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Six Day, £1.9 million Stranraer Line Upgrade Complete

Network Rail has completed a six-day, £1.9 million upgrade of the Stranraer line.

The project involved replacing more than 1km of track at Laggansarroch viaduct, near Girvan, including the use of 200 recycled plastic (composite) sleepers over the structure itself.

It’s part of efforts to help Network Rail in its aim to achieve a net zero carbon target by 2035.

As well as the composite sleepers, engineers used 1800 steel sleepers, 1500 tonnes of ballast (stone which supports the track) and 2km of new rails during the work.

At Kilkeran, 650m of new track drainage was also installed during the project.

With the line closed due to the ongoing demolition of the former Station Hotel at Ayr, a 65-tonne tamper –
a machine used to maintain tracks – was brought in by road and lifted onto the railway at Stranraer using a 500-tonne crane.

That crane was also used to lift two of ScotRail’s trains onto lorries, allowing them to return to their depot in Glasgow for vital maintenance.

Gerry McQuade, capital delivery director at Network Rail Scotland said: “The work we’ve carried out on the Stranraer line will help to keep trains moving during periods of extreme rainfall and bring smoother journeys for passengers. A huge thanks to everyone for coming up with an innovative solution to carry out the work, and for working around the clock for six days to complete the job.”
Craig Barclay, operations director at Rail Systems Alliance Scotland said: “I’m pleased our alliance between Network Rail, Babcock International and Arcadis was able to devise a new plan to complete this vital work, given the ongoing closure of the railway at Ayr, and also assist ScotRail in returning their two Class 156 trains to Corkerhill depot for vital maintenance.”

Scots Language Takes Centre Stage with the Debut of “Yum” by Foggie Toddle Book

Foggie Toddle Books Excited to Announce a Delightful New Scots Language

Foggie Toddle Books invites you to a tasty treat! ‘Yum’, a story written in the melodic Scots language by Susi Briggs and brought to life by Charlotte Brayley’s vibrant illustrations, has just been launched.

It is a feast for the eyes, ears, and imagination!

At the heart of Yum lies the endearing tale of Jenny, a wee girl who, while enjoying her sandwich in the garden, encounters a hungry mouse, a curious crow, and a caterpillar (a hairy oobit), all hoping for a bite. But instead of keeping the sandwich to herself, she kindly shares it with her new friends!

Susi Briggs was appointed the Galloway Scots Scriever at the start of this year and has taken up a year-long residency with the National Library of Scotland to promote the richness of the Scottish language. Susi shares her journey of crafting “Yum” and its connection to her childhood memories and love for the Scots language. “I wid like young readers and their faimilies tae see Scots wirds wrotten doon and tae ken it isna too hard tae read or unnerstaun. I hope the story will foster guid will in sharin wi ithers tae.”

The decision to publish Yum was influenced by Susi’s previous works, including Wheesht, Nip Nebs, and Nip Nebs and the Last Berry all of which have received acclaim for their contribution to Scots literature and were all short listed for the annual Scots Language awards. By adding Yum to the Foggie Toddle Booklist, publisher Jayne Baldwin aims to offer young readers more original Scots stories, filling a gap in the market for literature targeted at very young children.

Making her debut as a children’s book illustrator, Charlotte Brayley found inspiration for the central character from her own daughter. Charlotte, who is based in Perthshire, said: “Jenny was inspired by my hilarious and courageous daughter, Freya. I took inspiration from her spirit of adventure and her joy of exploration. Her dishevelled dirty blonde hair along with trademark dungarees! I feel incredibly lucky to have been able to create a book that stands out from the crowd and captures what I hoped – joy and the colour of a Scottish garden in full bloom.”

Publisher and bookseller, Jayne Baldwin, expressed her excitement for Yum stating, “I hope the book will appeal to parents of young children, it is aimed at the pre-school age group. It has cute characters and bold, simple illustrations. The simplicity of the story also makes it attractive to nonScot speakers. Both Wheesht and Yum are very engaging stories that are great fun to read.

“As a small independent publishing house, we are enormously grateful for the support of the Scots Language Grant and the Scottish Book Trust. We would not have been able to publish the book and give an opportunity to a new illustrator without the grant.”

To celebrate the release of Yum, author Susi Briggs has been presenting the book to young and old across southwest Scotland including a special reading at the Kirkcudbright Book Festival with further events throughout spring. Yum officially launches at the Big DoG festival in Dumfries on Sunday 24 th March, with a signing at the town’s Waterstones bookstore at the end of the month.

