A community garden in Cromarty, a woodland walk in Nigg and a community café in Alness are among the first recipients of grants from a new community fund launched by Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport (ICFGF).
The Green Freeport Capacity Fund was established earlier this year to support community-focused organisations delivering social inclusion and helping support positive environmental impact in the Highlands, underlining ICFGF’s commitment to building resilient and vibrant local communities.
The Green Freeport region-wide scheme complements similar initiatives already operated by several of ICFGF’s individual port partners, which exist to support the individual communities they serve.
Kirsteen Adams, Operations Manager of ICFGF, said, “It’s fantastic to see such a diverse range of community projects receiving support in what we hope will be the first round of our Green Freeport Capacity Fund. These initiatives are strengthening local communities, enabling inclusion and consciously incorporating support for a greener future into their plans.
“Supporting this kind of grassroots activity is an important part of ICFGF’s role, and we look forward to seeing the positive impact these projects will deliver for communities across the Highlands.”
Cromarty Grows Together has a plan to transform disused land in the centre of the village into a vibrant community garden. Volunteers will use the grant to buy and install a dry, warm cabin so the garden can be used year-round.
Inverness-based youth mentoring charity Day 1 will use its grant to support its pilot Life Skills programme. The scheme is for young people aged 14-16 who are disengaged from education and provides them with alternative hands-on learning opportunities, including workplace visits to explore career possibilities.
ILM Highland runs a care and repair service providing home adaptations for elderly and disabled people, along with a handyperson service. The charity will use the grant to support Repair Café Alness, where local people can enjoy refreshments and social interaction while items they have brought in to be mended are repaired by volunteers.
The funding will help New Start Highland in its efforts to tackle poverty, crisis and unemployment across the region. The support form ICFGF will help it scale through training initiatives linked to their new Training and Reuse Village in Inverness.
Nigg Old Trust has been set up by volunteers to preserve the historic Nigg Old Church and the 1,300-year-old Nigg Cross Slab housed within it. The group will use its allocation to make safe and regenerate The Bishop’s Walk – a woodland area adjacent to the church – and to make it more accessible for wheelchair users.
Red Chair Highland is a Community Interest Company working to give people access to digital technologies. It provides one-to-one support, workshops and online safety sessions, as well as practical help with devices and data provision.
The Haven Centre for children with learning disabilities and severe and complex needs – run by The Elsie Normington Foundation – is establishing a community garden. It will use the grant to transform a brownfield site at its Inverness site to help people with learning disabilities develop horticultural and landscaping skills.
Six young people will be able to undertake a 12-week programme at The Ledge climbing facility in Inverness thanks to the funding. The operators use climbing for social good, and the award will open the sport to young people form Merkinch Primary School and Alness Academy.
Groups could apply for up to £2,000 if they were working with historically disadvantaged groups and improving the local environment through, for example, biodiversity initiatives and supporting the transition to green energy.