Tuesday, 01 November 2022

I have only lived in the Strath for a few years, but my mum and I bought a house hear almost 20 years ago so I have been coming on and off since then, more so when mum moved up here permanently after her retirement. I have been aware of the Trust since its inception, my mum was one of its earliest directors. Knowing the history of Scotland and how underfunded rural areas have traditionally been, I thought the idea of local communities benefiting from the resources in their area was a great one and had the potential to do a great deal of good for the community.

When I moved up here, I was aware that opinions were greatly divided about the trust but through my work with BCC I became aware that the trust was transforming the way it was ran and moving to themselves on a more professional and open footing. I was really inspired by the initiative to draw up the CAP plan, the many conversations we were having, and the projects being put forward. So, I applied to be a director!

For me working on a board is a way both to bring your own skills to the table but also to develop skills in areas you may be interested in. Your primary duty is to provide oversight and governance to the organisation as well as direct strategy, areas which as a Project Manager I can immediately provide input to. SFCT however is unique in that through our projects and relationships I am gaining exposure in a number of areas I have no previous experience of from planning to house building, land ownership and local government.

This isn’t the first time I have sat on a board, so I knew what was expected. My background is in tech, largely in financial services and charity work for me, first in running a maths club and then as a board member, is a way to give back. I grew up on a council estate and was fortunate to do well through my education so largely the charities I have worked for are in the past are in field of education.  But SFCT is a chance to build on that and work with a much broader range of initiatives many of which are close to my heart - affordable housing, community gardens, facilities (for care, childcare, isolation) and the natural environment.

Professionally, I think being a board member has its advantage, aside from the skills you can learn you are effectively responsible for the running a multi-million-pound organisation, something which can look more than impressive on a CV. I have taken a couple of sabbaticals in my time, and it has more than helped with looking for a job afterwards that I continued to work on Boards and with charities, indeed my history of working as a board member and with charities directly led to me obtaining my last job. I am not alone in this, working on a board is an excellent way of plugging gaps in your CV your current job can’t provide that can help take you to the next level.

Socially being new to the area, joining the board was a way for me to make friends and meet people. I moved here from London (which was quite the shift!) but joining the board has meant I not only can meet people but can find out what is what and who is who! Being in a rural area brought a different and interesting perspective, working for a board in London, people may chat about what you do etc but here, with our community being so small, I do like the way people can button hole you when they find out you are a board member and give you a frank appraisal of how we are doing and what we should be doing. It certainly can be a conversation starter and I genuinely like hearing people’s opinions and taking them on board so we can better serve the community.

As I mentioned before I was aware that opinions of SFCT were divided but I do believe the board I am now sitting on is unquestionably one where governance and openness are key. The scale of change involved is immense in terms of what they are trying to achieve operationally, I work in Business Chance so am aware these things are a marathon and not a sprint, but I genuinely do believe we are heading in the right direction. So please, please, please, do look us up! Large or small, all contributions are welcome.

If you would like to become a director, you can find the nomination form and more information here. Please contact any of our directors if you would like a chat or to find out how they feel about being a director.  You can find all our director information here.

2025

February (12 stories)

22 February 📣 ** TODAY ** 📣 - Forest School Meeting

Interested in the future of the Forest School building? From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts for the Forest School and wider opportunities fo...

21 February Congratulations to Whitebridge Hotel

Whitebridge Hotel are finalists in the National Hotels of the Year - Scotland awards!   The ceremony takes place in Glasgow on the 26th February at The Cr...

19 February 📣 Youth Club returns this Thursday 📣

Youth club is for anyone in P7 to S6 ✅ After a bit of a break, we are delighted to say that Youth Club is back!! ⭐ Important info ⭐ Date - Thursday 20th Februa...

19 February Communications 2025!

We are making a some improvements in the way we share important information with the community in 2025. The SFCT Board and communications team have made the dec...

13 February Mailing List Update

We hope you received your copy of the February newsletter and enjoyed reading through it. The team are busy updating our mailing list and we understand that there may ...

12 February Next Sat 22nd February

Next Sat 22nd February   Inverfarigaig Forest School, Farigaig Forestry Carpark IV2 6XR - From 2pm   Come and speak to us about your thoughts fo...

11 February ⚠️ Update regarding the upcoming works taking place at The Wildside Centre ⚠️

We can now confirm that the scheduled works on upgrading the toilet facilities in the Wildside Centre is starting this Thursday – 13th February.   The Wi...

11 February 🙌 JOIN OUR TEAM 🙌

We are currently recruiting a part-time (30 hours per week) Community Action Plan Project Officer to join our small team, based in the Wildside Centre in Whitebridge, on ...

