2 10 39 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/632/250331_GCSN-report-year2_V2.jpg 21811c8214fc586c41654d2a1a756a8e https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/632/250331_GCSN-report-year2_V2.1.pdf d7e2b6033778b46a3b9ceec52b4e4c6d PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Glenkens Community Spaces Network Annual Report 2024 1. Executive Summary The Glenkens Community Spaces Network (GCSN) is a Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (GCAT) project. It was directly inspired by the Glenkens Community Action Plan (CAP) and started in January 2023 with a 0.2 FTE Facilitator, Becca Nelson. The Network is supported by funding from the Glenkens and District Community Fund though Foundation Scotland. The Network’s purpose is to bring together the voluntary committees running our community spaces, to encourage partnership working across the Glenkens and to amplify their efforts by further work by the Facilitator. By doing this over the last two years, the Network has proved foundational to delivery of many aspects of the Glenkens Community Action Plan, and has also added significant unforeseen value in community resilience, Net Zero upgrades and Local Place Planning. Over the first two years of the project, thirteen meetings have been held, attended by members of 14 Town Hall, Village Hall and other community space committees across the Glenkens. Those who have been unable to attend have been kept up to date by email and invited to join in with projects and share updates. Significant added value has been realised within the Glenkens by the strengthening of these partnerships and by the networks and relationships that the GCSN Facilitator has brought to bear on community resilience, Net Zero upgrades and Local Place Planning. This report summarises the work of the GCSN through 2024, and sets out plans for delivery through 2025. 2. 2024 delivery CAP Theme 1 – A Connected Community 2.1 Glenkens Hub partnership The GCSN has continued to work closely with the Glenkens Hub (another CAP-inspired GCAT project), highlighting the ways in which community spaces can customise information and add to their basic profile on the Hub. The password-protected Community Spaces Intranet pages continue to be used by the committees as a central repository for shared information, resources, meeting papers and other information. 2.2 Organic partnership working GCSN members have continued to value the opportunity to meet on a regular basis and develop relationships with volunteers from other community venues. Network members are generous and supportive within the meetings and have been keen to work together to share resources and initiatives. Guest speakers are invited when appropriate. Glenkens venues held an Open Doors Day to celebrate Volunteers Week in June 2024. The success of this has led to a desire to find opportunities to hold similar events where clusters of venues can engage the public and spread the word about their activities. Work to develop collective projects which will benefit the broader group continues. 2.3 Adding value 2.3.1 Local Place Planning A key focus of 2024 was facilitating and coordinating the Local Place Planning processes across the Glenkens. Through this area-wide coordination, the community objectives embedded in the Glenkens and District CAP will also be reflected in the Glenkens Local Place Plans (LPPs). When adopted by the Council, LPPs have a statutory role in shaping the Local Development Planning process, and it was therefore crucial to ensure that the Glenkens LPPs amplified the CAP instead of diluting it. Five of the eight Glenkens Community Councils have commissioned GCAT support for developing Local Place Plans, of which one (Dalry) was adopted in November 2024, and the others (Balmaclellan, Carsphairn, Crossmichael and New Galloway and Kells) are expected to be completed before the end of June 2025. 2.3.2 Resilience The GCSN also facilitated further resilience work in 2024 carried out by the Loch Ken Trust (LKT). Three GCSN member halls worked with the LKT, supported by the GCSN Facilitator, to develop a toolkit to be used by community spaces in emergency situations as part of resilience planning. This allowed information about contacts, volunteers and resilience plans to be securely shared, and created a model for setting up community spaces as resilience centres that is easily able to be activated when needed. Storms and power outages which necessitated the centres being used by residents have since demonstrated the value of ongoing work in this area. 2.4 Representation Having the GCSN Facilitator as a single point of contact able to disseminate learnings and represent the Network saves time and increases the reach of the voluntary committees. Attending the SCVO/SRA National Village Halls Conference, held at Birnam Arts in May 2024, was an opportunity to share the role of the Network more widely, as well as sharing learnings with representatives of other village halls without such a network to support them. Representing the GCSN at New Galloway’s Volunteer Fair on 1st June 2024 cut down on duplicated effort. The Facilitator invited all GCSN members to share their volunteer role descriptions prior to the event, rather than all having to attend in order to highlight their available roles. Theme 2 – An Asset Rich Community 2.5 Fundamentals The continuation of GCSN meetings has facilitated ongoing peer support, sharing of good practice, successes and advice. Alongside this, Network members have proposed topics for further investigation in order to best add value to the work carried out by voluntary committees. Useful information gained through attendance at the National Village Halls Conference was shared with Network members. The GCSN role in Local Place Planning means that work has been done to capture public support for community spaces and other locally important facilities, in order to make it easier to evidence the vital role that facilities and services play in keeping communities viable in our remote rural area. The GCSN also supported the Dalry Community Properties Trust (DCPT) to successfully apply for asset transfer of the Dalry Multi-Use Games Area from Dumfries and Galloway Council to community ownership under the DCPT. The MUGA came into community ownership in December 2024. Theme 4 – A Carbon Neutral Community 2.6 Net Zero In 2023, GCAT sourced CLLD funding to commission a study from Natural Power Consultants into reducing energy demands and emissions from our public buildings, which was coordinated and introduced by the GCSN Facilitator. As direct result of that Report, 3 venues have made Net Zero upgrades in 2024, including: • • • The CatStrand has removed 10 tonnes of CO2e emissions annually by replacing its oil boiler with ASHPs powered by solar panels and batteries. The Dalry Community Properties Trust was successful in bidding for funding from Scottish Power Energy Networks with match funding from South of Scotland Enterprise to implement the recommendations for the Glenkens Community Centre in the NPC report. This includes solar panels, battery storage, insulation, energy efficient lighting and Air Source Heat Pump installation. Crossmichael Memorial Hall Committee were also in the process of applying for funds to carry out works identified in the report, but unfortunately had to withdraw from the process owing to a serious structural defect being found in the building necessitating its closure. 3. Challenges/opportunities Volunteering: Despite the strength and number of the dedicated volunteers across the Glenkens who bring enthusiasm and expertise to their roles, volunteer fatigue and difficulties with succession are one of the biggest challenges to our community spaces remaining viable. Networking and paid support through the GCSN both amplifies volunteer activity, improves morale and shares knowledge and best practice. Funding: GCSN members continue to work together to identify suitable opportunities for partnership working and funding bids. Signposting and support: Outside the Network meetings, support is offered to network members on an ad-hoc basis in response to requests for information. All findings and research are held on the GCSN intranet, to ensure that learning is not lost and is available to all network members. Innovative thinking: 2024 saw the network consider potential uses for the Kirks across the Glenkens which are to be closed and sold by The Church of Scotland. The research could be used by community groups interested in progressing plans to purchase of kirk buildings, as well as highlighting missing facilities which could potentially be housed in the kirk buildings should there be a community body willing to work to raise the necessary funds to take the projects forward. 4. 2025 plans The first half of 2025 will be focussed on creating high quality LPPs across the Glenkens as well as maintaining Network core activities. In the second half of the year, I am looking forward to supporting the GCSN member volunteers to utilise data from the LPP consultations to inform their planning for sustainability of their spaces. This may include offering support in developing and implementing better recruitment and induction processes for Trustees, sustainability planning, and business planning in order to assist the committees to further plans for their own community venues alongside Community Action Plan goals. The Local Place Plan consultations have highlighted the importance of local facilities to residents, but factors of demographic change and depopulation put these facilities (some of which are community spaces) at risk. Work to understand the drivers of depopulation and implement solutions could help to mitigate this threat. Planning for sustainability: The GCSN’s work has from the outset been led by the priorities of its members, and support for each community venue varies according to the aspirations and circumstances of each member venue. The CAP includes an aspiration for a sustainability plan to be completed for each community venue. Further work will be done in this area in the second half of 2025 once the data from Local Place Plans has all been gained and analysed. Business and investment planning are also key, and resources and support will be offered to all community spaces that do not currently have business plans alongside sustainability planning. GCAT has sourced National Lottery ‘Awards for All’ grant funding for a Community Activities Advisor (0.2 FTE) to work with Network members in order to develop sustainable activities in their Halls and spaces. Jo Jackson will support with individual programming and also coordinate across Halls for joint or Glenkens-wide events. This is fantastic news and I very much look forward to working with Jo Jackson throughout 2025 in this area. 5. Conclusion It has been a huge pleasure to continue to work with the fantastic volunteers who put so much into running our vital community spaces, and I would like to express my thanks for everything that they do. I am looking forward to working with the group over 2025 and doing more to help our town and village halls to keep us connected, educated, active, supporting local producers and crafters, and culturally nourished! Becca Nelson (GCSN Facilitator), March 2025  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Glenkens Community Spaces Network Annual Report 2024 Description An account of the resource This report summarises the work of the GCSN through 2024, and sets out plans for delivery through 2025. