You can read the full Job Specification here:

Many of our regular Repair Cafe Volunteers are involved in another fundraiser on Saturday, so we will just be holding a shortened Repair Cafe. There will still be coffee and cake, and Repairers available to look at your items, but they will only be available until 11.30am. If you have a fixed item to collect, please come early!

Need some fresh air? At a loose end? Why not join us for a spot of butterfly counting? Everyone is welcome, but children under 12 must be accompanied.

We have ID sheets and Record Sheets ready, all we need now are some volunteers to spend 15 minutes counting butterflies. You can either submit your own records through the App or Big Butterfly Website, or let us do it for you. And don’t forget, we need to know even if you HAVEN’T seen any butterflies – negative results are important too!

As part of our new Connecting Glencairn project, each month we will be looking at ideas for getting out and about around Moniaive. These will be linked into our current work and will encompass Health & Wellbeing, Active Travel and Community Land Access. In July, we are heading up onto the hillside:

In June, we looked at wet places, and their links to biodiversity and heritage. We co-hosted discussion on access to freshwater habitats as part of our workshop on High Focus Habitats with the Galloway & Southern Ayrshire Biosphere at the Glencairn Midsummer Gathering, and you can see the results of that discussion elsewhere on our NEWS page.

Thanks to everyone who attended our Workshop on 22/06/24 at the Glencairn Midsummer Gathering. Faith Hillier from the Galloway & Ayrshire Biosphere gave a talk about High Focus Habitat and species, and Deb from MI led a follow-up discussion on how and where we access these in Glencairn.

We’ve summarised the comments from these discussions, to add to those from our previous local engagement on community land access. All your feedback gets used to show support for the work we do.

We are currently looking at options for biodiversity improvements by further riverside tree planting; and of course, we want any schemes we support to also include path improvements to make it easier for us to all access the countryside around us.

If you missed the workshop, the following Resource Sheet gives links to key information, to help you find out more.

We’ve got a great event coming up in the Community Garden. Put away your purses – this event is all about bartering! Bring along spare plants and produce (including jams, chutneys, cordials) to swap with fellow growers and gardeners. We’ll also be holding a tool-sharpening session, a hot-composing workshop and we will supply everything your need to wax your working boots. There will be drinks available, and a cooking demo at lunchtime. With nature crafts available for the children, there’s something for everyone.

This year, for the first time, you will need to show approved Photo ID to vote in the Elections on 4th July. This can be a Passport or Driving Licence. But what will you do if you don’t have these documents?

Katie (our Health & Wellbeing Officer) will be available at Digital Buddies for the next 4 weeks to help those who need to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate because they do not have approved Photo ID. You will need to bring along your National Insurance number. Katie can then take a digital photo of you and help you through the online application process.

Moniaive Initiative are pleased to announce that we have been granted £54,366 by the National Lottery Community Led Fund, in support of our three year “Connecting Glencairn” project.  The funds will be used to cover staff costs to enable us to provide a range of activities to tackle social isolation and economic disadvantage and to improve community health and wellbeing. 

From left: Julian (Hive Volunteer & Retail Coordinator), Innes (Trustee), Shirley, Heather, Jacqui (Volunteers), Deborah (Project Coordinator), Karen (Trustee), Anne and Maxine (Volunteers).

Much of Moniaive Initiative’s work is carried out through our community Shop and hub.  This grant will enable Julian, our Volunteer & Retail Coordinator to work three days a week supporting our volunteers at the Hive.  His position is also part-funded by income from the charity shop.

Katie, our Health & Wellbeing Officer, already runs a successful monthly Repair Café, alongside Arty Crafty @ The Hive, Digital Buddies, and a popular table tennis club, all currently funded by Dumfries & Galloway Third Sector Community Mental Health & Wellbeing Fund.  The National Lottery grant will enable her to expand her recent work on our newly created Community Garden, which aims to encourage and facilitate local food growing and healthy eating.  Katie says: “Everyone is really excited about our new garden, and how it is transforming the old Picnic Area into a great space in which to meet, grow food and enjoy being outside.”

Deborah, our Project Coordinator, supports The Hive and Health & Wellbeing elements of our project and will also be working on sustainable transport and community land access.  Her post is also part-funded this year by the Glencairn Community Council Windfarm Fund.

Moniaive Initiative’s Vice Chair, Kate Craig, says of the grant award: “By granting us multi-year funding, the National Lottery provides us with the security to continue working for another three years on projects identified by our community as important to them. We will use this money to progress projects that help to connect the residents of Glencairn.”