Glen Lyon residents swap oil for wood

Dec 15 2009 by Les Stewart, Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday

RESIDENTS in Glen Lyon have set an example for word leaders at Copenhagen by committing to make lasting cuts in their carbon emissions.

The community has been awarded funding from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) towards heating their homes with wood fuel.

The £21,500 grant will fund a feasibility study aimed at using local timber to provide a cheaper and greener alternative to oil.

“We are thrilled to have received this grant from the Scottish Government,” said Tom Beels, secretary of the Glen Lyon Wood fuel Initiative.

“We can now take the first step towards reducing our dependency on oil by heating our homes with wood, which is a carbon neutral fuel.”

Glen Lyon is one of the most remote areas of Highland Perthshire and has a population of around 100 residents, scattered over a 22-mile stretch of twisting, single track road.

Residents in the glen have become alarmed by rising fuel costs, with some families paying an average of £2,500 per year in oil bills alone.

Much of the low-value commercial forestry in the glen could be of great worth to the community if it was used to heat homes as wood fuel.

There is also the potential to re-introduce practices common in the glen until recent times, such as coppicing.

Planting more broad-leaf coppice would also help benefit the rich wildlife in the area.

“As you come up the glen, you can see old stands of coppice that are now neglected.

“We hope that restoring these, planting new areas and harvesting plantation timber will provide local employment as well as keep our homes warm,” added Tom.

The feasibility study will look into ways of getting local timber from forest to fire with a minimum impact on the environment, including the possible use of horses extraction rather than diesel-driven machinery.

The project will seek to marry old technologies with modern wood burning stoves, which are far more efficient and easier to use.

The Glen Lyon Wood fuel initiative is one of 41 projects granted funding last week by the Climate Challenge Fund.

The fund was set up to support grassroots action to cut carbon emissions in communities across Scotland.

“We know from local research and the memories of some of our older residents that Glen Lyon was almost completely self-sustaining 100 years ago.

“We are seeking to learn low-carbon lessons from the past to help us move towards a greener future,” concluded Tom.