Welcome
to the Summer (though admittedly we haven't seen much of it
yet!) e-newletter!
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Whitmuir
Farm Visit
Join us for a visit to the first winners of the
'Future Farmer Award' on Saturday, 13th September!
Pete Richie and Heather Anderson have transformed what was a small,
single-enterprise sheep farm into a diverse mixed farm with organic
pigs, cattle, sheep and poultry and a wide range of vegetables
(outdoors and in polytunnels). They have set up an on farm butchery
and sell farm produce direct to local people through their farm
shop and a home delivery service. The farm now employs nine people
and has 130 'farm supporters' who pay for produce by direct debit.
SUP members and supporters are invited to Whitmuir Farm to meet
Pete and Heather, to see what they have achieved so far, and hear
about their plans for the future.
There is no fee for this visit, but we hope you will visit the
farm shop! We do need to know about numbers however, so if you
would like to come please email floramcdowall@sup.org.uk
, including your name and contact telephone number. The visit
is likely to run from 1.00pm - 3.00pm, we will email you confirmation
of the arrangements closer to the time.
VOTE
- Whitmuir Farm has been nominated for the UKTV Local Food
Hero Awards 2008. If you think that they are doing good work you
might like to take a moment to vote for them. To do this, log
onto www.uktvfood.co.uk
, register with the website, click on Local Food Hero (left hand
menu), type Whitmuir Organics in the search box, click on full
details, VOTE!
Whitmuir Farm is in Lamancha, on the A701, four miles south of
the Leadburn Inn and two miles north of West Linton.
To find out more about the farm visit www.whitmuirorganics.co.uk
Southern
Uplands Project Update
Click here to read
about our current work.
New
Board Members...
SUP is pleased to welcome new Directors to the Board. Mairi Telford
Jammeh and Chris Balance join as Individuals, Joan Mitchell and
Phil Leigh, represent Scottish Natural Heritage and the Crichton
Carbon Centre respectively. Colin Campbell Golding has been co-opted
on to the Board. Profiles will be added to the SUP website within
the next few weeks. Michael Williams retires after serving on
the Board since 2002. Standing down are John Moorhouse and Charlie
Smith-Maxwell.
Eco
Schools Update
The Eco Schools programme, now an international programme, promotes
environmental awareness in a way that links to the curriculum.
Many of the cross-cutting themes of a Curriculum for Excellence,
those of Citizenship, Sustainable Development Education, Health
and Well-being, Creativity and Enterprise can all be tackled through
Eco Schools. The programme also helps our young people to become
Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens
and Effective Contributors, the 4 purposes of a Curriculum
for Excellence. Co-ordinator Fiona Jeffrey reports on progress
in the Borders... click
here.
Rural
Direct to help communities access funding
If your community wants to refurbish your village hall, develop
new local services or come up with a long-term plan for community
development, then a new service run by the Scottish
Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Crofters
Commission can help you make the most of the funding programmes
that are out there. To read more, click
here.
Big
Barn
If you are trying to track down local food take a look at www.bigbarn.co.uk
The site aims to map local producers, though is still fairly light
on icons across the Southern Uplands. If you know a producer who
might like to be on the map mention Big Barn to them. Details
of terms and conditions are on the site.
New
funding for rural communities
There are 2 new funding streams for rural communities in Dumfries
and Galloway. This bulletin provides a brief outline of these
and further information can be obtained from the web sources or
from other sources listed below. If you want your community to
benefit from these resources so that you can help develop it,
or improve it in some way, click
here.
Put
Scottish food fortnight in your diary!
It's Scottish Food Fortnight from 6th - 21st September. Scottish
Food Fortnight (SFF) is a celebration of all Scottish food and
drink, promoting the benefits of fresh, seasonal produce for Scottish
people. It was launched in 2003 and has continued to grow and
gain support from chefs, cross-party MSPs and a diverse variety
of producers and retailers, hotels and restaurants, colleges and
schools. We are lucky enough to have the world-renowned cook and
writer Lady Claire Macdonald as Patron and supporter of SFF again.
The organisers are keen to get everyone involved, so why not subscribe
to their events newsletter, or if you are a producer, hotel, restraint,
food retailer or school host an event? To register an interest
email Amelia-farquhar@scottishcountrysidealliance.org
or visit the website www.scottishfoodfortnight.co.uk
New
director for Scottish Sustainable Developement Forum
Project Manager Pip Tabor has recently been invited to become
a Director of the SSDF. The Scottish Sustainable Development Forum
(SSDF) is the focus for thinking and action on sustainable development
across Scotland, and exists to facilitate debate, encourage participation,
raise awareness and understanding, promote good practice and recommend
action in the pursuit of a more sustainable Scotland. The Forum
meets twice a year to share experiences and set priorities for
action. The Forum produces a bulletin packed with information
on consultations, events and case studies. Click
here.
Walkers
in the West?
WOTAWALK is a charity walk along sections of the Southern Upland
Way in aid of Wateraid and MS Research taking place on the weekend
of the 13th/14th September. Click
here for more information.
Biodiversity
Toolkit
If you want to put across clear messages about biodiversity on
behalf of your organisation or business you might like to look
at the SNH biodiversity toolkit. The web based information is
suitable whether the audience is young people, decision-makers
or the general public, its easy to use and free! http://www.snh.org.uk/biodiversitycommstoolkit/index.html
Interesting
reading:
©
Copyright 2006 - Southern Upland Partnership
