We here at Rothes Community Limited are delighted with our new equipment and wonder why we persevered so long with old equipment. We will appreciate having it for our quarterly newspaper “The Rothesian”, for our other local community printing jobs, and for our calendars which are a huge part of our income stream. This has also opened the door for other printed goods, such as postcards and notelets which we are often asked for. Looking forward to coming up with new ideas.
Without the assistance of funds from the Berry Burn Community Fund, the functioning of the hydrotherapy pool in Forres might have been abrupted without warning. The Moray Hydrotherapy board did not have sufficient funds to meet the cost of replacing two boilers and carrying out essential improvements to the boiler room. Consequently the hydrotherapy pool would have ceased to function, taking away a vital resource to Moray.
Film Forres have completed a pilot project to take cinema out to local village halls in some of our smaller communities. Through the winter of 2022/2023 and of 2023/2024, Film Forres visited village halls with their mobile cinema and provided an opportunity for community gathering and social interaction whilst watching a film of their choice.
The illumination of the Tolbooth, Merkat Cross and Nelson’s Tower in Forres have thoroughly put each of these buildings on the map. The ‘state of the art’ lighting equipment installed will enable the colour scheme of each building to be changed to reflect such events as Remembrance Day, McMillan Cancer Day, Christmas etc. The hope is to fire the imagination of the population and get them to visit the buildings, this in turn producing activities which are both educational as well as family orientated. It is hoped the fact the buildings are illuminated will encourage people to visit Forres and that an economic benefit will be derived by local businesses.
Findhorn Heritage Icehouse was built circa 1850 to store ice for preserving salmon destined for London markets. Salmon netting finished in 1986 and the Icehouse was acquired by Findhorn Heritage who have created a small Salmon Fishing museum. To allow wheelchair access for visitors throughout the building a level metal surface was constructed, supported above the existing uneven rough stone floor. Over the course of 20 years the damp environment had caused corrosion of the floor infrastructure. The grant from Berry Burn Community Fund has helped us replace the floor support infrastructure to allow continued wheelchair access for visitors.
The Berry Burn Community Fund have been an invaluable help to our club over the 2023 season. With their assistance we have managed to play all our home matches and training on the same pitch without financial worry. They have also aided us with help and advice on more practical ways to become more financially stable in the future. Big thank you from all at Strathspey Camanachd!
As of 1 December 2023, Forres has a new, free to use outdoor gym, located on Sanquhar Road. This £72,000 outdoor gym was developed by Forres Community Sports Hub and Forres Community Council with Berry Burn Community Fund giving £45,000 towards the project.
Equipment includes; multi-station/multi-user full body workout pieces, plus seats/shelters, arm bike accessible from seat/standing position/wheelchair, offering cardiovascular training. Magnetic bells give users two weights/different strength levels, agility trim trail. A free downloadable app will act like a virtual personal trainer.
Moray Council will routinely maintain/inspect the equipment and ongoing fundraising efforts to support the gym and potential future development has been created through a GoFundMe campaign administered by Forres Sports Hub.
Grantown on Spey’s festive lights seek to enrich the Christmas experience for the community with the provision of a fabulous display of lights. The funds to replace eight of the lamppost lights will support the delivery of joy for the community and provide pleasure to all generations for approximately six weeks each year. Christmas can be a difficult time for many with limited money to provide treats, presents or festive cheer. Whilst not being able to replace what will be lost due to the wider financial crisis, this project provides a free-to-access festive centrepiece for the community.
Grantown YMCA Community Centre are extremely grateful to the Berry Burn Community Fund for their quick and generous response to our emergency situation. In addition to financial support, the advice that they have given has proved to be invaluable and has helped us move forward to a more effective system of procedures and supervision.
1st Grantown-on-Spey Guides, Young Leaders and Leaders had a super weekend away at Girlguiding’s flagship camp Wellies and Wristbands at Waddow Hall. By day, girls took part in taster sporting sessions such as fencing, raced on giant inflatables and experienced fun festival activities. In the evening, dancing away at the festival main stage and dressed in festival costume themes, the girls took part in “meet and greets” with future pop-stars and made new Guiding friends from all over the UK. Attending a camp with 1,800 girls was a memorable way for the Guides to develop their skills in camping and improve their confidence.