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_28 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Glenkens Community Spaces Network Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 1 CAP Theme 2 CAP Theme 4 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/631/GlenkensCAP_AnnualReport_2024.jpg e356e24a4e5707e65aa7204adf74394c https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/631/Glenkens_CAP_Annual_Report_2024.pdf 76f6f90372c4cac1fde16c00da9058bd PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group Annual Report 2024 Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Goal: The Glenkens & district will be a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families and to grow old. It will be somewhere that other places in Scotland look to for inspiration. 1. Executive Summary 2024 has been another year of effective delivery of the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan priorities. Frontline delivery projects have been consolidated and evolved to deliver excellent outcomes for Glenkens residents, despite the extremely challenging external context of the cost-ofliving crisis and a restricted funding landscape. In addition, the CAP Steering Group has been strongly advocating for the rural voice to be heard at regional and national levels – working to alleviate some of the challenges our communities face at a systemic, upstream level, rather than just intervening to mitigate the symptoms. It is extremely challenging work, requiring the ongoing support of huge amounts of volunteer time and in the face of a significant power imbalance between hyper-local community development organisations and national & regional agencies. However, we have continued to make good partnerships and build relationships towards achieving common outcomes, and this report evidences the concrete gains that can be made towards mitigating rural disadvantage and averting rural depopulation when Community Wealth Building principles are truly embodied and actioned by all. 2. Background The Glenkens and district Community Action Plan was published in 2020 after extensive community consultation. It was designed to enable any funds coming in the area to be spent strategically and to best effect and to encourage the communities of the Glenkens to work together where possible. It was then crucial that the priorities expressed by the Glenkens communities in the Plan should be moved forward and so the Community Action Plan Steering Group was formed in 2021. Their remit is to own the CAP on behalf of the community, keep it relevant and check in on delivery. They are supported operationally by the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust – specifically, the GCAT Chief Executive, Helen Keron. In 2021, the Glenkens and District Trust, our local community benefit funder, aligned its funding strategy heavily with the Community Action Plan. Our Community Action Plan Goal is supported by four themes: 1. 2. 3. 4. A Connected Community An Asset Rich Community An Economically Flourishing Community A Carbon Neutral Community And has a 2023 Addendum: • A Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens. Since 2021, the communities of the Glenkens have increasingly worked in partnership to achieve the Community Action Plan priorities across these themes. We stand ready as a high-capacity, committed community partner for anyone wanting to trial solutions to national priorities on the ground in a remote-rural community. 2 3. 2024 Delivery 3.1. Internal Context A continuing theme this year has been the resource constraint from a GCAT perspective and the need to prioritise the areas of focus. The CAP Steering Group is fully cognisant of the tight funding landscape in which GCAT and other Glenkens charitable organisations operate, and is very appreciative of their efforts to date to deliver the CAP priorities. A key risk on the Steering Group Risk Register is the impact on delivery if GCAT became unable to continue to support the community development activity going forward. The Steering Group notes that GCAT has recently had to use some of the headroom gained over the last 3 years of efficiency improvements to reduce core costs, rather than expand delivery. This is a sensible response to the current volatile context, but is nonetheless disappointing for them as it will inevitably affect outcomes to some degree. We offer GCAT our full support in their continuing efforts on sustainable delivery of the Community Action Plan as well as their Artistic Vision. We were therefore pleased to see that the Glenkens and District Trust has recently designated GCAT as a ‘key anchor organisation’ in the Glenkens. This is because not only do they provide significant impact within the community, but they also leverage in significant other funds and provide support to other groups in the area in furtherance of the Community Action Plan. This decision means an annual contribution of £50,000 to GCAT, subject to availability of funds and satisfactory continuing delivery, which will make a material difference to GCAT’s ability to continue to support CAP delivery. 3.2. Emerging Priorities Building on the track record of CAP delivery over 2022 and 2023, but being cognisant of an everchanging external context, the other emerging themes of 2024 have been: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Community Wealth Building Rural depopulation Local Place Planning Land Use change Education and Learning Net Zero action All of these themes underpin the successful delivery of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Goal, and so GCAT and the CAP Steering Group have been working on these priorities throughout the year, as well as those ongoing projects that are directly delivering CAP priorities. 3 3.2.1. Community Wealth Building. The Glenkens interprets CWB in its widest sense and sees it as critical to achieving Theme 3 of the CAP, An Economically Flourishing Community. CWB principles are also woven into the Glenkens Land Use Vision. For us, Community Wealth Building is not just about community benefits (money) – rather, it is about working in partnership with those organisations who create wealth from or within the Glenkens to ensure that some of that wealth supports the communities hosting the organisations. It could include partnership work on housing, skills and training, jobs, access roads, recreation or de-risking local social enterprises. Community Wealth Building in the Glenkens – 2024 work • Education and Learning We are working with the D&G Council Education Department and others to explore what a modern and sustainable educational provision in the Glenkens could look like. We have a decades-long pipeline of land-based industries coming into the area – how can we use that to ensure that our young people have access to high-quality jobs, housing and opportunities so that our communities thrive? • Just Transition We are at the forefront of many national Net Zero policies being played out in our landscapes. We have created a Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens and are actively working towards its implementation, working at regional and national levels. We believe this is one of very few community-led Land Use projects in the country. We have been well supported by NatureScot in this work and look forward to continuing this partnership next year. • Community Benefit Structure and Governance. The Glenkens is in receipt of welcome but relatively modest amounts of wind farm CB funds. (£300k pa over 10 Community Councils). However, this could rise substantially over the coming decade, and so we have organised ourselves robustly and (we believe) uniquely. The Glenkens is seen as leading the way in cross-community cooperation, leading to strategic and effective use of community benefit funds to achieve community priorities. See Section 6 below for our structures. We submitted a detailed response to the recent SPEN consultation on transmission line community benefits, setting out the importance both of keeping the community at the heart of decision making and of only supporting community projects that have a viable operational model, not just providing capital input. 