A Milestone for Community Joint Ventures!
From horticulture to heritage, we are delighted to have selected four community joint ventures (CJVs), that will be developed into robust investment-ready business models in the next phase of the FIRNS-funded project, ‘Joint Ventures for Scalable Community Benefits from Rewilding’.
This announcement follows a series of community engagement events and consultation with community members, and we would like to thank all who engaged with us and dedicated their time to co-design the longlist of CJV ideas and helping us select the final five.
The selection process was carefully developed to ensure a collaborative process of identifying, defining, and grading all of the submitted CJV ideas with the communities local to the estates managed by Highlands Rewilding. We aimed to put the communities’ needs, priorities, and aspirations at the heart of the process.
The outcome was an impressive list of ideas that people would like to see become a reality in their area. While we received funding to take up to five of them into business development stage, we are continuing to explore ways of working with those proposals not selected.
Without further ado, here are the CJVs we will be developing into business models:
Community Growing Scheme – Bunloit Estate.
Local lead: Glenurquhart Rural Community Association.
This venture will develop a local community growing scheme to produce food and related products for low cost, local consumption. Key components of the model envisaged include a ‘collective’ of local volunteers and organisations coordinating activity to produce a range of products utilising local spaces, education and skills development in nature-friendly horticulture, sustainable methods of local food production for local consumption, and a sustainable income model achieved through local sales with profits reinvested in the local community.
“GURCA are delighted to be exploring the power of possibilities that a community growing project might bring to our community. The benefits associated with being outdoors, being active and engaging in an activity which gives you purpose are not to be understated. We hope to be able to sow the seeds of a project which will propagate and grow into the future reaping huge rewards for all of our community through this initiative. ”
Bike Hire – Tayvallich Estate
Local lead: Alasdair Maciness, Ally’s Bike Hire
This venture will develop, expand and support ‘Ally’s Bike Hire’, which involves the maintenance and hire of push bikes from Tayvallich village for tourists and locals to get around the area sustainably. Providing access to nature, it allows people to connect with the place, heritage and wildlife, and contributes to the development of sustainable travel and low-impact tourism. Routes may take people to key areas of interest and promote education and knowledge of the natural and cultural heritage of Tayvallich.
“Ally’s Bike Hire is a small bike hire business I run out of my shed in Tayvallich. I look forward to getting involved with the FIRNS project and the opportunities which this will bring. Highlands Rewilding are providing access to professional business support and opening up doors that will help develop and improve the services I can offer to locals and tourists alike. This support of local enterprise is greatly appreciated and shows Highlands Rewildings intent to put community at the heart of their work.”
Mindfulness through Nature Connection – Bunloit Estate
Local leads: The Highland Mindfulness Group and Nature 4 Health
This collaborative venture will see two local charities develop and deliver a series of courses blending mindfulness with nature connection activities on the Bunloit estate. Utilising the myriad benefits the natural environment can offer, the venture will offer affordable sessions for local residents to develop mindfulness practice and deepen their connection to nature through hands-on experiences.
“Nature 4 Health aims to help people connect with nature, each other and themselves. Experience the mindful benefits of green and blue space and the fascinating species we share the planet with. Being outdoors in nature is intrinsically beneficial but doing it with others and learning new ways, skills and understandings makes this offering organic and vital. We all have mental and physical health and the benefits of social interaction are many. Our sessions help people to define what staying well or being happy means for them and how to work towards that”
'Gu h-àrd is gu h-ìosal - Above and Below: Foraging and Heritage Tours - Tayvallich Estate
Local Leads: Heather Thomas-Smith and Dónal Mac Giolla Chomhgaill
This venture will deliver events which combine foraging, heritage and nature education on the Tayvallich estate and the wider area to small groups on land and, where suitable, in water. Offered to both locals and tourists, these events will include identification and learning about plants and the environment as well as education about place names, Gaelic heritage, language and local culture. This is a small-scale low-impact venture which expands on existing work by local guides and experts Heather Thomas- Smith and Dónal Mac Giolla Chomhgaill, also a qualified wild swimming coach, who work already in this area.
“As two independent local businesses based in the Heart of Argyll - offering outdoor activities and experiences that connect people with the culture, sea and a landscape rich in wildlife, geology and history – we are keen to expand our educational and recreational experiences. [...] Our vision is to be able to bring this immersive learning experience to many of the people that work and live in the area, including schools and youth groups, in addition to adult groups and visitors. ”
We will share more about these exciting CJVs over the coming months, as they develop, both here and across our social media channels.
The “Joint Ventures for Scalable Community Benefits from Rewilding” project is supported by The Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS). Delivered by NatureScot in collaboration with The Scottish Government and in partnership with the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
You can find out more about the FIRNS process and project here. We will shortly be sharing a report on this phase of the FIRNS project, from scoping to final selection.
Thanks to the
National Lottery Players