Readers eager to get their hands on Yum can order the book now through the Foggie Toddle website www.foggietoddlebooks.co.uk or from independent bookshops all over Scotland.

Kirk Helps Connect Communities in Dumfries & Galloway

Cyclists and walkers are a step closer to being able to safely travel between two villages thanks to the Church of Scotland.

The General Trustees have leased a parcel of glebe land to enable a new traffic free pathway to eventually open between Penpont and Thornhill in Dumfries and Galloway.

The official opening of what is the first of a three-phase project to create the Nithsdale active travel path is taking place on 23 March from 11am-1pm.

People are asked to gather at the Glebe Field entrance by Penpont Church Hall.

Morag Menneer, head of Land and Estates for the General Trustees, the property holding arm of the Church of Scotland, said: “The General Trustees were delighted to be able to assist the local church and community to provide an all access pathway between the villages of Penpont and Thornhill across a part of the glebe field.

“They have also provided the adjacent field to be used as a campsite later in the year for a cycle rally.

“The Church is blessed to be able to help and share in this way.”

The project is being led by Keir, Penpont and Tynron Development Trust, backed by £1,557,806 of funding from the Scottish Government, administered through Sustrans Scotland’s Places for Everyone programme.

Benches and bike stands have also been installed at two placemaking areas along the path, enabling people to rest while enjoying views of the surrounding landscape.

When phases 1B and 1C of the project are complete, a 2.4 mile path will connect Penpont and Thornhill, enabling residents to safely walk, wheel and cycle between the two villages.

Community support

John Fawcett, session clerk of Penpont Keir and Tynron Church, said: “The Kirk Session is delighted that some of the glebe land has been used to enable the local community to create this active travel path, which starts next to the church hall.

“It is a great path and already has been well used over the last few months even though it is officially opening on 23 March.

“The church hall will be used as a base for the opening ceremony which I hope will be well attended.”

The new path will provide environmental benefits with hedge planting and sowing of wildflowers along the route which will enhance local biodiversity and greenspace.

Maureen Halkett, chair of the Keir, Penpont and Tynron Development Trust, said: “We have had incredible support from all the funders and local landowners, who have helped our small rural development trust realise its dream of ensuring residents can safety embrace active travel.

“The new path will bring health, wellbeing environmental and economic benefits for local people and visitors.”

Conor Cross, grant manager at Sustrans Scotland, said: “We are delighted to see work finish on the first phase of the new Nithsdale active travel path between Penpont and Thornhill.

“The route has created a vital traffic-free space for walking, wheeling and cycling, making it easier and safer than ever for residents and visitors to the area to travel actively.

“We hope this will give more people, regardless of age or ability, the confidence to make healthier and more sustainable choices for their everyday journeys.”

First Ever Flux Tower Installed in the South of Scotland to Measure Greenhouse Gases

First-ever flux tower installed in the South of Scotland to measure greenhouse gases

The South of Scotland is joining a national network of flux towers, with a unique project allowing greenhouse gases to be measured as the land changes from commercial forestry crops to restored peatland.

The 14-metre flux tower is the first-ever installed in the South of Scotland and sits within a commercial forestry crop planted upon deep peat soil 24 years ago. Critically, the tower will be the first to measure carbon dioxide and methane from the site as the trees grow, reach maturity and are felled, to see how emissions change as the land is restored back to open peatland.

Greenhouse gases have increased in our atmosphere due to human activity since the industrial revolution, causing the climate crisis. Understanding how Scotland’s land stores or releases these gases is key to reducing carbon emissions.

Peatlands are recognised as vital carbon stores and are the largest terrestrial store of carbon in the UK. Information from the flux tower, funded by NatureScot Peatland ACTION, will help fill critical gaps in the understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from peatlands in different conditions.

Globally, it will put Scotland at the forefront of understanding peatland restoration including how forests impact deep peat. It will also provide critical information for the Scottish Government towards its ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2045.

Data from the flux tower’s instrumentation will also be joined up with a national network of flux towers in Scotland (SCO2FLUX) and shared openly with key stakeholders in peatland restoration and forestry management.

This new flux tower is a collaboration between NatureScot Peatland ACTION, the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Crichton Carbon Centre, Forestry and Land Scotland and The James Hutton Institute.