4 3.2.2. Rural depopulation Rural depopulation is a pressing concern for both the Scottish Government and Dumfries and Galloway Council. As a remote-rural community, we are already able to demonstrate the inevitable and unwelcome end-points of some regional and national policies with respect to rural depopulation. We are therefore pleased that the Glenkens has been confirmed as a case study for the research work that DGC has commissioned around Rural Depopulation, due to report end March 2025. Examples Policy decisions Outcomes for rural areas Consolidation of regional services to save money, coupled with poor public transport. Lack of housing due to second homes, lack of affordable house building and the recent contraction of the private rental market due to EPC conditions. Consolidation of the school estate for financial and educational reasons, coupled with poor public transport. Lack of childcare due to market forces or insufficient statutory provision. A view of the area as simply somewhere to holiday. Lack of Community Wealth Building principles embedded in development permissions. Older people move out of the area to be closer to centralised services. Working-age people move out of the area. National planting targets School age families move out of the area to be closer to the schools. Pre-school age families move out of the area in order for both parents to be able to work. The hollowing out of thriving and sustainable communities. Itinerant workforces and external supply chains that don’t contribute to our local economy or create new skilled jobs. 86% afforestation of Carsphairn parish, with more commercial planting planned across the whole area. Reduced long-term jobs in the local area. The Glenkens is bucking the D&G trend for depopulation, due in part to the huge volunteer efforts to build a thriving community over many decades. However, it is an ageing population and one that is increasingly reliant on fatigued volunteers. All of our CAP work in 2024 has been viewed by the CAP Steering Group through a depopulation lens, but we need to find a way to work strategically with the regional and national agencies to achieve change – many of the issues above are out of our hands. 5 3.2.3. Local Place Planning We see statutory LPPs as a great opportunity for the Glenkens, due to the status being placed on them by the Local Authorities and Scottish Government. However, we need them to work for us and our pre-existing work on the Community Action Plan. We have therefore used GCAT and the Glenkens Community Spaces Network to coordinate a Glenkens response to this. We have a vision of a suite of Glenkens LPPs that reflect individual village concerns and priorities while at the same time referencing and amplifying the work of our Community Action Plan. They in turn will lead to a refresh of the CAP in 2025. In pursuit of this: • With support from GCAT, Dalry Community Council volunteers have created an exemplar Local Place Plan, which thanks to NatureScot and SOSE funding, has a parish-wide focus on the issues affecting them. It was formally registered by D&G Council in October 2024 (one of the first in the region to do so) and was very well received. GCAT has used the Dalry exemplar to create a Glenkens template LPP and an associated package of support to go with it, available for all Glenkens Community Councils. Crossmichael, New Galloway & Kells, Balmaghie and Balmaclellan will be working on their LPPs with this support in 2024 and into 2025. • 3.2.4. Land Use change 3 major projects were completed on Land Use in 2024, as a direct result of the Glenkens Land Use Vision in 2024. NatureScot and SOSE funded: • • • The creation of the Dalry LPP, as above. A feasibility study into a Glenkens Land Use Forum – which in fact suggested a Network and a Map instead of a Forum. A report on participatory monitoring of Land Use in the Glenkens – which suggested a Festival of Land for the Glenkens, to bring residents closer to the issues at hand. These latter two reports are published here and were discussed with the community in summer 2024. As a direct result of this work: • • • • • • We will be working with NatureScot as a pilot area for their Natural Capital Mapping Tool when the beta version is published in Spring 2025. We ran a Land Use Strategy Game with researchers from Zurich University in October 2024, designed to bring differing views together and spark new conversations – which it did. We hope to create a Festival of Land in Spring 2025, dependent on funding outcomes. We will continue to work with NatureScot on advancing the community-led work on this issue, which they believe to be unique in the country due to not being agency-led. Egger Forestry is coordinating an information day for residents to find out more about the value that productive forestry adds to the region – likely early 2025. The Glenkens is referenced as a case study in the South of Scotland Regional Land Use Framework. 6 • • • We have supported SoS Regional Land Use Partnership governance discussions to ensure it includes proportionate community representation. We have had visits from the Scottish Land Commission and the Scottish Government Committee on Just Transition and researchers from Zurich University We have represented the Glenkens at Holyrood at a consultation on the Agriculture and Rural Economy Bill. A Land Use sub-committee of the CAP Steering group is currently being formalised. Their role will be to drive strategic action in pursuit of the Glenkens Land Use Vision through 2025 and beyond. 3.2.5. Education and Learning In response to the proposed mothballing of Dalry Secondary School in March 2024, the CAP Steering Group supported the Dalry Parent Council in challenging the process of mothballing, in order to create space for more holistic solutions to the very real issue of low school roll numbers. GCAT then hosted an Education and Learning event in July 2024, on behalf of the CAP Steering Group. It was designed to inspire and inform about different models of education for remote-rural communities. As a result of this, members of the CAP SG and Dalry PC met the Director of Education in July and again in October. From these meetings, various actions are being worked to try and capitalise on the Glenkens position as the hub of decades of land-based industrial work – wind farms, forestry, traditional and regenerative agriculture. Notes of all the meetings are published on the Glenkens Hub ‘Education and Learning’ page. The recent report commissioned by the Glenkens and District Trust on the matter provides an interesting evidence base of the value of education and learning as the underpinning of sustainable rural communities. It invites regional partners to engage creatively in new models that recognise the financial constraints while fulfilling the Council Vision of ‘thriving rural communities.’ The CAP Steering Group welcomed the Report and looks forward to supporting the Glenkens communities in any resultant actions. We know that some of the most innovative solutions are being generated by the people at the point of the crisis, and so we look forward to working with regional partners to create a bottom-up solution. From the report: “One of the key principles to emerge [] is that rural education ‘needs to be rooted and connected in the place, drawing on local assets, connections, networks and partnerships, and incorporating local experience and knowledge, including experience and skills in adapting rapidly to changing circumstances’. What is required is a significant rebalancing of schooling that does not just focus on learning to leave, but gives rural young people genuine choice and opportunity (a) to pursue their lives, and work, locally within their community, or (b) to migrate elsewhere, whether to urban or other rural places, or (c) to pursue a mix of these options”. An Education & Learning sub-committee of the CAP Steering group is currently being formalised. Their role will be to ensure that the Glenkens community voice is heard, opportunities are capitalised on and lifelong learning needs are met” 7 3.2.6. Net Zero action The Energy Efficiency report published in 2023 has catalysed action in 2024 by 3 community groups: • • • GCAT’s venue the CatStrand will be decarbonising entirely by replacing its oil boiler with Air Source Heat Pumps, powered by solar panels and batteries and a renewables-only electricity contract. This work will be complete in January 2025. Crossmichael Memorial Hall was working with SPEN to install renewable energy measures, although this has been stalled by the discovery of other structural issues. The Glenkens Community Centre in Dalry is also working with SPEN to make it into a centre of expertise for energy efficiency retro-fits in historical buildings. This collection of projects shows the power of working together to create (in this case) a Feasibility Study and evidence base that then catalyses and empowers individual organisations to make the changes that they want to see. 8 3.3. Ongoing projects – 2024 update. 3.3.1. Glenkens Community Spaces Network. The GCSN Facilitator, Becca Nelson, continues to support the volunteer committees of the Glenkens public buildings with their excellent work for the Glenkens Town and Village Halls, but has also provided support for a Loch Ken Trust project on building resilience in community organisations and support for Dalry Community Council in the creation of their Local Place Plan. She has established herself as a trusted supporter of the volunteer committees and therefore as a single point of contact for organisations looking to work with them. In this way she has been able to add significant unforeseen value over the year. Looking forward, the Glenkens and District Community Fund has assured the Facilitator post for another year, and GCAT plans to use the Network connections to deliver ever more of the ‘An Asset Rich’ and ‘A Connected Community’ priorities of the CAP. In the first half of 2025, Becca will also be continuing to support Glenkens Community Councils as they work towards their Local Place Plans. 3.3.2. Glenkens Hub The Glenkens Hub has grown enormously over 2024, cementing its use as a central community resource. Specific pages have been added for: • Education and Learning • Land Use • Consultations and planning • The Galloway National Park proposal. In addition, Crossmichael Community Council asked the Hub to host its community website, which has removed an administrative role from the CC volunteers while maintaining the individual feel of its previous website: Glenkens Hub - Crossmichael Prior to the UK elections, the Hub and Gazette reached out to all D&G candidates and published their responses to questions posed by Glenkens residents on the site. It hosted pages for Glenkens Food Month 2024, and the Galloway Glens Legacy Fund when it opened in September 2024. The social media presence is growing too. Plans for 2025 include finding funding for an evolution of the website to prevent depopulation by focusing on case studies of younger people who live and work in the Glenkens, based on the very successful Uist Beo model. The Glenkens and District Community Fund has assured the Digital Editor post for another year, allowing this continued evolution and delivery. 