Shieling Project wins national award
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AN initiative that draws on the Highland culture of the past to educate the young people of today has been crowned a winner at the Social Enterprise Awards Scotland.
The Shieling Project, an off-grid learning centre based in Glen Strathfarrar near Beauly, was named environmental social enterprise of the year at the awards ceremony held recently at the Scottish Parliament.
The project is centred on outdoor living and encouraging young people to make a deeper connection with the place they live through a variety of activities. These include looking after the shieling’s livestock, taking part in building work or craft activities or making burgers from the meat raised at the centre.
The Scottish win for the Shieling Project means it is also now in the running for the UK Social Enterprise Awards, which take place in London next month.
Manager and project director Sam Harrison said he and his colleagues were pleased just to have been nominated and have a chance to visit Edinburgh and meet people from other social enterprise.
“I think it was the excitement of the project that won it for us,” he said.
“There is something about the project and how welcoming it is, and the fact that it involves people from all walks of life and of all ages, that makes it quite attractive.
“We’re pretty remote and pretty much all-hands-on-deck and have our heads down a lot of the time, so it’s lovely to be able to lift our heads up and see people acknowledging what we are doing. And also understanding what we are doing as well, because I think it is becoming more and more timely.”
