On Friday 19th April 2024 we shall be supporting the Glencairn Land & Woods Trust with their Film Night at St Ninian’s in Moniaive (-full details below).

The film TALIESIN documents the first 20 years of a community woodland near the Solway shore in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The transformation of the land after 20 years of careful stewardship is remarkable, a rewilding in miniature, but it goes hand in hand with the story of the people.

Alyne Jones explains: “Over the years, Ed [Iglehart] and I documented our camps , the crafts we learned, the coffins and boats we built, and the endless enjoyment of all ages being in the woods. We started collecting and organising our footage four years ago in preparation for a professionally-made film. The film includes some early footage of very young trustees and the iconic tipi images which marked our early days, interspersed with reflections from the elders and the new generation, who have taken over running the organisation, and lots of children having fun. What is remarkable is the change in 20 years, from a bleak, almost barren 23-acre site, bordered by plantation forestry, into a jewel of biodiversity.”

Following the film, there will be refreshments, demonstrations and an opportunity for discussion. Moniaive Initiative will be there to discuss all aspects of community land access, so please do join us and share your thoughts and ideas.

We will be supporting the Glencairn Land & Woods Trust with their Tree Planting on Sunday 17th March. We will meet by Moniaive Primary School and walk from there round to the planting site by Cairn Pool. Please do come along and plant a tree – everyone is welcome, but children must be supervised, and due to lambing we’re not able to accept dogs on this work party, thanks.

Are you interested in fermenting food? This workshop will give you an introduction to the process and is ideal for beginners. All the details are below, but please note that BOOKING is essential!

Starting this week at The Hive, we are introducing a Digital Buddies session to help you with all things technical and internet. You don’t need an appointment, just drop in and have a chat. If you need help with a smartphone, tablet or laptop, please bring that along.

Thanks to those who joined us for the Paths Event in February.

We started the day by offering a “Wax your Walking Boots” session at the Repair Cafe, followed by a warming lunch of Soup and a Roll, before heading out for an early afternoon walk.

Our walk took us out of the Glencairn Memorial Institute and along Chapel Street to the the Waulkmill Bridge. From there we cut through fields and along the river bank to Blackstone Bridge, before re-joining the river bank to walk along to Holmhead. We crossed the fields to re-join the ‘back road’ beside Blackstone Cottage, returning into Moniaive via Blackstone Bridge and the river bank back to Waulkmill bridge. It was a lovely (almost circular) walk taking in fields, narrow river banks, fields and roads, and giving us views of beautiful swathes of snowdrops along the river, and red kites over the fields.

Finally, it was back to the Glencairn Memorial Institute for a presentation by Luke Phillips from the Ramblers, who explained all about their Paths Mapping Project, and how communities like ours can get involved.

If you missed the Presentation, it is available to view now as a short video on our N76 page (under the PROJECTS tab).

Thanks to Rosie from CES, Luke from the Ramblers, and Katie (our Glencairn Health & Wellbeing Project Officer) for all their help with this event!

This month our Repair Cafe will be joining in with our ‘Walking’ event. 

We will be offering a free WAX YOUR WALKING BOOTS session, to get that footwear ready to head out on an afternoon walk. Oh, and did we mention, our ‘Fixers’ are happy to take a look at your walking poles too!

We’re hoping lots of you will join us after lunch for a gentle stroll through the fields and riverbanks around Moniaive, before returning to the Memorial Institute to listen to Luke from the Ramblers telling us all about their Scottish Path Mapping project.

Join us on Saturday 3rd Feb for a day of walking activities. At the Repair Cafe in the morning (from 10am) we’ll provide everything you need to WAX YOUR WALKING BOOTS. We hope you will have time to join us for a Soup & Roll lunch before we all head out for a COLOUR WALK in the early afternoon (-wear your brightest hats, scarves & gloves!) Then it’s back to the GMI to warm up with a hot drink before settling down to listen to Luke from the Ramblers as he explains the Scottish Paths Map Project. Everyone welcome. Children must be accompanied by an adult. Dress for the weather!

We are holding an Informal Drop-In session to discuss our plans for Growing in Glencairn. We will be looking for keen gardeners to share their skills and experience, new gardeners interested in learning about food growing, and generous people to donate everything from cardboard to seeds and hand trowels, to help us get started. Come along and talk to Katie or Deb to find out more.

Everyone wlecome. Light Refreshments provided.

On Monday 15th January we will be hosting the Galloway & South Ayrshire Biosphere at the Glencairn Memorial Insititute, as they hold a Sense of Place workshop. This is your chance to find out about the Biosphere and what a Biosphere Community is. You will also have the opportunity to share your views on what is important to you, what isn’t, and to discuss ideas on how we can protect and improve the things about Glencairn that we most cherish. 

Everyone welcome! We will provide light refreshments to keep the talk flowing.