Last week the Galloway Glens Partnership Board awarded a further £16,000 through the ‘Our Heritage’ Small Grants Scheme to six projects that sought to ‘connect people to their heritage’ across the Galloway Glens area. This brings the total awarded to £51,000, which is just over half the £100,000 available to be awarded in the next three years.
Ted Leeming, Chairman of the Galloway Glens Partnership board said:
“The Partnership board was delighted by the range of project ideas that approached the third Small Grant Scheme funding round – both in terms of the proposals themselves but also the geographical spread of activity that would result up and down the Galloway Glens region. While we are in the fortunate position of being able to provide funding, courtesy of our grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, it shouldn’t be forgotten that many of these proposals rely on volunteers putting in their own time, free of charge, for the benefit of the general public. My thanks go to everyone involved.”
The six projects receiving funding this time are:
- Applicant: Newton Stewart Walking Festival
Project: Walking the Galloway Glens – £1,500 awarded. 4 guided walks in the Galloway Glens area at each of the 2020 and 2021 Newton Stewart (Galloway) Walking Festivals.
- Applicant: South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre.
Project: Mammals at Home – £3,965 awarded. Wild mammals such as Pine Martens, Otters, Badgers, Roe Deer, Hedgehogs, Foxes and bats are seldom seen because of their nocturnal lifestyle, but the project will loan trail cameras and bat detectors to local residents, together with expert advice, to enable these species to be observed and recorded by participants. Results will be collated and shared by South West Scotland Environmental Information Centre (SWSEIC) in order to provide a snapshot of the wild mammal fauna of the area, raise awareness, and provide information for use in conservation and management.
- Applicant: Solway Firth Partnership
Project: Public Bioblitz Event – £4,500 awarded. To hold an open event around World Oceans Day with local experts on hand to help the public record the wildlife on the coast and within the woodland along the bay towards Senwick. Experts will be on hand to focus on species such as birds, butterflies / moths, bats, rockpool species, beetles, spiders, coastal / woodland plants etc. Also, specialists in specific areas of recording not covered locally such as lichens, fungi, moss, freshwater aquatic invertebrates etc.
- Applicant: Carsphairn Heritage Group
Project: Digitising Carsphairn’s Heritage – Phase 2 – £1,200 awarded. Building on the work of the group to date to digitise the Carsphairn heritage collection of assets and archives – published through Carsphairn.org.
- Applicant: FG Deans Memorial Hall, Castle Douglas
Project: Building Upgrades and Garden – £3,000 awarded. Improvements to the external fabric of the building and the surrounding garden area, creating a facility open to a wider range of groups and tying in an important part of the town’s heritage.
- Applicant: RNLI – Kirkcudbright
Project: Developing a community garden celebrating the RNLI in Kirkcudbright – £2,000 awarded. Taking over and improving the rose garden adjacent to the building in Dee Road. The strip of land is approximately 40 metres by 5 metres has fallen into disrepair. The project will restore the garden back to what it used to be and install a large display and seating area for use of the common. The display will provide a story and information and artefacts regarding the RNLI in Kirkcudbright.
Jude Crooks, Galloway Glens Administrator and lead contact for the Small Grants Scheme, said:
“Our thanks as always go to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, with support from partners including Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Environment Team and the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Please do keep an eye on our website for details about the next funding round of the Small Grants Scheme.”
Debbie Nelson, Committee member of the FG Deans Memorial Hall in Castle Douglas, one of the funding recipients, added:
“The hall committee are absolutely delighted to work with Galloway Glens on the improvement of our outdoor space, as our usual Fundraising supports the running costs of the hall. This project will help us link all Hall users with the natural environment much more easily.”
