Scotland: National Rural Network
Thanks to everyone who sent their questions for our Village Halls panel of experts. We had a really good range of questions covering a variety of issues from training for volunteers to funding for renewables. The questions are now with our panel and we should be publishing their responses in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, we've had an interesting question posted in our Put your questions to our Village Halls experts article. We've sent the question to our panel, but please feel free to add your comments too!
You can now watch videos from the Scottish National Rural Network regional events that took place from November 2009 to May 2010. The videos are a great chance to get a snapshot of the events and hear about some of the truly inspiring projects. You can find out more and get links to all the videos in Rural Network regional events videos now online. If you attended one of the 20 events, we'd appreciate it if you could take five minutes to complete our short online survey to help us with the planning of the second round of regional events.
On 23rd and 24th September a major Rural Cooperation Fair will take place in Edinburgh. The event will be a great chance to meet people from across Europe to share ideas and good practice and to explore opportunities for cooperation. A number of spaces will be available for users of the Scottish National Rural Network website who live in Scotland. To register your interest email EUruralfair@scvo.org.uk. You can find out more in EU Rural Cooperation Fair - Hold the date.
The Speak Up for Rural Scotland consultation seeks views on how best rural Scotland can contribute to the nation's sustainable economic growth. It contains advice from the Rural Development Council, including 37 Step Changes covering a range of rural issues from land use to affordable housing. The Rural Network website is playing a key role in gathering the views and contributions of people living and working in rural Scotland. What do you think about the Step Changes? Which do you think are the most important? You can respond to the consultation by adding a comment to the Speak Up for Rural Scotland consultation. We've had an interesting comment about the European Union and rural Scotland. What do you think about the points raised?
Featured Project: Access to the Antonine WallThe Antonine Wall was designated A World Heritage Site in 2008 which raised the profile of the Wall and the expectations of the local community and agencies. However there were a number of barriers to accessing the Wall including poor access and a lack of information. In Featured Project: Access to the Antonine Wall you can find out how the project worked with the local community and others to identify barriers and look at the opportunities.
The public vote for the National Lottery Awards 2010 closes at midday tomorrow, 13th August. Sportsworx, based in South Lanarkshire, is shortlisted for the Best Sports Project and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, based in Stirling but operating nationally, is shortlisted for the Best Education Project. You can vote online or by telephone. You can find out more about the awards, and watch videos from the two Scottish-based projects in Vote now for National Lottery Awards.
The Scottish Government has published an updated Urban Rural Classification document. There have been changes to the classifications of some settlements including Kincardine, Gretna and Tranent. Find out more in Urban Rural Classification updates.
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Richard Lochhead has approved rules which aim to ensure farmers receive subsidies based on their level of production and environmental activity. The rules are put forward in the interim report from the Inquiry into Future Agricultural Support in Scotland and include plans to close the loophole which means some farmers receive Single Farm Payments despite little or no activity. What do you think about the move? You can find out more, and share your views, in Plans to close Single Farm Payment loophole.
The Scottish Government has announced some adjustments to bovine TB protocol which should cut costs for cattle keepers but not incur any additional risk of the spread of bovine TB. You can find out more in Bovine TB protocol adjustments announced.
Final report from UK National Rural Network conferenceThe first UK National Rural Network conference took place in Belfast in March. The conference report, presentations and more from the two-day event are now available online. Find out more in UK National Rural Network Conference Report published.
Do you have five minutes to spare to complete a student survey on sustainable communities? Jamie McPherson is a fourth year Geography student at the University of Glasgow working on his dissertation. He's currently carrying out a short online survey on sustainable rural communities. To find out more, and get the link for the survey, go to the Student survey on sustainable communities bulletin notice.
The first Engage for Education event took place in Inverurie earlier this week. The event was a chance for people interested in education to put their questions to senior figures in the Scottish Government, including the Education Secretary Michael Russell. Events in Alloa and Benbecula will take place in coming weeks. You can find out more in Inverurie hosts first Engage for Education event.
The Crianlarich Heritage Project are inviting tenders for the project specification phase of the project. The closing date is 3rd September. For more information go to the Crianlarich Heritage Project bulletin posting.
Nominate now for community fundUntil Friday 20th August, you can nominate a local community group or charity to be in with a chance of receiving funding from the Royal Bank of Scotland Community Fund. You can find out more in Nominate now for RBS Community Fund.
A Forest School Taster workshop will take place in Grantown on Spey on 10th September. The workshop, organised by the Highland Environmental Network, will give an overview of Forest School and how it can be used for Curriculum for Excellence and links to other initiatives like Eco School. Find out more in our Events Calendar.
You can check out our photos from last week's Black Isle Show in our Black Isle Show Gallery! We've got goats, daredevils and mutton pies!
Lunchtime run-ins with golf balls feature in the latest Rural Rambling from Ross-shire gardner Patrick Vickery. Find out more in Rural Ramblings 35: Fore!
This week's Blog of the Week is the official blog for the Scottish Beaver Trial - a five-year reintroduction of beavers to Scotland. In their latest posting you can find out about their first beaver safari! If you write a rural blog, why not send us a link for our Blogs section? Send an email to editor@ruralgateway.org.uk.
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