When we first started to repair bank erosion sites we had to go looking for enough willow and posts to be able to do the job.

Now thanks to Leys Estate who have supplied surplus willow material to the Don DSFB, we can now undertake larger and more significant sections of the catchment using this technique with excellent materials which would have been considered as waste.
Posts being cut Posts cut Bundles of willow Willow ready to be bundled Willow bundles having to be carried across fields when no access to site due to the mud roads
Our first Willow bank site that we undertook was a few years ago on the Howesmill site on the Leochel Burn. So having never done this kind of repairs before it was a bit of a learning curve.
Before Repair Before Repair During Repair After Repair Summer in bloom
Once this first job was done we then started to look for other sites that needed done on the River Don catchment area.
Bandalay Burn Before Bandalay Burn During Bandalay Burn During Summer In Bloom Summer In Bloom
The Bandalay Burn was another site that needed repaired the photos don’t do it justice as this was a rather long stretch that could have been 3 sites in itself. On this particular site we had some volunteers from the sepa office over to help us for a day.
Sepa Volunteers at Bandalay Burn Sepa Volunteers at Bandalay Burn Sepa Volunteers at Bandalay Burn Sepa Volunteers at Bandalay Burn Sepa Volunteers at Bandalay Burn
Another couple of sites that we have done are over on the River Urie at Pitcaple.
Pitcaple Before Pitcaple Before Posts going in Finished weaving Summer in bloom
Another site we also did was at Alford.
Alford Before Alford Before Posts in Weaving getting done Weaving Finished Summer Bloom
If anyone would like to volunteer with future willow bank restoration projects across the Don please contact Jim Kerr at the email below to register your interest. Work will commence from February 2021 and volunteering would accommodate government guidance in relation to Covid-19.