AUCHENSHUGGLE WOOD

Auchenshuggle Wood is located south of London Rd on the grounds of the one time Fullarton House. Glasgow's first Community Nature Park, it was established in late 1982.

Fullarton became the property of the British Steel Corporation as part of the complex at Clyde Iron Works/ Clydebridge. The SDA acquired the land and ownership was later transferred to the GDA. The official title of Auchenshuggle Wood was apparently bestowed by the SDA because of the wood's proximity to the old Auchenshuggle tram terminus.

A construction firm was interested in building houses on the site but this proposal was decided against when it was argued that the wood was a unique resource in the east end. It was leased to the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers whose Scottish arm became independent in 1984 as Scottish Conservation Projects. It is the latter which now oversees the project.

The SCP aims to encourage a wider range of flora and fauna, with an emphasis on replacing the supplanted native species of trees and flowers. Through the years it has been responsible for planting oak, ash, hazel, rowan, gean, alder, willow and birch. During National Tree Week in 1982 nearly 900 native trees were planted. Apart from wishing to restore the "natural community of trees" for its own sake, the indigenous species generally play host to a greater variety of insect species.

Progress has not been unhindered. Dutch Elm disease inevitably took its toll in Auchenshuggle as elsewhere and with the new motorway cutting its swathe to the south of the wood, it is feared that the water table will be upset with the wood losing some of the big trees. However, new, younger trees will establish themselves in their place.

Of the flowers on the site the most noted are the orchids whose presence lent weight to its preservation as a conservation area. The orchids in the wood are not particularly rare, but it is unusual to have them in such a concentration within the city itself. In addition to those already present in the wood, the SCP have planted a variety of wild flowers including foxglove, red campion, dog violet, primrose, bluebell and cowslip. Wildlife observed in the wood includes stoats, foxes, weasels, kestrels, a sparrowhawk, and a great spotted woodpecker.