The Trustees of the Forres Community Woodlands Trust have been saddened to learn of the untimely death, following a prolonged illness, of the former Chairman of the Trust, Chris Piper. Chris was one of the initial Trustees and served as Chairman from early 2002 to 2008 which was a period of very significant development for the Trust.
In September 2002, Chris was the driving force in the race to raise the £150,000 to purchase the Sanquhar Woodlands which were offered for sale to the Trust for a short time before being placed on the open market. It was his enthusiasm, energy and persuasive nature that raised this significant amount of money in less than 3 weeks from both private individuals and from organisations, thereby gaining the Sanquahar Woodlands for the Forres Community to enjoy. Newspaper cuttings from the time can be seen below with Chris being on the left in the main picture.
Chris was also instrumental in the creation of the Mountain Bike Trails and Jumps in Sanquhar Woodlands. He led the planning, fund raising and building of the trails which opened in October 2008 and have proved very popular with both local MTB riders and visitors to the area.
Chris stood down as a Trustee in 2011 having served for 3 terms but his work and influence persisted through the comprehensive Management Plan that he had created.
