A £10,000 grant from Berry Burn has enabled Dyke Church to dramatically improve access to the church and church hall, a longstanding aspiration of the congregation. This disability-friendly path-creation project has been extremely well received by many diverse groups in the community. We are now in a position to move forward with our plans to exploit the improved access by making the church and hall a true whole community facility, and fundraising is well underway towards that end. We gratefully acknowledge this invaluable assistance.

  

Food Work and Health Matters! is an inclusive programme designed to support people in

living independent lives, able to make informed choices about a range of adult issues. Its focus

is on four areas – food and nutrition, managing money, looking after yourself, an access to

work, (paid or unpaid). It includes practical workshop sessions, cooking, visits, and one to one

opportunities with a skilled mentor, where students have the opportunity to explore and further

their own aspirations. Despite often experiencing multiple challenges, they have responded

with great enthusiasm. And they have enjoyed it.

    

   

Edinkillie Hall is approaching 100 years old. It had been many years since the wooden cladding on the hall had been painted, and that had been with a mixture of creosote and engine oil! The road side was the worst affected by weather and there were holes in the gable end. We were able to replace the worst affected boards and get the whole hall painted so that it looks like new and will hopefully be protected from the elements for many years to come.

Now getting towards the end of its second year the Forres Youth and Families Outreach Project is proving popular with children and families who take part in its many activities and events. These include monthly Messy Church sessions, the summer holiday club and lots of seasonal events, such as the Palm Sunday Walk and Pentecost Party. Lunchtime clubs at the three primary schools are also well attended. A monthly Youth Drop-In has recently started at Costa Coffee in Tesco. The Family Support Service continues to provide help and advice to individual families with a broad range of needs, such as debt management, coping with stress and anxiety, setting up new tenancies and healthy eating.

    

Thanks to the Berry Burn Community Fund Inverness Orienteering Club has obtained a new and up to date map of Anagach Woods at Grantown-on-Spey, using LIDAR data. This will improve navigation for orienteers during competitions at Anagach, allowing hundreds of local people to take part in orienteering events at Anagach. The map will be freely shared with Grantown Grammar Associated Schools Group, local youth groups and other local orienteering clubs.

 

The Berry Burn grant allowed us to complete the development of our Nursery by purchasing a trailer and trolleys to enable us to be self-sufficient and to function more efficiently in making Forres an attractive town to visit.

Many thanks to The Berry Burn Community Fund for supporting the refurbishment of Grantown Primary Nursery garden. The children and staff are delighted with the new and exciting play structures. They have enjoyed playing, exploring and learning together in their new space. The polytunnel has provided lots of opportunity to learn about nature, cultivation and ecology. It has been a hugely welcome improvement.

                              

 

Forres Golf Club members are delighted with the upgrade of the clubhouse, giving it a visible lift in quality and appearance. It makes the lounge look more comfortable and a nice place to relax after a game of golf or just to enjoy socially.  The club is not just for golfers and encourages use by other parties, including birthday/wedding functions, etc.

                        

 

We are particularly grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund for their contribution which allowed us to undertake the costly process of transporting and looking after nationally significant works of art that we feel privileged to share with our community and visitors to the area.

          

Findhorn and Kinloss Community Council is grateful for the Berry Burn grant that allowed procurement pf a public access defibrillator. The unit is has been mounted on the wall of the Kinloss Church of Scotland Culbin Room facing the Findhorn Road. The locked cabinet has a finger keypad and the code is obtained by dialling 999. The defibrillator has step-by-step instructions for use and an LED light is provided for night use.