Chris Boyce, from NatureScot’s Peatland ACTION Data & Evidence Team, said: “We are delighted to be funding such an important and ground-breaking addition to Scotland’s flux tower network. The data will help inform the Peatland ACTION Programme on the effectiveness of peatland restoration measures and how to best manage existing peatland carbon stores in the future. Installing the tower is a major milestone and follows years of close collaboration across organisations. It’s fantastic to be moving into the next phase of the project and starting to generate results.”
Dr Emily Taylor, General Manager for the Crichton Carbon Centre, lead partner, said: “It’s a really exciting project and the first of its kind in the South of Scotland. To be part of an international network of similar monitoring stations will hugely benefit our understanding of emissions from peatlands under forestry and then subsequently restored and is a step forward in evidencing how we can reach our net zero ambitions.
“This project has been many years in the making and we’re committed to taking on the management of the project and developing this exciting research partnership,” Emily continues. “We hope this tower and research partnership will provide further opportunities for researchers and projects in the South of Scotland.”
Ed Turner, FLS Planning Manager, said:
“The site is part of an extensive lowland raised bog. The trees on this site were planted a quarter of a century ago when the understanding of trees impact on peatland sites was not as developed as it is today. The location of the flux tower is significant in that it will allow greenhouse gas emissions to be measured above the canopy of a maturing second rotation Sitka spruce and lodgepole pine conifer plantation on deep peat.
“This new flux tower will help to further develop our understanding of this extremely complex area and help refine the approach to managing land to best effect.
“Once the trees on this site are felled for timber next decade, there will be no further replanting and the area will be restored to open peatland habitat.”
Dr Carole Helfter, environmental physicist from UKCEH – who have led the installation and setting up of the flux monitoring equipment – explained: “If we are to meet net zero targets, we need to be able to quantify the land’s capacity to sequester carbon and to understand the control mechanisms of greenhouse gas emissions. Adding this project to the flux tower network – designed to help us understand the fundamental drivers for climate change – will give us added clues to that complex puzzle.”
Dr Mhairi Coyle, greenhouse gas and carbon dynamics researcher, from The James Hutton Institute, who are leading on the retrieval and analysis of the flux equipment data, added: “What makes this project so exciting is that, while the equipment will measure carbon dioxide exchange as well as the usual meteorological data, it is also the first tower on forested deep peat measuring landscape-scale methane exchange. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, and this research will provide additional insights into land management practices that minimise its emission.”

The tower was erected by Dulas, an award-winning renewable energy installer and consultancy. Locally, the project has been supported by Craig Williamson with fencing installation and Clark Scaffolding who will also help monitor the structure.
This project has also benefited from funding from South of Scotland Enterprise.

Updates on the project will be shared on the Crichton Carbon Centre website.

Flux towers are meteorological tower sites that use eddy covariance methods to measure and calculate vertical turbulence fluxes (the upward and downward movement) of trace-gas concentrations by an ecosystem and how it changes over time. The standard method employs fast-response instruments to measure trace-gas concentrations and wind speed/direction which estimate the net exchange of carbon dioxide CO2. Readings are captured though sensors fitted to the tower. The data helps quantify the amount of carbon stored in different ecosystems (vegetation), site-to-site variation, and how it may be modified in land use, land management or climate change. Other meteorological measurements are also usually recorded such as wind speed and direction.

SCO2FLUX Peatland research network: The main focus of the SCO2FLUX or GHG monitoring network is on Scottish peatlands because of their key potential role in mitigating climate change, maintaining biodiversity and managing water resources when in good ecological condition. The site network is designed to fill important evidence gaps in our understanding of Scottish land use impacts on emissions and forms an important part of the UK-wide network of sites that contribute to the continued development and revision of the peatland Tier 2 emission factors in the UK GHG Inventory. They also feed directly into the training and validation of models and efforts to understand future feedbacks on global climate.

Rewilding Nation Declaration Call for Scotland as Charter Launched

Rewilding Nation declaration call for Scotland as Charter launched
Langholm Moor In Dumfries and Galloway

More than 2% of Scotland’s land is now rewilding according to new figures from the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, as it launches a Rewilding Nation Charter calling for Scotland to declare itself the world’s first rewilding nation.

