Strathfest 26 was a great success with 140 entrants, 25% more than in 2025. Non-competitive classes helped make the festival truly inclusive, with opportunities for students at all levels from Badenoch, Strathspey, Moray and Inverness to play various instruments, sing or recite. The standard in every class was high; all the competitors enjoyed taking part. The Boat Hall Showcase Concert was an opportunity for trophy winners to perform for the public, who enjoyed listening to a range of pieces; and to celebrate the success of the overall Festival winners, Lucy Secker and Tom Roche-Nishimori, who were awarded the Grantown East Horn.

With support from the Berry Burn Community Fund, the project has helped secure the future of St Laurence as a valued community asset in Forres. Funding has contributed to its purchase, preventing its loss and enabling plans to bring it into active use. The building will provide a flexible venue for music, arts, weddings and community events, supporting local groups, businesses and wider community wellbeing.

Forres Golf Club Ltd provides the space and opportunity for all residents of the surrounding areas, and visitors, to engage in golfing activities. We invest in youth development and provide employment for local people.

Like many others, we have suffered from falling membership and increasing costs and we needed to find a way to diversify our income in order to continue to operate. The Berry Burn Community Fund has made that possible for us by agreeing to support our project to rejuvenate our residential premises for rental purposes. We are extremely grateful to them.

From January to March 2026, 60 people ranging from ages 3-75+ gathered every Sunday to sing and connect as a “Winter Wellbeing Choir”. This free, multi-generational choir was open to all, with a dedicated playworker to support families. The fun and uplifting sessions were a nourishing way to spend a Sunday afternoon over the winter months, meeting and connecting with new people. The choir learnt a range of songs, including original compositions by local composer Adam Csenki, and concluded with an informal sharing for friends and family to celebrate the arrival of spring complete with afternoon tea.

Thanks to the Berry Burn Community Fund, Earthtime have been delighted to be able to provide our outdoor, nature based activities for the young families of Aberlour. Our Waddle Toddle sessions have encouraged play and learning in the local environment, and latterly engaged with the local care home to encourage intergenerational relationships and a wider community focus.

The Berry Burn Community Fund has supported the Forres Osprey Bus to give another year of transport availability to the local area. Enabling social inclusion for the young and old, the socially isolated and sensory needs individuals, allowing them to feel part of the community and take part in numerous activities that they would never have available to them otherwise. 

Berry Burn Community Fund supported Grantown Swim Club with the purchase of essential equipment, enhancing safety, training quality, and member experience. Key items included teaching aids, flotation devices, and poolside equipment to support structured sessions. The funding also enabled swimmers to complete a certified teaching course, increasing coaching capacity and ensuring high standards of instruction. As a result of this investment, our community can continue to support confidence in the water as well as health and well-being whilst strengthening long-term sustainability.

Thanks to the Berry Burn Community Fund (BBCF), we’ve had a year of substantial progress in delivering the Anagach Woods Trust’s vision – Project 2033. The funding provided by the BBCF has allowed us to:

• Plan our activities so that volunteer time is used effectively
• Get a detailed understanding of the deer population in the woods
• Develop a fire plan
• Prepare for the introduction of cattle grazing
• Manage non-native trees
• Access longer-term grant funding to maintain the path network in the woods

These actions have provided a firm foundation for the future management of the woods and provided momentum for future delivery.

The Window Of Opportunity (WOO) project connects local people with volunteering opportunities via posters at the Forres House Library corridor and the Credit Union office window. The intention is for the project to eventually expand to other community spaces.

The initiative has raised awareness, supported community groups, and encouraged new volunteers. With ongoing support, the project will continue, building on experience to improve promotion, strengthen partnerships, and make volunteering more accessible to the community.

ReBOOT expanded its operational capacity by installing new shipping containers and specialist soldering equipment at its Forres site. The project has increased storage and workshop space, enabling higher volumes of donated IT equipment to be accepted and processed.

A new soldering setup is supporting the development of specialist repair skills, allowing more equipment to be repaired and reused rather than recycled. These improvements help extend the life of electronic devices, reducing e-waste and environmental impact while supporting a growing number of volunteers and work placements for young people from local schools across Moray.