8 February 📢 THE DAY IS FINALLY HERE 📢

Later today the Pathways Group are hosting their Community Engagement event at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   For the past year, the Pathways Group has be...

6 February Errogie Church Statement

As you will be aware, an announcement was made by the Trust in mid December 2024 that we were unfortunately unable to host three events that were due to take place at Err...

6 February Wildside Wednesday Success!

🙌THANK YOU 🙌 We want to say a big thank you to those of you who popped along to our first Wildside Wednesday event yesterday! It was great to see you all 😃  ...

5 February !! WILDSIDE WEDNESDAY - TODAY !!

Join us TODAY at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm where the first Wildside Wednesday of 2025 will take place.  You can shop local, with local p...

January (22 stories)

31 January !! Next Saturday !!

On the 8th Feb The Pathways Group host their Community Engagement Day at the Wildside Centre from 13.30pm.   The group have setup a dedicated Facebook event pa...

30 January Refurbishments to toilets in The Wildside Centre

Following many months of work behind the scenes we are pleased to be able to share with you that work on upgrading the ladies toilets and creating a larger disabled toile...

30 January Fancy a sing song with Monadhliath?

The Monadhliath Choir invites all singers to a charity singing event on the 27.04.2025 at Stratherrick Public Hall. If you would be interested in join...

29 January February Newsletter

We are pleased to share that our Feb newsletter should be making its way through your door next week! 🙌   Please look out for the white envelope addressed to ...

25 January Do you use Instagram?

Did you know that Stratherrick & Foyers Community Trust are on Instagram? If you too have an account, why not give our page a follow. We’re keen to build up ...

24 January Foyers Community Fire Station

🚒 Foyers Community Fire Station 🚒   Foyers Community Fire station has a competent crew of 7 personnel, but we are in real need of new recruits, to keep the s...

23 January Wildside Wednesday is returning!

Join us on the 5th February at the Wildside Centre, between 9.30am – 12.30pm.   Here is your chance to shop local, with local produce from Lyne Mhor Crof...

22 January Loch Ness Luvvies - Traditional Burns Supper

This Friday, 24th Jan the Loch Ness Luvvies are hosting their very own Traditional Burns Supper at Stratherrick Hall, Gorthleck at 7.30pm. Tickets are £20 per he...

22 January Timings have been announced!

As you may have recently seen, The Pathways Group are running a Community Engagement event on the 8th February from 1pm at The Wildside Centre. In our previous post, t...

21 January ** Mobile Library Update **

Mark, our local librarian has kindly sent over a full list of dates when he will be stopping in the area. You can find the full list here: https://www.stratherrickcommuni...

20 January Invitation to tender - Health & Safety Consultant required

We are looking for an experienced Health & Safety professional to carry out a comprehensive survey on Errogie Church to ensure that the building is fully compliant fo...

19 January Send in your dates for the Community Calendar!

Did you know we have an online Community Calendar? If not, you can find it here: https://www.stratherrickcommunity.org.uk/calendar/   We would love to inclu...

18 January What's the next step?

For the past year, the Pathways Group has been working hard to promote the local path network, paths that lead through rich landscapes, historical sites, and biodiversity...

15 January Community Engagement Day - 8th Feb

Over the last month you may have noticed that the Pathways Group are holding a Community Engagement Day on the 8th February. You can find out all about the event by follo...

14 January Mobile Library Update

Below you will find a list of updated Dates/Times where you can visit the Mobile Library at The Wildside Centre.   We will add these dates to the Online Commu...

14 January Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today!

** TODAY ** Indoor Carpet Bowls makes it return as of today! The group return to their weekly session after the Xmas break. Please note: The group will now ...

10 January Community Engagement Event - 8th Feb

The Pathways Group invites you to a community event that explores the potential development of a pathways based app. This is your opportunity to help shape an app which w...

9 January Deadline for Jan/Feb Newsletter Content!

The deadline to send in any content for the Jan/Feb Newsletter is Friday the 17th of January 2025. Please email marketingofficer@sfctrust.org.uk with your articles inclu...

9 January Send us in your photos from the Winter Festival

A HUGE thank you to those of you who have already uploaded photos to our shared community photo gallery during the festival.   If you have any wintery snaps th...

8 January Reverse Advent Calendar Success!

Santa's little helpers would like to thank everyone who contributed in any way to the overwhelming success of this project. The generosity shown by our community was ...

8 January ** MOBILE LIBRARY VISIT TODAY CANCELLED **

Sadly, due to the current road conditions, Mark who drives the local ‘Mobile Library’ will NOT be stopping at Wildside today. All books will be renewed, and h...

7 January Welcome Back

Hello, we hope you had a relaxing time during the festivities. As it’s now time to get back to work, we thought it would be a good idea to update our online communi...