 

Despite growing praise for its rewilding progress, Scotland remains one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. The new Charter says rewilding offers hope for restoring habitats and saving wildlife, with major benefits for people, but much more needs to be done.

 

The Alliance is urging people from all walks of life to sign the Rewilding Nation Charter which calls on the Scottish Government to commit to nature recovery across 30% of land and sea.

 

The campaign includes a new feature-length film called Why Not Scotland?, which explores how rewilding could happen on a bigger scale in the country. The documentary will be shown on a nationwide screening tour including Oban, Peebles, Dundee, and Inverness, following an Edinburgh premiere.

 

“Climate breakdown and nature loss mean we face an unprecedented threat to our way of life and our children’s future. But it’s not too late. Scotland can lead the way as a Rewilding Nation to benefit nature, climate and people,” said Steve Micklewright, Scottish Rewilding Alliance Convenor and Chief Executive of Trees for Life.

Kevin Cumming is a key spokesperson on this story, in his role as Rewilding Director at Rewilding Britain + member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s steering group; Kevin is also Vice Chair of the Langholm Initiative, and played a leading role in the Langholm Moor community buyout, which led to the creation of Tarras Valley Nature Reserve.

Kevin Said “Rewilding offers our best hope of restoring health to the natural world we all depend on. It offers a chance to breathe life back into increasingly lifeless land and seas – revitalising natural processes, restoring species, enriching communities, and building resilience against challenges the future holds,” said Kevin Cumming, Rewilding Director at Rewilding Britain and member of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance’s Steering Group. Kevin is also Vice-Chair of the Langholm Initiative, and played a leading role in South Scotland’s largest community buyout, which led to the creation of the 10,000-acre Tarras Valley Nature Reserve in Dumfries and Galloway.”

 

Scotland is ranked 212 out of 240 countries and territories for the state of its nature, and 11% of its species face extinction. Intensive agriculture and climate breakdown are having the biggest impacts on biodiversity, according to the authoritative State of Nature 2023 report, with other threats including non-native forestry, pollution, and introduced species.

 

This is undermining access to food, fresh water and clean air. It is hampering efforts to lock away carbon, and harming people’s health and wellbeing, says the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, a coalition of more than 20 organisations.

 

But growing numbers of communities, charities, farmers and landowners are taking action to turn Scotland’s nature crisis around – helping society cope with climate breakdown’s floods, wildlife die-offs, droughts and crop failures, while creating jobs and economic opportunities.

 

In the first-ever such figures released, the Scottish Rewilding Alliance calculates 2.1% of Scotland’s land is now rewilding, with more than 150 projects covering at least 160,000 hectares, from community woodlands to landscape-scale partnerships. This includes members of Rewilding Britain’s UK-wide Rewilding Network, and the Scotland-wide Northwoods Rewilding Network, led by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture.

 

Rewilding 30% of Scotland can be achieved by restoring wild habitats including peatlands, native woodlands, wetlands, rivers and seas, with no loss of productive farmland. Rewilding goes hand-in-hand with nature-led farming, fishing and forestry, the Alliance says.

 

Produced by SCOTLAND: The Big Picture, the Why Not Scotland? film explores the Scottish landscape through the eyes of Flo Blackbourn, a young Scot from Glasgow, who sets out on a personal journey to find inspiring examples of major nature recovery around Europe.

 

“My journey to see how rewilding can help nature and people thrive together was life-changing and such a source of hope. Like many young people, I’m worried about the uncertain future we all face with climate breakdown and nature loss – but life can bounce back if we give it a chance, and work with nature instead of against it,” said Flo (27).
“The nature and climate crises can feel overwhelming, but we can all make a difference by uniting behind a clear message. We’re calling on everyone who shares our hopes and sense of urgency to sign the Rewilding Nation Charter to help create a greener, fairer country,” said Alliance member Tom Bowser, farmer and owner of Argaty Red Kites in Perthshire.

 

For more information, visit www.rewild.scot.

 

Dalry Angling Association Announces Start of New Trout Season!

Dalry Angling Association Announces Start of New Trout Season!

Dalry Angling Association is pleased to announce the start of the new trout fishing season today.

With spring in the air and the wild Brown trout season upon us, the Dalry Angling Association is ready for action and welcomes visitors and residents to come and fish local waters in the Glenkens.

The season runs from the 15th of March until the 6th of October, and as avid anglers ourselves, we are excited to hit the waters and experience the thrill of fishing for these elusive and beautiful fish.

