FIOS COLUMN – 5 JULY 2016

It has been a really busy few weeks, but we are delighted to have our events programme well underway. We have introduced a series of family outdoor play sessions this year and these are proving to be popular, with 20 people booked onto Saturday’s Rock pooling event. The fishing tuition session was held in mid-June and that once again proved to be very popular with 14 people taking part. Thanks to Roddy Macdonald and Donnie Maciver for running this event this year again.

The rabbit scheme has been ticking over well with almost 1500 rabbits shoot during April and May. A review meeting will be held in late July to discuss the scheme ahead of the peak season in the Autumn. Other measures are also being explored which may be implemented to further drive down the rabbit population.

We recently took part in a 2 day conference event for 6th year pupils at the Nicolson Institute. This is the second year we’ve taken part; day one was held in An Lanntair and we covered “Socio-economic development in a community context” and day two was a visit by pupils to the Galson Estate. The “Ceangal” event seeks to explore the various opportunities open to young people ahead of their final year of school.

A meeting was held with development staff at Comhairle nan Eilean Siar last month to discuss the Hebridean Way. This meeting was arranged following the placement of the monolith at the Butt of Lewis. The monolith is to be moved, but it was believed there was also merit in spending time finding out more about the Hebridean Way project and discussing the potential opportunities it brings. It was agreed that open event will be planned for September whereby all those involved, or interested in becoming involved in tourism will be invited to come along to the UOG Business Centre and meet with Comhairle officers and other agency staff to share ideas and find out more.

Discussions have been held with Fivepenny Ness Grazings, who have agreed to the construction of a campsite on their grazings. Initial site and location plans are being drawn up and will be shared in due course.

The Community Investment Fund has made 20 awards in 2016 and we are working on the profiling of funds in the hope of opening a larger fund in the Autumn. The past year has been a good indication of the demand for the fund at this level and the size of projects being undertaken.

For more information on our events please visit www.galsontrust.com, follow us on Facebook or call the office on 01851 850393 / email: office@uogltd.com