Culduthel Woods project in Inverness wins through to finals of top rural award
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A COMMUNITY wood in Inverness has won through to be finalists in a top awards scheme.
The Helping it Happen Awards 2022, run by Scottish Land & Estates, have just announced the finalists in the remaining four of their nine categories.
Each of these categories focuses on rural businesses and how these businesses interact with their local communities and with visitors – highlighting how rural areas are underpinned by the business operating within them.
Culduthel Woods Group took over the "ownerless" city woodland and made it into a new Community Wood of 16 acres.
The charity established in 2018, and is run entirely by volunteers who aim to protect and improve the woods, to promote education and to encourage community involvement.
It is in the running for the Working with Communities Award – sponsored by The MacRobert Trust.
Also making the finals is Castlecraig Farm in Easter Ross. It is a family-run organic farm overlooking the Moray Firth near Nigg with suckler cattle, breeding sheep, cereal crops and Castlecraig Clifftops which is a development of four self-catering cabins.
Situated in a haven for Scottish wildlife, surrounded by a number of beautiful Highland villages and famous golf courses and located just off the North Coast 500 route, Castlecraig Clifftops offers relaxing breaks in luxury lodges with tremendous views over the sea.
It is in the running for the Tourism & Visitor Management Award – sponsored by GLM,
The overall focus of the Helping it Happen Awards is on recognising the role estates, farms and rural businesses play in enabling and supporting success in rural conservation, rural enterprise and rural landscapes.
The awards are supported by headline sponsors NatureScot.
Other finalists include Isle of Skye projects SkyeSkyns making luxurious sheepskins, and The Fairy Pools car park and off-grid toilets development, plus Tomintoul Affordable Housing,12 new affordable homes built on the site of an old secondary school;
Alan Laidlaw, Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland chief executive, and a member of the judging panel said: “Judging involved us looking at nine different categories and almost 100 entries and the entire panel agreed that the standard was superb. We are enormously proud of the way in which rural Scotland is thriving and collaborating for greater success – both in terms of business growth and sustainability.
“Each year, the Helping It Happen Awards reaffirm my belief that the Scottish countryside is in safe hands for this generation and those still to come.”
Claudia Rowse, NatureScot’s deputy director green economy said: “We are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s awards and are impressed by the quantity and quality of applications.
"All the projects vividly demonstrate how the environment and communities can be put at the heart of developing thriving rural businesses.
"It is heartening to see the positive work to tackle the nature and climate crisis, and how progressive land-based businesses are taking action so that we all benefit from a nature-rich future.”
All award winners, in addition to a small number of special judge awards, will be announced at a ceremony on October 5 at The Sheraton Grand Hotel & Spa, Edinburgh.
