There is already a wealth of data available about habitats and species within the local area, available through government organisations and biological recording schemes. Much of this is freely available although some is licensed. We will be looking at much of this data at the start of the project so that we don’t replicate it and waste time. Some are shown below, to give a flavour of what we know:

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  Woodlands

  As well as the extensive woodland at Dunollie, there are also smaller areas of native woodland within Oban and in the area around it. We know that there are some rare lichens within some of these woodlands, but that they are threatened by invasive non-native species such as Rhododendron ponticum. Some of these areas have been continually wooded for generations and are therefore more important for biodiversity.

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  Protected sites

  There are a number of Statutory and Non-Statutory sites within the OCC area, plus Tree Preservation orders.