Building an Otter Holt with Forestry Commission Scotland

The TMTP Trainee team spent three days working with the Forestry Commission carrying out habitat work near Aberfoyle. On the final day we constructed an Otter Holt, a structure built next to a small burn that would provide mother otters with somewhere to raise new-borns, or even just for otters to shelter during the winter months. To gather materials for the Holt, we felled some nearby Sitka Spruce and Birch trees, stripped them of branches, and used the trunks to form the framework. The branches were then piled on top to create a roof for the shelter, as well as blending it into the surrounding environment.