9 3.3.3. PYT Community Housing The Pamela Young Trust has progressed its plans for 3 community houses in the centre of Balmaclellan, and started moving towards RIBA Stage 3 in late 2024. They hope to have planning permission secured mid-2025. Their plans to take the Glenlee houses back into community ownership from SPEN have stalled due to the lack of decision on the Kendoon-Tongland substation but remains a possibility. 3.3.4. Galloway Food Hub The Galloway Food Hub has had a very successful 2024, growing its list of local producers from 15 to 33 and increasing its customer numbers to 85+ fortnightly. After seed funding from the Glenkens and District Community Fund in 2021 and 2022, they have since secured funding from outwith the Glenkens to grow their delivery area and update their marketing reach. They rely heavily on volunteers and committed staff to fuel the growth, but the rewards are very tangible. Looking forward, they hope to increase deliveries to weekly from fortnightly, inspire more local vegetable growers and secure a delivery vehicle to reduce the reliance on volunteers’ cars. 3.3.5. Glenkens Youth Group The Glenkens Youth Group consolidated its position under GCAT through 2024, providing a safe and undirected space for young people (P7 – S3) to hang out in. The Monday evening sessions are very youth-led, and this year there were themes of cooking, crafts and music. They sourced external funding for a programme of summer activities, including bee-keeping and water sports, and joined CatStrand Young Creatives in a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe – giving Glenkens young people opportunities some of them have never had. Looking forward to 2025, the group will continue to be very youth-led and will look to strengthen its links with the Council Youth Service still further. It is funded by the Glenkens and District Community Fund to August 2025. 3.3.6. Loch Ken Ranger Service The Loch Ken Ranger Service has had another good year, with 2 paid part-time Rangers and 17 volunteer Rangers. After seed funding from the Glenkens and District Community Fund started the service, they have since sourced private sector support (Drax) for the continuation of this important role. In 2024, they have continued their focus on responsible camping and water safety, combining the educational messages with fun activities such as cook-outs and water activities to ensure they reach as many people as possible. Their partnership work with the Galloway Activity Centre to deliver water safety awareness training to young people was highlighted as an example of best practice by Water Safety Scotland. 3.3.7. Scottish Childminders Association The SCMA filled 2 of the 4 sponsored paces available this year, but one candidate then decided not to make the career change. The remaining candidate has submitted her application to the Care Inspectorate and is expecting to have her registration confirmed before Christmas 2024. The current recruitment programme is running until the end of March 2025. 10 4. Governance We have organised ourselves via a robust structure with clear accountability and sound governance principles that allow us turn aspiration into action that makes a real difference on the ground. We believe this structure to be unique across Scotland, and we have found over the last 3 years that it has provided us with a solid base from which to ensure delivery, maintain accountability and keep priorities relevant. Organisational Roles: • • • Glenkens & District Trust: • Build the available funding pot through effective liaison with wind farm (and other) developers. • Administer the funds effectively and transparently. • Membership drawn from Community Councils. • Governing Documents and Meeting Reports here: Governance Info & Resources | Glenkens & District (glenkenstrust.org.uk) Community Action Plan Steering Group: • Own the Community Action Plan. • Keep it relevant and prioritise delivery according to resource constraints. • Membership from across the Glenkens. • Terms of Reference here: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan Steering Group • Meeting Reports published after each Steering Group meeting: Glenkens Hub Community Action Plan Steering Group. Glenkens Community and Arts Trust. • Anchor organisation, leading on delivery of the CAP, through a concentric model of delivery / support / partnerships. • Strategy, Annual Accounts and Newsletters here: GCAT - GCAT 11 5. 2025 Priorities At their September 2024 meeting, the CAP Steering Group set out the following priority areas for CAP delivery in 2025. • • • • • • Support GCAT in securing funding for sustainability. Continue advocacy for underlying themes, as per Section 3.2. Continue support of ongoing delivery projects, as per Section 3.3. Finalise the Glenkens suite of LPPs. Use the LPP process to create an evolution and re-issue of the CAP. Support the communities of the Glenkens in respectful and useful discussions about the Galloway National Park proposal. However, it is important to note that the current speed of progress and even some of the existing gains are at risk if funders cannot pivot to providing more long-term security of funding and if regional and national agencies cannot see the value of working with hyper-local development trusts or similar to achieve their shared outcomes. 12 6. Looking Forward - Challenges • • • • • • • • The incredibly tight funding landscape risks all gains made to date if GCAT can’t continue their work on CAP delivery due to lack of operational or project funding. GDT’s funds are limited due to current fund structure and delays in further wind farm construction due to lack of grid capacity. National Park proposal – possibility of a divisive process and a boundary through the Glenkens undermining CAP work to bring our communities together. Kendoon-Tongland decision – both with respect to new wind farm timelines, transmission line community benefits and the Glenlee houses renovations. Centralisation of community benefit funds regionally and nationally. Constrained resources and volunteer fatigue leading to lack of capacity to advocate on themes at national and regional levels. Continuation funding for existing projects across the Glenkens. Lack of regional partnerships towards ambitions of Themes 3 and 4. 7. Looking Forward - Opportunities • • • • • High level of national and regional interest in our work on land use and education and skills in particular. Glenkens LPPs are an example of best practice regionally and have demonstrated the benefits of working together cross-Community Council. More work with Developers could result in Community Wealth Building pilot projects. Further support of the D&G Regional Transport Strategy through Glenkens Community Transport. An increasingly engaged and empowered community available to partner with regional and national organisations on creative pilot projects. 13 8. Conclusion Although excellent things have already been achieved by working together, there are clear challenges to the Glenkens communities continuing to progress at this rate. The CAP Steering Group is very focussed in supporting our local groups to build on what has been delivered and to create a positive and constructive Glenkens community that works together to achieve real results. The funding context for all community groups is getting more difficult as the national funding landscape contracts and demands get higher. There is a need for national funders to understand the needs and demands of rural areas better in their decision making - for example the low population density, the difficulty in finding trained people to do work and the challenges of having a regular flow of work. There is an easy solution for the public sector conundrum of ‘how to do more with less’ – create fund structures that allocate funds in a timely manner, with a sensible timeframe for project completion and with multi-year provision. This will allow charitable organisations across the region and country to deliver significantly increased outcomes for the same amount of financial outlay. While there is a pipeline of wind farm developments in the Glenkens & district which is likely to result in additional community benefit payments being made locally, the timescale of these is extending and there will not be a material change in the level of local funding available in the short term (3-5 years). It is unlikely that our ambitions can be fully achieved without assured core funding for our anchor organisations. Without the Chief Executive role in GCAT, the pace of delivery would have been much slower and many of the benefits of cooperation and coordination lost. Having access to that paid resource and expertise has been crucial to the ability of the CAP Steering Group to carry out its role over the last 3 years. In addition, there is a fantastic cohort of willing and able volunteers who have already achieved much for the Glenkens & district. But if more ambitious projects are to be achieved, more paid and expert assistance is needed to support these volunteers. If more volunteers are to come forward to support community groups, there needs to be a recognition that the majority of volunteers will not have unlimited time and cannot be expected to take on tasks at a level of responsibility and accountability that should reasonably be paid roles. The more ambitious projects in Themes 3 and 4 will need good partnership working with South of Scotland Enterprise, Dumfries and Galloway Council and other regional bodies. Their support is actively being sought. There is much focus on community empowerment and Glenkens groups are ready and willing to take up this challenge - but we do need strategic partnerships to allow them to deliver effective outcomes. We look forward to a challenging but rewarding 2025 and thank you to all the many people who have worked so hard this year to make the Glenkens what it is. Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group. December 2024 14 Appendix 1: 2021 – 2023 Delivery Highlights. Note that this list is of projects directly catalysed by the Community Action Plan. Many other excellent projects are also being delivered around the Glenkens in alignment with CAP priorities. • • • • • • • • • • In 2021, Propagate created the Glenkens Food Hub, now the Galloway Food Hub. They connect local food and drink producers to local people through an online shop and volunteer-led deliveries – supporting the local economy and massively shortening supply chains. In 2022, GCAT formed the Glenkens Community Spaces Network, in direct response to CAP priorities. This network supports and amplifies the efforts of our many volunteer Town and Village Hall committees. In 2022, GCAT obtained CLLD funding to commission a report into the Energy Efficiency of 11 Glenkens public buildings and 2 domestic archetypes. This catalysed Net Zero upgrades in 3 public buildings in 2023 and 2024. In 2022, Local Initiatives in New Galloway (LING) started the Glenkens Youth Group as an unstructured place for P7-S3s to hang out in. In 2023, GCAT took this over and it remains very well received by the young people who attend regularly. In 2021, the Loch Ken Trust started its Ranger service, one of the first community ranger services in the country. The Pamela Young Trust worked through 2022 and 2023 to move forward plans for community housing in Balmaclellan and Glenlee, sourcing external funding for feasibility studies. In early 2023, GCAT created the Glenkens Hub as a sister website to their very popular Glenkens Gazette. It is now an invaluable repository of community information as well as bringing the communities together through advertising events, news and jobs. Also in 2023, D&G Citizens’ Advice Service (DAGCAS) started an outreach clinic in the Glenkens, funded by the Glenkens and District Community Fund to bring their regional services directly to the people of the Glenkens. The Scottish Childminders Association has been working through 2023 and 2024 to offer a package of support to people wishing to become childminders in the Glenkens area. In July 2023, the Glenkens Land Use Vision was adopted as an Addendum to the CAP after a large amount of community engagement. 15 Appendix 2: CAP SG Governance Membership The CAP Steering Group was formed in December 2021 with 9 volunteer members after an open call for membership. As part of succession planning, Bob Glaister and Barnaby Fryer will be stepping down in December 2024 and March 2025 respectively. We thank Bob and Barnaby for their commitment and thoughtful insight over the years, and wish them well in their spare time! As part of the call for new members, Robert McTurk and Jennifer Harvie joined the Steering Group in December 2024. Both are born and bred in the Glenkens - Robert is both a landowner and tenant farmer in Dalry and Carsphairn, and Jennifer has a history and expertise in rural education. Richard Middleton joined the Steering Group as a nominated GDT member, but stepped down from that role since he is no longer a GDT Trustee. However, he has re-joined the Steering Group as an independent member. GDT is still considering its nomination for the third nominated member to join Fiona Smith and Tom Marshall. John Paterson has Chaired the Steering Group through 2024 and continues in that role. Therefore at December 2024, the Steering Group membership is: • • • • • • • • • • John Paterson, Dalry – Chair Fiona Smith, Balmaclellan (GDT) Caroline Reeves, Crossmichael Joe Seed, Corsock Barnaby Fryer, Loch Ken Trust – to March 2025 Richard Middleton, Crossmichael. Tom Marshall, Parton (GDT) Sarah Ade, Carsphairn. Robert McTurk, Dalry Jennifer Harvie, Dalry. 16 Governance 1. For all governance info, including member bios, Terms of Reference, Annual Reports and previous Meeting Reports, see Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) Steering Group. 2. From the CAP SG Terms of Reference: Purpose The purpose of the Community Action Plan Steering Group (CAP SG) is to be the custodian of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (the CAP). It will maintain the CAP and agree any updates. The CAP SG will also promote, support and assure delivery of the CAP. Membership / Structure The CAP Steering Group will have no legal structure, and in the first instance will not have a constitution beyond these Terms of Reference. This is because it holds no funds, has no monetary decision-making powers and its purposes as described above can be achieved effectively by a nonincorporated non-constituted group working closely with GDT and the GCAT Executive Manager. There will normally be a maximum of 9 people on the CAP Steering Group. Up to 3 will be GDT Trustees, up to 6 will be active members of the community and no more than a third will be GDT Trustees. Relationship with the Glenkens and District Trust The CAP SG helps GDT be better connected with the Glenkens and wider district communities in order to inform their funding strategy. Relationship with the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust The CAP SG will have two relationships with GCAT: • GCAT as a delivery organisation, which will be managed by the same processes as are applied to all such organisations contributing to CAP delivery. • GCAT’s mandate to lead on delivery of the Community Action Plan, led by the GCAT Executive Manager. Care should be taken to always distinguish between these two roles. 17 Appendix 3: Supporters Thank you to the many Funders and Partners who have supported delivery of the Glenkens & district Community Action Plan so far: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • The Glenkens and District Community Fund, administered by Foundation Scotland. The Glenkens and District Trust The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust CARES Carsphairn Renewable Energy Fund Limited. CoDeL Community Enterprise’s ‘Accelerate’ programme. Creative Scotland Drax Dumfries and Galloway Council The Energy Savings Trust, through Plugged In Communities The Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere The Glenkens Community Shop Glenkens Community Councils The Heritage Lottery Fund through the Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership and Dumfries and Galloway Council. The Holywood Trust NatureScot The Princes Trust The Rural Housing Fund The Scottish Government’s ‘Community Led Local Development’ fund (CLLD). The Scottish Government’s ‘Community Mental Health and Wellbeing’ fund. The Scottish Government through Scottish Rural Action. South of Scotland Enterprise Sustrans The UK Government’s ‘Community Led Vision’ fund The UK Government’s ‘Levelling up’ fund Local trusts and individuals – thank you all! 18  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group Annual Report 2024 Description An account of the resource 2024 has been another year of effective delivery of the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan priorities. Frontline delivery projects have been consolidated and evolved to deliver excellent outcomes for Glenkens residents, despite the extremely challenging external context of the cost-of-living crisis and a restricted funding landscape. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_27 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CAP Steering Group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/630/Appendices_Rural_Education_Review_Nov2024.jpg 5ad77cd9e102f1f30b01377b9f067583 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/630/Appendices_Rural_Education_Review_Nov_2024.pdf 00cbb7a8ab3233a529154dad74c9087c PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document A review of rural education in the Glenkens: Appendices November 2024 Table of Contents Case study 1: That’s how we did it in the Western Isles! ................................................................... 2 Vocational Educational Strategy and Local Labour Market Intelligence ........................................... 2 e-Sgoil ........................................................................................................................................... 3 The community sector and life-long learning ................................................................................. 4 Case study 2: Breadalbane Academy in Perthshire ........................................................................... 5 Case study 3: Baltasound Junior High School in Shetland ................................................................. 6 Case study 4: Reflections from Ireland .............................................................................................. 8 Casestudy 5: From Denmark to Galloway ....................................................................................... 11 Folk high schools in Denmark ....................................................................................................... 11 Kilquhanity School, Galloway ....................................................................................................... 12 Case study 6: Galloway Glens Intern Programme ............................................................................ 13 Case Study 7: Natural Power Consultants (NPC) ............................................................................. 15 Case study 8: Vattenfall Wind Power .............................................................................................. 16 Case study 9: Abi Mordin, Propogate .............................................................................................. 17 Case study 10: Bairn Banter, Carsphairn ......................................................................................... 19 Appendix 11: Creating a vision for Dalry / Glenkens Education: Notes taken of participants’ contributions .................................................................................................................................. 23 Appendix 12: Creating a Vision for Dalry / Glenkens Education: Writing and drawing by participants..................................................................................................................................... 