SUPPORTERS of a near-£900K community buy-out of a Peeblesshire woods can show their allegiance with wildlife merchandise.

John Hart, of Friends of Broughtonknowe (FoB), one of the prime movers in the plan to buy the 136-acre woods, just north of Broughton, has designed a range of items featuring a badger, frog and woodland scenes.

Mr Hart, a former biology teacher at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh, honed his drawing skills while studying zoology at Aberdeen University in the 1960s.

He said: “I’m trying to come up with ways of keeping the FoB activities in the woodland funded.

“I designed a couple of logos, earlier in the buyout campaign and it came to me that they might work as badges – and more ambitiously on T-shirts and shoulder bags.

“I am at the stage of having some trial items printed.”

In addition Mr Hart hopes to put his design on badges, fridge magnets and keyrings.

Mr Hart said: “I was always good at drawings for our practical reports – plenty of frogs.  

“I suppose that’s where my frog logo expertise originates.  

“During teaching I always enjoyed creating classroom biological diagrams – in the early days with chalk on the blackboard and at the end of my career on the computer using a data projector.  

“I used a drawing app on our iPad to colour the Broughtonknowe logos.”

In early January FoB secured first stage cash of £30,00 from the Scottish Land Fund to help pay for woodland consultants, MacPherson Group, and a full business plan.

If successful, stage two funding from the same cash pot could cover 95 per cent of the woodland value.

The community buy-out plan was launched at a public meeting attended by at least 70 people in Skirling Hall last July.

The buy-out became reality when current Broughtonknowe owner Christopher Lambton decided to sell in June last year.

He made it known he was prepared to accept a community buy-out and wait while the process took place.

Mr Hart said: “There is a community open day planned for early May in the woodland and I intend to have ‘all systems go’ by then, maybe as a fundraiser.

“In the meantime I would like to trial items in one or two local shops, if they are willing.  

“I will also make items available from the FoB hide at the ponds.”

The shoulder tote bag is priced at £10, a T-shirt at £12 and a T-shirt in a bag at £20. Badges, fridge magnets and keyrings would all be £2 each.