ESHIELS Community Wood is holding the second in a series of three open days this weekend to celebrate its transfer as a community asset from the Forestry Commission.

The Tweed Wheel minibus will operate a shuttle bus service between the Peebles Community Trust headquarters in School Brae and the seven-hectare riverside woodland between noon and 4pm tomorrow (Saturday) to showcase the site and celebrate its transfer earlier this year to the local community.

Young people are particularly welcome, with Nature Unlimited running bushcraft, forest school and other outdoor activities throughout the afternoon.

Three local artists are setting up an interactive installation based on the woodland environment which they call 'What Are We Like' and which references among other things climate change and human beings’ place in nature. There will also be acoustic music from local musicians.

The wood lies between the River Tweed and the Tweed Valley Railway Path, and is the only known location in Scotland for the extremely rare currant borer moth – an example of the biodiversity of a site that accommodates specimen conifers and a variety of deciduous trees and shrubs.

Many broadleaves have seeded themselves into the wood. The management plan is to thin the conifers and transform it by degrees into open mixed woodland.

This could be managed as coppice, a part of a woodland heritage that has nearly disappeared in Scotland, providing wood fuel, fencing, basketry materials and more.

At the same time, the woodland along the river bank could be as natural as possible, with willows, alder, elm, bird cherry and birch.

A spokesman told us: “The wood offers an exciting opportunity to improve biodiversity and the River Tweed corridor by diversifying the species and bringing more light into the wood.

“We hope to show how we can improve sustainable productive management of our local woodlands through community ownership, resurrecting coppice management skills and providing a space for further skills training and nature learning.”

The open day is one of nearly 50 taking place around Scotland as part of Community Land Scotland’s annual Community Land Week.

Everything is free of charge and members of the woodland management team will be on hand to offer guided tours of the site and explain their proposals to combine conservation with a revival of traditional woodland management techniques.

Eshiels Community Wood is about half a mile from the centre of Peebles and can be approached along the multi-use railway path from the town through Cardrona to Innerleithen, making it readily accessible to cyclists and walkers.

A third open day is scheduled to take part during the first day of the annual Tweed Valley Forest Festival on Saturday, October 19.