26 Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 2 Case study 1: That’s how we did it in the Western Isles! Sources: Direct experience of CoDeL’s Directors in developing educational opportunities within the Western Isles (Outer Hebrides); also e-Sgoil, Evidence of Impact Report 2024, https://e-sgoil.com/media/kljl4rf2/impactreport-2024.pdf Vocational Educational Strategy and Local Labour Market Intelligence The Outer Hebrides had amongst the worst population projections: an expected decline of 25% in total population and of one-third in the working age population by 2046. To address this the Local Authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES), adopted a formal education strategy in 2008 designed to stem population decline. Historically the curriculum was stacked heavily in favour of those going on to Higher Education. In reality this was only relevant for approximately 34% of the school leaver cohort, which left a majority of young people seeking work or Further Education to equip themselves for the world of work post-school, which often still took them away from the islands. It was essentially ‘education for export’: to ‘get-on’ in life was to ‘get-off’ the islands. Universal education for all in the islands had been thoroughly embraced and in the 1980s the islands had the highest university entrance rate per head of population in the country. This also meant that young people who wanted, for example, to become a mechanical engineer, had to leave to become qualified. When young people reach their adult life, naturally they form social bonds which may last throughout their lives. If those bonds are formed ‘away’ from home, despite initial intentions, many will not return. This meant the islands were leaching their young and able population. To address the dire projections, a formal Vocational Educational Strategy was introduced and adopted in 2008. Local Labour Market Intelligence (LLMI) was key to informing decisions around which courses would be introduced into the curriculum based on ‘where the jobs would be in the future’. If it was identified that a sector of the economy was struggling with recruitment gaps or predicted to expand, but an appropriate course didn’t exist, a writing group was established and the courses were commissioned, written, verified and accredited with parity of esteem to sit within the qualification menu offered to pupils. It was important that courses were not just for the less able, but relevant to all pupils. Such courses included, at National 5 level, Harris Tweed, Crofting, , Maritime Skills and, at Higher Level 6, Local Food Production, the last providing opportunities for progression from a number of courses, including the crofting course. The strategy meant every child had the entitlement to a nationally accredited industry recognised qualification linked to employability within the local economy informed by LLMI. The delivery of the courses, along with many Skills for Work courses, were delivered, at least in part, by an industry experienced tutor. This gave pupils learning in context and relevance which proved successful and popular with pupils. As examples, we know there are young people who took the Crofting course, perceiving it as being on a par with Biology and in a locally relevant context, who went on to gain their PhD, returned to the islands, have become Vice Chair of the local agricultural committee and office bearer of the livestock committee, all rooted in their community, and contributing to the local community and economy. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 3 Other courses were already available through SQA but were not necessarily offered by the school. In this case any accredited presenting centre could verify and deliver the course. For example, a collaboration between Stirling University and the Western Isles Health Board created a Pre-Nursing Scholarship to address recruitment gaps in the nursing sector. Further collaboration followed with the Education Department of CnES and Cothrom, a local training centre. All this enabled young people to gain relevant work-based experience in the local hospital, clinic and GP practices and gain qualifications, equivalent to at least two Highers, for entry into a nursing degree. Subsequently this was replaced by the Foundation Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care, with the addition of the SVQ2 in social care, which is essential to access employment within the social care sector. This meant that a range of courses were delivered in collaboration with local businesses and community organisations. Evidence has demonstrated that Work Experience ranks highly in pupil personalisation and choice exercises; whether they like it or not, they gain from the experience it provides. The Skills for Work and other courses increased the collaboration with local sectors such as hospitality, garages, Scottish Water, the veterinary surgery, etc. The Western Isles were head and shoulders above every Local Authority in Scotland with the number of pupils achieving such a range of employability relevant qualifications. This doesn’t count for much if the area still loses its young people, so tracking and checking ‘where are they now’ was really important. e-Sgoil The world was changing, IT connectivity was improving, and there were also teacher recruitment gaps. So in 2016 the e-Sgoil online teaching and learning platform was launched. One of its original purposes specific to the Outer Hebrides was to ensure that (a) all pupils across the islands would be given the same subject offering, not just those in the largest school in Stornoway, and that (b) all pupils would have access to more specialised subjects that might be taught in person in any one of the four secondary schools. Obviously it took significant resources to develop e-Sgoil, which now earns some of its income from providing services beyond the Outer Hebrides. However, offering wider choices through e-Sgoil to pupils across the four secondary schools within the Outer Hebrides is not resource intensive once the technology platform is in place. A key success factor is simply coordinating timetabling across the four schools to allow pupils in different schools to share the same class times. One of e-Sgoil’s stand-out strengths was to satisfy the demand for Gaelic education across Scotland, and this continues today. Covid saw the rapid expansion of such online provision enabling teachers across all curricular areas but geographically dispersed to be able to deliver to equally dispersed pupils. Beyond Covid, ideally teachers spend some face-to-face time with pupils, which builds the rapport which enhances the online experience. According to the Evidence of Impact Report, e-Sgoil’s Vision is to provide all learners with equitable access to high-quality teaching and learning, embedded in values of equity, opportunity, innovation and inclusion. e-Sgoil’s five aims include: • • • provide education characterised by pupil personalisation and choice; give learners equitable access to high quality teaching and learning; work with partners to create and enhance inclusive learners’ experiences. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 4 e-Sgoil continues to deliver to the Scottish Government’s National e-Learning Offer (NeLO), working closely alongside Education Scotland, the Northern Alliance and representatives from other Regional Improvement Collaboratives. Partnership working has enabled e-Sgoil to extend its reach allowing more young people to benefit from what is on offer. The community sector and life-long learning While the Outer Hebrides were way ahead with qualifications and pathways relevant to the local economy, it is important to recognise other supporting and contributing factors. This included the local college, Lews Castle College (LCC), based in Stornoway, which set up a learning centre in Benbecula just next door to the secondary school. The centre provided opportunities for local young people and adults to engage in further and higher education opportunities, and at times enabled senior phase pupils to take courses not taught in the school. Within the community sector in Uist two social enterprises in particular emerged to deliver significant education and learning opportunities. First was Cothrom, a charitable adult learning centre, that was initially set up in 1992 to help women back into work, a mission that ensured a long-term commitment to childcare, including eventually the creation of Cothrom’s own Gaelic-speaking nursery. Cothrom went on to develop a wide range of life-long learning opportunities for adults, but with a strong focus on delivering learning and support services for young people and adults facing challenges in their lives. Included within Cothrom’s offering was an SQA accredited qualification in horticulture, delivered in partnership with another key community organisation, Tagsa Uibhist, which has contributed to a significant expansion of local horticulture. In fact, the largest community growing project, which is at Tagsa, was for a while managed by three graduates from the first cohort of the horticulture course. 1 Second was Taigh Chearsabhagh, the arts and heritage centre set up in 1994, which collaborated closely with Lews Castle College (which later became part of UHI), to deliver art courses at further and higher education level, recently being able to teach a full BA. The primary inspiration for art at Taigh Chearsabhagh has always been the distinct island environment, which attracted students locally and from off the islands, as well as the community. Taigh Chearsabhagh was in fact a merger of the local historical society and the local arts association, the network of the many artists within Uist. In addition, the community riding school, established back in 1974, started offering accredited qualifications in equestrian studies. Building on this long experience of community organisations like Cothrom and Taigh Chearsabhagh, the Gaelic music and culture organisation within the community, Ceòlas, which was first set up in 1996 to run the annual summer school, entered into partnership with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). They jointly built a £7 million cultural centre, Cnoc Soilleir. This was opened in 2022 and now delivers community-based courses and events in Gaelic language, music and culture, as well courses accredited by UHI, including resident academic staff in music and in archaeology. Gaelic music, dance and culture have in fact long been part of community-based learning, including for young people through the two annual feisean (one in South Uist, one in North Uist targeted at children, with many of the tutors being young people themselves), as well as a range of local dance schools, etc. 1 For more detail on the emergence of a multi-pronged and integrated strategy, led by Tagsa Uibhist, to start rebuilding a local food economy in Uist, see the CoDeL casestudy at http://codel.scot/community-actions-in-uistand-glenkens, which also includes three casestudies from Glenkens. