Rousay Youth Club plantation was Hawthorn, which I found interesting. The Hawthorn is the Official Symbol of Mantoulin Island where we spend time, and the residents are called Haweaters. They are a doggedly determined and independent wee tree, with their own deadly sharp spears for protection from large critters. A bird landing in a hawthorn tree needs to be careful on landing so as to avoid becoming part of the tree. Other species grown on the Rousay plantation are: ash (don't know which variety) bird cherry beech (another variety challenge) common alder downy birch elderberry gray alder hazel mixed willow rowan sea buckhorn swedish whitebeam sycamore wych elm Seems there is no evergreens in the mix. The stie environment is unique, with a nice natural pond and marshland grasses and a stream. I would think that this effort will produce an ever improving example of pre-agriculture natural cover in Orkney, which I suppose will become prolific from a wildlife standpoint. Most of the above species would appear to be excellent grouse cover. I suppose in the initial stages the rabbits could be damaging if they are as common there as on Stronsay. stephen > SIMON TREASURE wrote: >> or the woodland being created by me at the Hall of Heddle. just >> ordered my winter stock for planting, (hazel, hawthorne whitebeam, >> willow ,alder, rowan and birch) a further 500 to add to the 1200 or >> so already in the ground, to augment the three and a half acres of >> naturalising garden landscaping i am doing.at they all do well on >> your land or are some more successful than > others? Have you had to establish a shelter belt of some sort? > > None of the ubiquitous sycamore, I see! It's a tough tree but not > exactly one of my favourites. I'd guess it must be about the commonest > tree in Orkney, though. Maybe elder (boorwid) might be the next most > common? However, I suppose it tends to be more of a big shrub than a > proper tree. > > I don't know if you've come across John Burns's book "Gardening in > Orkney and Shetland", published back in 1976? On trees he says: > > "Species you can grow with a reasonable chance of success are as > follows: > > Lodgepole Pine. Alaskan and Washington Coast varieties. > Sitka Spruce. Alaskan or Queen Charlotte varieties. > Willow. (Salix capres) > Sycamore. (Acer) > Common Alder. > Sorbus. (Whitebeam) > Birch. Requires maximum shelter. > Larch. > Rowan. (Mountain Ash) > Common Ash. Requires maximum shelter." > > As someone who lives in a part of Scotland that has suffered from > blanket afforestation with Sitka spruce, I'd certainly be reluctant to > see too much of that in Orkney, though it may be a handsome tree in > some > situations. I'm a little surprised that he says that birch requires > maximum shelter, since I seem to remember seeing it growing quite > happily in exposed coastal areas in the West Highlands of Scotland. I > should think there's been quite a bit of tree-planting in Orkney and > Shetland over the past thirty years or so, though, so maybe Mr Burns's > information is a bit out of date. > > Norman Tulloch > > > > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ORCADIA- > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes > in the subject and the body of the message

