A WARM WELCOME to Friends of Callander Moraine.

This site has three purposes:

1. To raise public awareness about the Callander Moraine - a landform of international scientific importance - created during the Loch Lomond Stadial, Scotland's most recent glacial period that occurred between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago.

2. To alert people to the fact that although we campaigned successfully back in 2005-2006 to prevent Callander Moraine from being destroyed by an aggregates company who wanted to quarry it for gravel, the moraine and the red squirrels who live on it still need to be protected from encroachment by developers. Since 2009 housing developers have built right up to the western side of the moraine. On the eastern side, what used to be the outwash (before that was quarried) has been earmarked for a large hotel and leisure operation which may or may not come to fruition between 2016-20. Both schemes feature in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority's Finalised Local Plan for Callander. Worryingly, FOCM members have recently had to remind the Park Authority of the moraine's existence.

3. To ask those who care about conservation, climate change and the UK's natural heritage to participate in our continuing campaign to prevent the destruction of this landscape feature, which is home to a colony of red squirrels and a heronry; is a greatly-loved local amenity; is part of a uniquely valuable field site for students studying Earth Sciences at schools and universities in the UK and Western Europe; and holds key evidence for scientists researching rapid climate change.

If you could spare a few minutes to read through our site and perhaps pass on our URL
( http://www.friendsofcallandermoraine/ ) to others who might be interested we would be most grateful.

Thank you,

Friends of Callander Moraine
Callander
Perthshire
Scotland, UK.

(2010)