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 5 Building on long-standing enterprise programmes within schools, Cothrom and the CnES Education Department collaborated on a more innovative non-accredited programme to enable every senior phase young person to experience a day-long workshop, specially designed based on a New Economics Foundation model, to provide them with economic literacy of their place. Local literacy of where pupils live is not traditionally taught in schools. A headteacher of the school once said that pupils could name entrepreneurs of businesses elsewhere, with famous names or brands advertised across shops, buses, businesses and on the internet, but not those entrepreneurs who ran the bus company that took them to school every day or the local construction companies that built local housing. It was quite literally revelatory to hear the enterprising ideas which every young person who participated in the day-long workshops proposed when they had focussed on, and gained an understanding of where they lived. Finally, in 2018 CoDeL undertook research to track young adults across the seven inhabited islands from Berneray to Eriskay. During this time an accredited Leadership course was also delivered. In this case, it was not so much the accredited nature of the course which was most valued. This was a cohort of young adults for whom an age range of perhaps 5 to 10 years would have been unworkable during school years, but as adults, with different experiences under their belt, they had one thing in common: they had chosen to return, stay or settle in the islands. Geographically quite dispersed from across seven islands and around 60 miles, it was the coming together as informed adults which gave them voice and confidence to lead, speak and be heard in the community. Case study 2: Breadalbane Academy in Perthshire Source: Interview with Dougie Woodrow, Course Lead for rural skills at Breadalbane Academy There is an existing SQA accredited National Progression Award in Rural Skills, described as “a starting place for candidates pursuing a future in one of the major land-based industries” (see https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/41752.html); it also includes a qualification at National 4 level. The case of Breadalbane Academy demonstrates just how effective education for rural skills using these SQA qualifications can be. Initially developed with funding from Lantra, delivery of the course builds on significant assets and opportunities, like the many farms and estates within a 10-mile radius of the school. These include, as examples, pupils working on West Park Farm, working with game keepers on estates, learning about conservation at the Crannoch Centre, and learning about brush cutting, chain saws and quodbikes at Dùn Coillich,2 a community-owned landscape regeneration and rural skills training project, managed by Highland Perthshire Communities Land Trust. The course lead has access to a minibus which he can use to take pupils around during a double period. There are so many work opportunities locally, for example on farms, or with forestry expanding so quickly, and so many job opportunities as a result. Opportunities to learn rural skills are very tangible, and pupils like it, bringing lots of energy. Originally the classes just provided an introduction, now pupils can go through to Nat4 qualifications and a 2 “Hugging the eastern shoulder of Schiehallion, Dùn Coillich is a diverse mosaic of precious habitats. Thanks to the efforts of an army of volunteers and rural skills trainees dedicated to restoring this landscape from the remnants of a deer farm, it’s home to an increasing number of species as native trees return, land is sensitively managed and nature flourishes.” https://www.duncoillich.org/ Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 6 National Progression Award, for example. In fact the subject provides opportunities to gain not just qualifications but also specific tickets (e.g. in operating quad bikes and maintaining chainsaws), and significant practical work experience. There are many different pathways, so it is great for diverse pupils. Previous course leads have involved pupils in horticulture in a community garden and in meat processing. The course delivered at Breadalbane has received glowing SQA reports, not least because of how good many of the local partners are in delivering opportunities for practical experience and learning. The current course lead at Breadalbane reckons that about 50% of pupils taking rural skills end up in local employment in land-based activities. Many of these might have ended up in the same sectors anyway, as they come from families with similar employment. However, not only does the rural skills course provide opportunities to gain tickets, qualifications and experience, it also values, affirms and accredits skills that some pupils come with already through their family background. This is hugely important for place-based education in recognising and building on local skills, and valuing pupils for skills they may already have. For example, pupils have explained all about how much money their families made at a sheep sale. As the course lead said, “I have learnt a huge amount myself about sheep, pigs and deer from pupils who could easily deliver a lesson based on knowledge and skills that they are already masterful in”. The course lead ensures that, for those pupils who bring skills and experience from home, he matches their work and contributions to the needed requirements for SQA qualifications. A few take rural skills on into higher education, for example a pupil who now works in veterinary care locally. The rural skills programme is part of a commitment by the Academy to provide wider educational opportunities. The Breadalbane Guarantee (see here) highlights so many assets and opportunities on the school’s doorstep, enabling every pupil, for example, to plant a tree, climb a Munro and engage in water sports. The SQA qualifications in rural skills are particularly relevant to the Glenkens, where the Rural Skills Training Centre is being developed within the Carsphairn Community Wood with funding from Dumfries and Galloway (D&G) Council and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). This could provide significant opportunities for collaboration between education in schools and within the wider community. Case study 3: Baltasound Junior High School in Shetland Source: Interview with Paul Thomson, Headteacher at Baltasound Baltasound is the most northerly school in Scotland in the island of Unst in Shetland. According to the school website, We are a fully inclusive school with Nursery to Secondary 4 students all on the same campus. A diverse and enterprising school, we pride ourselves as being part of a dynamic island community with students, staff and parents all working together. There are 90 pupils across the whole school, aged 2 to 16, with occasional pupils with complex needs who stay beyond 16. Pupils continuing into S5 and S6 go to Lerwick, boarding during the week. The school shares some teachers with neighbouring island schools, for example on Yell; a few teachers, e.g. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 7 in art and music, teach across three schools. Seven teachers and the Headteacher are based on Unst, with an additional four shared teachers who are based on other islands. There are many informal interactions between the school heads in different islands. The population of Unst is stable at around 650. Some of the teachers at the school are former pupils who have returned. For example, one of the current probationers in the primary school is former pupil, and several former pupils are training as teachers or in childcare through the University of the Highlands and Islands in Shetland. The new school motto, chosen through a whole school and community competition, is “Peerie School, Big Dreams”. This reflects that we are a small rural school on the most northerly island in the UK; although we are able to progress through our school and become anyone we dare or dream to be. It also needs all stakeholders in the school (pupils, parents, staff, partner agencies and community) to do all we can to ensure our pupils have all the skills and qualities required for life beyond school. And this will allow those big dreams to come true. The Shetland word ‘peerie’ (which means small) also shows that our dialect, our location on Planet Earth and our history are also a vital part of who we are. Baltasound Junior High offers English and Maths, 3 sciences, 2 social sciences, music and art, home economics and technical subjects (including IT). Modern languages are only possible through elearning, but the school rarely uses e-Sgoil, not least because the timetabling, and pupil supervision, are challenging. Pupils start their National 5 courses in S3, allowing a reasonable pace to get through the set curriculum, with time to add other things not formally specified in the curriculum to make their learning a richer experience. Each year the Head Teacher at Baltasound spends significant time and energy timetabling classes based on pupil choices that year. This is done in a public space, so that pupils can see the HT doing it, and even make suggestions. Key features of this approach are flexibility and the determination to make things work. When numbers are small, the school may combine classes (e.g. teaching chemistry to S3 and S4 pupils in the same class). One year the school added a computer game development course in computer science, based on the aspirations of the specific cohort of pupils that year. If there are gaps in teaching provision, then the school will find a way round. Currently they don’t have a teacher trained in Home Economics, but a teacher is delivering the subject supported by other Home Economics teachers elsewhere to ensure alignment with SQA accreditation. When the school was without a technical teacher, they used e-Sgoil (the only time they have done this). And if a pupil is very keen to do a different subject than those on offer, the school will seek to be really flexible to make it work. This has happened for example in the case of a pupil who wanted to study Modern Studies. On another occasion a subject choice for one pupil could simply not be timetabled, but they had the ability to pursue this choice through self-study, and the school allocated support from a qualified teacher in that subject. The Headteacher commented, I have a relative who works in a big secondary school in England, even with some large subjects running identical classes in different rooms at the same time. There is no tailoring, no flexibility, no ability to go off on an interesting tangent. They don’t even know all the names of their pupils. