Over the years many other groups and organisations have come to us with great ideas for projects. But all too often there is no way to bring these to fruition because our community does not own any land on which to site these projects.  Funds for community gardens and woodlands, shelter and informal spaces, for instance, are all impossible to achieve unless the community either owns or leases land. Furthermore, informal access to land for recreation purposes is often restricted due to land management practices. But with a nationwide loss of biodiversity, and local issues with flood water management, we are looking again at how our community can influence the management of the land around us. We appreciate that agriculture and forestry forms a major part of our local economy, and we understand that with access to our surrounding countryside comes responsibility.

In 2021 we started to work with Glencairn Land & Woods Trust (formerly Cairnhead Community Forest Trust) to address some of these issues.  We employ a part-time Project Officer, Antoine, who works solely with the GL&WT. He is currently working with their Trustees to carry out organisational changes that will better place the GL&WT to hold land for community access purposes.  We supported small scale volunteer projects with them last year, including a riverside tree-planting session in April 2022.  Over the coming summer Antoine is organising a series of community land-based events, ranging from walks and outdoor skills sessions to a Midsummer Festival. 

This page is still under construction – please bear with us!