Staff gather at Schiehallion

Digital Communications Officer Natalia Barbour reflects on a day spent at Schiehallion with colleagues from across the Trust

Trust staff from across the country convened at a wet and windy Schiehallion last Tuesday for our annual staff gathering, where, despite the weather, we headed out to explore the hills together. 32 members of the Trust team were present, with some travelling from as far as Brighton to attend. 

Following a health and safety briefing in the car park, we divided into three groups. Each group was asked to reflect on a different aspect of wild places as they made their way around Schiehallion, each team taking a different path around the mountain. Themes for consideration included local wildlife, the development of native woodland, and characteristics that define a wild place. 

Highlights of the day included spotting sapling growth, finding an abandoned beaver dam, and observing the growth of native woodland spreading across the side of the mountain.

After leaving the mountain and taking some time to unboot and unwind, the Trust team reconvened in Pitlochry to debrief on the day.

Staff shared thoughts on how our day on the mountain brought into focus the signs of change, recovery, and natural process that our Wild Places Index will attempt to measure, and what it means to understand and describe a place as wild.

The Trust's estate in East Schiehallion covers an area of 871 hectares (equivalent to 1,219 football pitches!). This includes the eastern part of Schiehallion and the quieter and wilder Gleann Mòr to the south.