The brown trout season is a highly anticipated time for anglers, as these fish are known for their challenging nature, especially the canny wee brownies! With the start of the season, our members at Dalry Angling Association are gearing up with renewed ambition, freshly tied flies and new techniques to master to ensure a successful and enjoyable fishing season.

At Dalry Angling Association we pride ourselves on promoting responsible angling practices and conservation efforts to protect our natural resources. We encourage all anglers to practice catch-and-release fishing to preserve the population of brown trout for future generations. Our waters are also stocked with rainbow trout and fishing is suitable to anglers of all levels, using fly, spinner or worm.

Whether you are a seasoned angler or new to the sport, we invite you to join us at Dalry Angling Association for a season filled with camaraderie, adventure, and the thrill of the catch, or simply rock up and purchase a day ticket from one of the village shops!

To purchase a day ticket simply pop into Wright’s Shop in St Johns Town of Dalry, or Carsphairn Tearooms in Carsphairn.

To learn more about Dalry Angling Association and how you can become a member, please visit https://dalryangling.co.uk or contact Mark Trueman (Secretary) at [email protected]

Let’s make this brown trout season one to remember and wherever you’re fishing in D&G this season, we wish you tight lines!

The Usual Place Will Create a Groundbreaking New Job Role Thanks To National Lottery Funding

The Usual Place Will Create a Groundbreaking New Job Role thanks to National Lottery Funding

The Usual Place in Dumfries has been awarded funding from The National Lottery Young Start Fund to create a new full-time role of Employer-ability Mentor to support employers across Dumfries & Galloway in welcoming disabled young people into their teams, bringing hope and a future to young people with learning disabilities and additional support needs.

The Employer-Ability Mentor role will formalize much of the crucial work that The Usual Place has been doing for many years and bring expertise and resources to link forward-thinking employers and ambitious young people with additional support needs.

The Employer-Ability Mentor will also lead and focus on identifying relevant job opportunities for young people and support both employers and candidates in ensuring sustainable outcomes. This may include providing training and support for employers and identifying ways to make reasonable adjustments and sources of assistance to better welcome disabled people into their teams, as well as following up with practical and emotional in-work support to ensure long-term success.

The purpose is to increase the number of disabled young people moving on from the core project at The Usual Place where they receive training and externally verified qualifications in hospitality services, as well as life skills. The aim is to prepare young people for work and actively guide them into successful employment, addressing the high percentage of young people with additional support needs leaving positions prematurely across Dumfries & Galloway.

The new role will also enable a stronger focus on preparing young people to transition out of the training cafe at The Usual Place through individualized support with job seeking, interview skills, job brokerage and improving communication and knowledge of what matters most to both employers and employees.

The National Lottery Young Start Fund has pledged £95,953 over 3 years to fund the Employer-Ability Mentor and their work. It is expected that this will directly benefit 45 young people over the three year period.

Announcing today’s funding, The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to continue funding such a broad range of vital projects for young people all over Scotland.
 “We are always keen to support projects that put Scotland’s young people at the heart of the development and running of services. If your group has an idea how you would make this happen, then we’d love to hear from you.”
Heather Hall Chief Executive of The Usual Place, said: We are really excited to be able to now recruit for this vital role which complements and provides focus for work we are already doing. We are continuously coming across employers who are interested in creating really strong, diverse workforce and providing sustainable opportunities for young people, but they often don’t feel confident or fully informed on how to go about making this a reality. And there are so many young people who have the skills, drive, determination and desire to work but just need the right support in transitioning into their first job.
“For many years we have been successfully working with employers across Dumfries & Galloway who now have some fantastic young people making great contributions to their teams, but having a dedicated role, expertise and resources within the mix here at The Usual Place will give a massive boost to this work and will enable us to reach out and connect so many more employers and young employees.
“In addition to all the core training, volunteer placements we offer within the Community Cafe at the Usual Place, we are also a Disability Confident Leader which enables us to bring expertise and networking opportunities to businesses and organisations across the region. We also provide Training Days in Autism Awareness to businesses and these are delivered by Trainers with lived experience and our Good Connections for Autistic Adults project brings information and access to services for autistic adults and the people who care about them right across the whole region. We now hope that this new role will also be able to bridge a significant gap by focusing attention on actively connecting employers with great candidates who come with individual, relevant, expert support to enable good outcomes for all parties.”

