At the end of May, the plastic boardwalk at Langlands Moss LNR was seriously damaged when persons unknown placed an accelerant in the centre of the boardwalk and then lit it. This resulted in 50 metres of boardwalk being seriously damaged. Although the site is owned by South Lanarkshire Council, a local voluntary group work with SLC Countryside and Greenspace to manage the area. This group had raised the £100,000 a few years ago and were very upset at the needless damage and reduced access for all Moss users.
Since the beginning of June, the Friends of Langlands Moss LNR have raised over £4,000 through various methods such as direct donations, a “Go Fund Me” page, raising awareness in the community, guess the birthday of Hamish a knitted piper and folk concert performed by Mad Ferret. Several local East Kilbride businesses contributed items for a very successful raffle too.
As a result of the damaged boardwalk, some of the events planned for the year had to be curtailed. However the annual popular family Batman and Mothin BBQ went ahead along with Forest School and Wild Squirrel events.
Friends Of Langlands Moss (FOLM) have also applied for grants to help fund the boardwalk repairs and at present are anxiously waiting to hear the outcome of these applications. Fingers crossed they will be successful.
Batman and Mothin Night
The annual Batmand and Mothin Night comprises a walk over the boardwalk to see the bog and learn about the importance of peatlands, followed by a free BBQ.
This year FOLM had locally sourced venison burgers and sausages, as well as the usual BBQ fare. Once it became dark, bat detectors were brought out to let people hear their high pitched sounds and moth traps set, to see what could be caught.
Some of the volunteers, who also volunteer for Butterfly Conservation, also brought along caterpillars they had found earlier in the week to show the families.
With the local community, the Bat and Mothin Night is becoming a very popular event!
