Environment
Earlier Items

15 November 03
Achvarasdal Woodland Management Group
Thanks to Tony Bradford for letting us know about this group and the woodland walks etc.  Well worth a visit.

14 June 03
Fresh Futures Transforming Your Space
A new grant programme on behalf of the New Opportunities fund is designed to help communities improve their local environments by making them safer, healthier, greener, cleaner , better designed, more welcoming and accessible to all.  A total fund of £4.3 million is now available.  Groups have two years to make an application with the final deadline on 31 March 2005.  Grants can be from £20,000 to £300,000 although grants in excess of £100,000 are likely to be offered to projects with high numbers of beneficiaries.  More information at www.fresh-futures.org.uk

4 June 03
SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY BIOMASS AND BIODIVERSITY SEMINAR, CAITHNESS
25 JUNE 2003  The Highland Council will host a one day seminar "Sustainable Forestry Biomass and Biodiversity" on Wednesday 25 June at the Portland Arms Hotel, Lybster, Caithness.  Expert speakers have been invited from Forward Scotland, Highland Birchwoods, Nordic Enterprise Trust, AMEC, Integrated Energy Utilities Limited, SVS Composting, Forest Enterprise, National Farmers Union, British Geological Survey, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, and the North Highland Leader+ Partnership..............

17 May 03
Community Environmental Renewal Grants
Grant funding available to community groups.  Check this out if your group wants to take advantage of money coming from the aggregates levy.  Between £5000 and £50,000 may be available to help your project in Highland.  Closing dates 18 June and 10 September 2003.

10 July 04
Friends Of The Trinkie And the North Baths
Another new section in time to let everyone know about the reopening of the North Baths Wick on Saturday 24 July at 1.00pm

3 June 04
Dune Stabilisation Work at Dunnet Bay
Warm ad sunny weather conditions at Dunnet Bay last Sunday created a desert like image and working conditions for the Caithness Countryside Volunteers.  Working in a large 'blow-out' in the middle of the Dunnet Bay dune system, the volunteers planted herring-bone rows of marram grass between brash fencing in attempts help stabilise the system.

6 February 04
IMPROVING RECYCLING IN THE HIGHLANDS
The Highland Council is eager to meet recycling targets set by the Scottish Executive but says that funding must be made available to enable this to happen.

In the Strategic Waste Plan for the Highlands, approved by the Executive, it is estimated that an additional funding of £29 million is needed over the next two financial years to improve recycling and composting to 25% and almost £300 million to meet the 2020 target of 44%.

Councillor Bill Fulton, the Council’s spokesman on waste management, said the cost of providing recycling facilities in the Highlands was inordinately expensive, given that the Council represented an area extending to one-third of the Scottish mainland but only 208,000 people.

He said: "The Council is keen to get on with the job of transforming waste management practice in Highland and there is a public expectation that we should meet the targets set. But we can only do so when we receive funding from the Scottish Executive. The alternative is the Council meeting the cost and this would increase the Council Tax by £300 on Band D and I could never agree to this.

"Notwithstanding this, we will continue to improve facilities within the existing budget during 2004-05."

In the current financial year, the Council has spent £350,000 on recycling and has used it together with funds from Scottish Executive to pilot kerbside segregated collections of recyclables and green waste, as well as expanding the recycling banks network. This will further increase Highland’s recycling rate.

Kerbsider - Collecting Sorted Waste