Friday, 16 April 2021

It’s Friday.  And five things…

Time for Assembly – and bank those ideas

This week I had a read of all of your ideas in the Idea Bank – and what other members of the community thought of them.  I’ve never seen anything like it before and I was mightily impressed how it works.  Like a bunch of sticky notes on the fridge fused with heart emojis to get a sense of what others think of the idea.  All this along with the recent survey and Thursdays first Community Assembly is giving a great picture of the direction the community wants to go, which is all very exciting to watch develop, as well as how to achieve those goals together.  Around 60 people actively participated and it was a useful exercise to sit back and listen and process what people had to say.  Community dynamics and ideas can be very similar but how to pull everything together and embrace community ideas, creativity, skills, can do attitude and community spirit into a set of achievable action plans in which we all play a part is key.   It’s not how you start (which usually is us all having a good old fashioned moan) – it’s how you finish!  Brilliant (despite a few technical gremlins,  which I encountered to!)

Local Development Plan

As part of my own induction and getting to know the area I was able to attend a meeting with Head of the Council Margaret Davidson on the subject of the Community Action Plan and how other  stakeholders can participate and help achieve some of the outcomes in a positive way.  We did touch on the Local Development Plan which is being developed at the same time as the Community Action Plan and both should reflect each other so we can perhaps pool our resources, activities, skills and what we all bring to the table in a proactive way.  The timing of both is very fortunate and we have a real opportunity to do great things, get a far greater understanding of what we can achieve and avoid some of the challenges the community will face in ten years time if we just stay the same.  So far, so good.

Virtual Tea Break

We grabbed a cuppa and lead volunteer Directors Kirsty, Catriona and myself had about ten or so people attend the Riverside Field Virtual Tea Break.  It’s true, we had community folk who felt they hadn’t been consulted enough, or had points to raise, or were supportive of what’s being considered as we go into planning. I am now aware of fauna, wildlife, access, sightlines, sound vibration, wild camping and shinty over two cups of tea! It’s about us all creating the right balance, being fully aware of the potential and limitations of the area and the sensitivities of people who live there.  It was nice to chat in an informal setting and get to know what thoughts are in everyone’s minds and people seemed to be quite considerate about the opportunities.  It’s the first time I’ve had a virtual tea break and almost certainly not the last!  Thanks to everyone who came and your kind words at the end which truly mean a lot not only to me as the new boy but the two volunteer leads as well.  Watch out – if you see parts of the field with pathways, circles, triangles, rectangles and benches they have not been left by aliens but an attempt to create some spaces for people to enjoy the outdoors and use during the summer.  A small steering group of local community members will now take this forward with support from the Trust.

Doing the tour

I’ve had a number of virtual tours of buildings to see the issues other groups are facing and a couple of chats with members of staff of other organisations about projects reaching successful conclusions from E Bike projects to affordable housing.  Wildside will (hopefully) open soon and many of you will be able to use the meeting rooms and social spaces it offers to all groups.  It is one of the best spaces I have seen in a community setting and I cannot wait to see what the community and community groups bring to it now that it is in ‘community ownership’.  I also had a chance to explore the Foyers Bay project which is progressing with the hope you will see some activity after many years of waiting before the end of the year.  It feels a little like we are pre judging what will come out of the Community Action Plan but it is truly about being prepared for any eventuality so we can hit the ground running and achieve some short term goals on projects which, whilst a lot of work is being done behind the scenes, haven’t translated to actual activity on the ground.   Or even water. 

Creating Jobs   

This week I was pleased to interview some strong candidates for our new Caretaker Role!  More details coming soon.  We also advertised the first new full time post to help focus on project management of whatever comes out of the Community Action Plan.  Thjey will help inform the technical aspects of any match funding applications we have to put together alongside evidence of need that will come out of the Community Action Plan.  I was pleased to hear during the CAP discussions that there was a feeling that community volunteers needed some professional support to move things forward, so it feels like the right time to create employment within the area and get a Project Co-Ordinator who  can adapt to any ideas that are presented.  That closes the end of May and I hope we get plenty of strong candidates.  Please apply if it is for you or share to someone you think would be good at the role.  Details can be found at PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR JOB VACANCY

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...