West Lothian woodland guardians graduate from Whatsapp group to registered Scottish charity

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A dedicated team of naturalists from West Lothian are celebrating evolving from a WhatsApp group into a registered Scottish charity.Easter Breich Wood Community Group (EBWCG) is now the owner of Easter Breich Wood, a 19-hectare woodland situated near West Calder and Seafield, bordered by the River Almond and the Breich Water.The woodland is frequently used for walking, cycling, running and horse- riding by local people, and is home to a diverse range of wildlife.The paths that pass through the woodland are part of the Shale Trail, which is a 25km route from West Calder to Winchburgh, commemorating West Lothian’s shale mining heritage.In summer 2020, during the pandemic, a for sale sign appeared at the entrance to the woodland near Oakbank Cottages from owners Green Action Trust (GAT).A group of neighbours set up a WhatsApp group to see what they could do and so the Easter Breich Wood Steering Group was formed.Through early discussions within the steering group, it became clear the group did not want to see the woodland sold to a new private owner, and so began their journey to purchase the woodland on behalf of the surrounding local community.Later in 2020, the steering group secured initial funding from the Scottish Land Fund (SLF) to carry out a feasibility study with the help of consultants Community Enterprise to explore the community’s aim to buy the woodland.EBWCG also became a Scottish Charitable Voluntary Organisation (SCVO).In June 2021, the group organised a coffee and cake fundraising event at the woodland, to raise money and to meet with and share the group’s funding application progress with local people.Soon after the event, the steering group submitted the Stage 2 funding application to the SLF for