Any one know if Orkney had forests in an earlier time,,like Neolithic or bronze/iron age? Or has it always been a bit sparse on trees? R -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Norman Tulloch Sent: Monday, September 10, 2007 7:52 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: [ORCADIA] Wind SIMON TREASURE wrote: > or the woodland being created by me at the Hall of Heddle. just > ordered my winter stock for planting, (hazel, hawthorne whitebeam, > willow ,alder, rowan and birch) a further 500 to add to the 1200 or > so already in the ground, to augment the three and a half acres of > naturalising garden landscaping i am doing. Sounds like a very attractive selection of trees, Simon. Do you find that they all do well on your land or are some more successful than others? Have you had to establish a shelter belt of some sort? None of the ubiquitous sycamore, I see! It's a tough tree but not exactly one of my favourites. I'd guess it must be about the commonest tree in Orkney, though. Maybe elder (boorwid) might be the next most common? However, I suppose it tends to be more of a big shrub than a proper tree. I don't know if you've come across John Burns's book "Gardening in Orkney and Shetland", published back in 1976? On trees he says: "Species you can grow with a reasonable chance of success are as follows: Lodgepole Pine. Alaskan and Washington Coast varieties. Sitka Spruce. Alaskan or Queen Charlotte varieties. Willow. (Salix capres) Sycamore. (Acer) Common Alder. Sorbus. (Whitebeam) Birch. Requires maximum shelter. Larch. Rowan. (Mountain Ash) Common Ash. Requires maximum shelter." As someone who lives in a part of Scotland that has suffered from blanket afforestation with Sitka spruce, I'd certainly be reluctant to see too much of that in Orkney, though it may be a handsome tree in some situations. I'm a little surprised that he says that birch requires maximum shelter, since I seem to remember seeing it growing quite happily in exposed coastal areas in the West Highlands of Scotland. I should think there's been quite a bit of tree-planting in Orkney and Shetland over the past thirty years or so, though, so maybe Mr Burns's information is a bit out of date. Norman Tulloch ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Sian, We got our cats from a farm near Dounby which has, among other animals, a duck which thinks it's a chicken. It keeps trying to mate with a particular hen, who doesn't give him the time of day. BTW, we can see your lighthouse from our window, and we hear the Hamnavoe's horn, though we can't see it arrive. Jim --------------------------------------------- This message was sent using the UIA Web Mail Server. ULTIMATE Internet Access, Inc http://www.uia.net/

or the woodland being created by me at the Hall of Heddle. just ordered my winter stock for planting, (hazel, hawthorne whitebeam, willow ,alder, rowan and birch) a further 500 to add to the 1200 or so already in the ground, to augment the three and a half acres of naturalising garden landscaping i am doing. the big problem this year is that winter started in July, that makes it a long haul to May 2008. i already have symptoms of SAD which doesn't normally happen until mid December. everyone in the uk has had a bad summer but we seem to simply have missed it altogether this year. feral cats and domestic cats that range widely for hunting are absolute vermin, especially here due the ground nesting nature of many of our birds. if the RSPB were brave they would campaign very loud and hard for rigorous and thorough pest control measures but unfortunately cats have very good PR and they say very little. Any found on my land are very unwelcome indeed. Hen Harrier nesting at Durkadale starts in about a month as breeding pairs split up and is an amazing place to go at sunset on a beautiful winters night. simon ----- Original Message ---- From: Norman Tulloch <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sunday, 9 September, 2007 5:35:54 PM Subject: Re: [ORCADIA] Wind On woodlands, how about the Happy Valley, created by the late Edwin Harrold in Stenness? http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1262/1350613235_c14dac8918_o.jpg ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hello! I've been a lurker on the list for a while now, but finally a topic has come up I can comment on! I''m a volunteer with Orkney Islands Cat Protection, and will be the new Admissions Officer when our revamped system is up and running. It's Cat Protection that issues vouchers for neutering, not the council, and the money comes from public donations and legacies. We will be looking for new fosterers (pen, food, litter, etc supplied) and can always use more volunteers for fundraising,etc. We've just finished a spell at the Blue Door shop and will be having a Black Cat Bazaar on Sept 29. If anyone has cats to home, or ferals to report, or even better wants to home a cat from us, you can contact me on the list. We will be publicising the new phone number very soon! And thanks to all of you for much enjoyable reading over the time I've been in Orkney (about 2 years). I'll try to do better about contributing in future..... Traprain __________________________________________________ Tiscali Broadband only £7.99 a month for your first 3 months! http://www.tiscali.co.uk/products/broadband/

HAVE you any photos online of your plantation project? I too suffer from SADs. December is a wipeout. On Sep 9, 2007, at 7:58 PM, SIMON TREASURE wrote: > or the woodland being created by me at the Hall of Heddle. just > ordered my winter stock for planting, (hazel, hawthorne whitebeam, > willow ,alder, rowan and birch) a further 500 to add to the 1200 or > so already in the ground, to augment the three and a half acres of > naturalising garden landscaping i am doing. > > the big problem this year is that winter started in July, that > makes it a long haul to May 2008. i already have symptoms of SAD > which doesn't normally happen until mid December. everyone in the > uk has had a bad summer but we seem to simply have missed it > altogether this year.