The new, full-time Employer-Ability Mentor job role will be advertised soon through open recruitment and on The Usual Place website and social media channels.

 

Enjoy Easter at WWT Caerlaverock & Say Goodbye To The Geese

Enjoy Easter at WWT Caerlaverock and say Goodbye to the Geese

This Easter weekend, join us at WWT Caerlaverock as we say farewell for now to our overwintering geese.

On the 30th March from 11am-1pm, Come and meet a warden to learn more about barnacle geese, their migration, this important wetland habitat and how we manage the reserve for geese and other species.

There will also be a dusk flight walk on 31st March, where you can witness the stunning spectacle of barnacle geese gathering on the Solway mudflats in their thousands as they prepare to make their 2,000-mile journey to Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic.
Join the wardens out on the merse, as we stay open later to watch the geese flighting out against the sunset.

David Pickett, Site Manager at WWT Caerlaverock says “This is a brilliant opportunity to make the most of experiencing the spectacle of barnacle goose flocks before they leave for spring migration.”

In addition to this, we will have a pop-up café from the 29th-31st March. In collaboration with the Boathouse at Glencaple, soup and a selection of cakes will be available from 12pm onwards.

For more information and to book, please see our website, which will be updated with upcoming events throughout the year.

Top Award For Castle Douglas Based Scott Country

TOP AWARD FOR CASTLE DOUGLAS BASED SCOTT COUNTRY

Scott Country International have been announced as the winners of the Countryside Alliance Rural Enterprise award, and are officially crowned the 2024 Scottish Champions.

The Awards are the Countryside Alliance annual celebration of British food & farming, enterprise and heritage through our small hard-working businesses.

The awards ceremony is now in its seventeenth year and has become the definitive rural business award to win. What sets this award apart from other awards, is the fact that they are driven by public nomination.

This gives customers the opportunity to explain why their favourite businesses are worthy of national acclaim.

S spokesperson from Scott Country International told DGWGO “The awards received over seventeen thousand entries this year, and after being selected as a finalist, we attended the awards in Edinburgh.
We were thrilled when it was announced that Scott Country International had been crowned Scottish Champions of 2024 in the Rural Enterprise category.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for us.
We are extremely proud to hold the honour of Rural Enterprise Scottish Champions of 2024 and look forward to attending the final in June!
What happens next?
As winners, we are invited to a House Of Lords reception in June, where the next round of voting will take place by the board of judges, to determine who will win the coveted title of Rural Enterprise UK champion.”

Six Dumfries and Galloway Finalists in the Scottish Veterans Awards 2024

Six Dumfries and Galloway Finalists in the Scottish Veterans Awards 2024

Dumfries and Galloway has been successful having finalists in six categories at this year’s Scottish Veterans Awards, demonstrating the significant activity and high calibre of people involved in our region.

The nominations are:
Role Model of the Year – Archie Dryburgh MBE
Health and Wellbeing Award – The Veterans Garden Dumfries
Employer of The Year – Dumfries and Galloway Council
Volunteer of The Year – Mark Harper, The Veterans Garden Dumfries and Maurice Kennedy, The Veterans Garden Dumfries
Lifetime Achievement – Archie Dryburgh MBE
Veterans Group of The Year – The Veterans Garden Dumfries

Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Armed Forces Champion, Councillor Archie Dryburgh, MBE, said: “I am absolutely delighted with this result, it’s way beyond our expectations! To have achieved national recognition in so many different areas of work with veterans is remarkable and I am immensely proud to be part of it.”
Councillor Malcolm Johnstone, Convener of Dumfries and Galloway Council, added: “I have had the privilege of meeting and working with all the nominees, so I know first hand how much work they put in to supporting veterans across our region. Their leadership and commitment to improving the quality of life for current and past Armed Forces personnel is unwavering and it is wonderful to see that acknowledgement in this way.”
Gail Macgregor, Depute Convener and Leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council said: “Our council has a long history of recruiting and supporting veterans and Armed Forces personnel so it is good to see that recognised by our success. There’s tough competition but to have made it this far, and be the only local authority finalist, says something special is happening in this council.”
Mark Harper of The Veterans Garden Dumfries added: “I too am overwhelmed by this success. It’s just brilliant, and rightful recognition of the hard work that all the veterans do here at the garden, day in day out, to support each other.”