Rural Community Gateway

The Highland Cross is currently looking for charities to benefit from the 2008 event. This annual cross-Scotland duathlon exists to raise funds for charities undertaking social or medical projects in the Highlands.

Organising Secretary and co-founder Calum Munro appealed, "For the past 25 years Highland Cross has raised money for good causes across Highland. With a tremendous silver anniversary year behind us we are looking for charities to apply to become the major beneficiaries from the 2008 event.

"£2.3 million pounds has been raised by Highland Cross in its first 24 years and the 2007 Silver Jubilee event looks like adding a huge sum to that."

Applicants have to be registered charities and engaged in supporting medical or social causes in Highland and be looking for sums of capital in the £10,000 to £30,000 range.

The Highland Cross aims to support three to five major causes every year, with any money left over going to smaller causes. If you are a charity seeking a smaller amount of funding, you can now apply for funding from the proceeds of the 2007 event.

Application forms and full supporting information can be found on the Highland Cross website. Applications must be in by 31st October 2007, both to be a major charity in the 2008 event and for smaller amounts from the 2007 event.

Meeting to discuss impact of ticks

A meeting took place in Edinburgh recently to discuss the impact of ticks and the diseases that they transmit. Ticks can carry debilitating diseases like Lyme disease and louping ill, which can affect humans, birds and mammals. In 2005-06 there was a 90% increase in incidences of Lyme disease compared the previous year.

Along with human health issues, concern has also been raised about the possible affect on the red grouse chick population and the viability of grouse moors. Grouse shooting is estimated to be worth around £40 million to the Scottish economy.

Environment Minister, Michael Russell chaired the meeting. He said, "Ticks are a growing problem and there is potential for significant economic impact on farming and sporting estates in Scotland.

"It is vital that we fully assess their impact and what we can do about them. However, it is important that any strategy to deal with the problem is carefully assessed for its overall impact on the environment."

He continued, "We must also not lose sight of the risk to human health from Lyme disease, with 1000 human cases of Lyme disease in 2006.

"It is easily treatable if diagnosed early but we need to ensure there is awareness among GPs and all those who spend any time in the countryside."

The Scottish Government advise going to the BADA-UK website for more information on ticks and tick-borne disease prevention. In May 2007, BADA-UK wrote a highly informative special report for the Rural Gateway about this issue and the work they are doing to raise awareness of the problem.

BADA-UK – raising awareness of tick-borne disease

Bothy culture

Volunteers worked over 1,200 days maintaining and restoring bothies in 2006-07, according to the Mountain Bothies Association recent annual report.

The MBA is a charity which restores and maintains shelters for use by walkers and outdoor enthusiasts in some of the more remote parts of the UK.

The organisation does not own the buildings it maintains, and the all the work is carried out by volunteers. In 2006-07, work included re-roofing buildings and installing new sleeping accommodation.

There are now 100 bothies maintained by the organisation, including two new buildings – a former youth hostel at Craig in Torridon and a former coastguard watch station at Rubha Hunish in Skye.

You can find out more on the Mountain Bothies Association website.

Lottery award finalists. Didn’t they do well?

Two rural projects did very well at the recent National Lottery Awards 2007. Eoropie Dunes, a play park in Lewis was given a Runner Up Award in the Best Environment category, while TYKES, a young carers project in Sutherland were given a Runner Up Award in the Sunday Mirror Best Charity/Voluntary Group category.

There were only three finalists in each award category. The winners of the awards were announced in a special show broadcast on BBC1 on 15th September 2007.

Gail Cunningham of Eoropie Dunes said, “The Award celebration was great fun . . . but the best part for me was meeting the dedicated wonderful people involved in TYKES.”

Further congratulations go to Eoropie Dunes who got the top award for 2007 from the Nancy Ovens Trust for Outstanding Contribution to play.

You can find out more about these projects in the Rural Gateway articles Your project - TYKES and Your project - Eoropie Dunes.

World porridge making championship

Porridge makers will descend on Carrbridge in Inverness-shire on Sunday 7th October 2007, for the 14th annual Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship.

Competitors for this year’s title include the 2006 winner, Sgt Coleen Hayward Macleod, David Fisher, roving reporter for the Paul O’Grady TV show, Simon Humphreys, a market researcher from London, and a variety of local chefs.

Other activities taking place on the day include the Carrbridge Challenge Forest Run, the Cairngorms Farmers Market and live music and street entertainment.

Porridge image courtesy of Chatirygirl at flickr.com. Link to original image.

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