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 8 Many of our former pupils are still in touch with the school. Very few pupils don’t do well here, and then excel when they move to Lerwick in S5. Most continue the trajectory from their junior secondary. All the pupils are given a lot of responsibility at a young age. They take personal responsibility and become effective contributors. With the school so firmly rooted in the local community, there are so many opportunities for local entrepreneurs, businesses or services to come into the school. In the fortnight prior to the interview, the coastguard, the fire service and the local health centre had all visited the school or been visited by pupils. The school even has “Bring your Parent Days”, where parents follow their children for the whole day in school. The Headteacher explained, “The parents are absolutely knackered at the end of the day, but they love opportunities to come into the school. We are the hub of community activity. One school, one community.” The day includes having school dinners with the pupils. “Complaints about the quality of school dinners tend to stop after this!” Case study 4: Reflections from Ireland The case of Inishbofin, small schools and Education for Sustainable Development Sources: 1. 2. 3. GRETB Report on Inishbofin Community Post-Primary School Application - 18 March 2020 The Ombudsman for Children’s Office report for Inishbofin Secondary Steering Group, Inishbofin Island, County Galway, June 2020 Government of Ireland reports and press releases (see links within text) The case of Inishbofin Ireland has only five off-shore island post-primary schools, all of which are Education Training Board (ETB), co-educational, multi-denominational Gaeltacht schools, under the patronage of Galway and Roscommon ETB and Donegal ETB. Notwithstanding the additional challenges faced by these island schools arising from their off-shore island remote locations, ETB (Education Training Board) island schools have built up a reputation for being well led and managed, academic excellence, resilience, innovation in adopting and adapting teaching and learning methodologies, including experimenting with distance learning to best support their communities. Research in Scotland has had similar findings regarding small rural schools, including island schools citing the high quality of education provision, progression and outcomes. (GRETB, 2020, p21). The island of Inishbofin experienced a population decrease between 2006 and 2011, yet an increase in the number of children in age range 0 – 19 years. A paradox which indicates that when educational attainment increases people tend to be more likely to be in a position to stay on an island, bring up their children and are actively engaged in employment. National and international data supports the Inishbofin islander's contention that appropriate education provision on the island increases the sustainability of the community, as stated in their submission to the Department of Education (DES) requesting a post-primary school on the island. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 9 Their attempt to have secondary provision for the children of Inishbofin was turned down: “This submission was refused by the department, on the basis that there were not enough children to warrant the funding.” This surely becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy as how will families be attracted to move to an area if there isn’t a school pathway for their children? This was confirmed by the Ombudsman: We feel that all children are equal and deserving of their needs being met, no child should be left behind as reinforced by the EEAS, the diplomatic service of the European Union, where they stated that ‘they reinforce its commitment to combating for a fairer world for children, an inclusive world where no child is left behind.’3 If the school was opened the numbers would grow as living on the island would be made viable for families with children or planning to have children, and families who have left … could now return with their children. GRETB’s recommendation in the submission was that “the proposal be seriously considered by DES with a view to a favourable decision regarding establishing a post-primary school and advises that the school be designated as a Community College.” Small schools and Education for Sustainable Development The Secretary of State for Education in Ireland, Minister Foley, announced support for ‘small schools’ (4 teachers or less) very recently in May 2024. Minister Foley said, Small schools are a support and a beacon for local communities. They are at the heart of educating generations of young people and providing a focal point for families and communities. The project has shown that small schools collaborating and working together offers promise for the future.4 The 2nd National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development – ESD to 2030 was published in June 2024 (here). It is co-sponsored by the Department of Education, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. It brings together education, further and higher education. It also links sustainability into education including links with the wider community.5 ESD aims to ensure that all learners have the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. ESD is a target under the Sustainable Development Goals (Target 4.7) and is acknowledged as a key enabler for the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). ESD to 2030 has five priority areas, in line with UNESCO’s framework for ESD for 2030: • • • • • Aligning Policy Transforming Learning Environments Capacity Building of Educators Empowering and Mobilising Youth Accelerating Local Level Action 3 the key words ‘an inclusive world where no child is left behind’ have also been adopted by the Scottish Government. 4 https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/36ca7-minister-foley-announces-two-year-extension-of-small-schoolsproject-to-support-sustainability-of-small-schools-in-rural-ireland/ 5 https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/14f35-minister-for-education-announces-250000-in-funding-foreducation-for-sustainable-development-esd-projects-for-organisations/ Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 10 The accompanying ESD to 2030 Implementation Plan 2022 – 2026 sets out the roadmap to achieving target 4.7 by 2030 “across the Education Sector from Early Learning and Care to third level and beyond to non-formal and informal education”. ESD has three interlinked and equally important strands: Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability. Funding of €250,000 is being delivered to organisations to support them in carrying out ESD related projects to schools, including, for example, making the school and its grounds more sustainable; teacher training in ESD; student projects; collaborative projects between the school and the local community, etc. In addition, whilst hosting a consultation symposium on sustaining small schools on 26 June 2019, Minister McHugh stated: Small schools can and do provide an excellent education to our children, right in the heart of their communities. I went to a small school as a child. I live in an area where small schools are a facet of life and that is replicated up and down the country. They are often the heartbeat and lifeblood of a community. Almost half of our schools are small schools, and almost 15 per cent of our children attend one. The [Irish] Government is committed to supporting and strengthening these.” Ní neart go cur le chéile – we need to work together to find new ways of supporting small schools [to ensure their long-term sustainability]. Scotland – as reported in Ireland! The Irish documents report favourably on the Commission for the Delivery of Rural Education,6 which was set up by the Scottish Government to review the Schools Consultation Scotland Act 2010 and its application, and to make recommendations on the delivery of all aspects of education in rural areas. Thirty-eight clear recommendations were made, including: 6 7 • The Scottish Government and local authorities should agree a coherent rural regeneration strategy to support economic outcomes for rural areas. • Local authorities, the Scottish Government, teaching institutions and trade unions should work together to explore innovative solutions to reduce the barriers to teaching in remote areas; and to ensure effective delivery of CPD to teachers in rural schools, learning from international best practice to reduce teachers’ isolation and sustain skills and development. • There must be a commitment to resource the curriculum in small rural secondary schools to support the achievement of positive outcomes and destinations for young people. This will require innovative and flexible arrangements to be developed including use of local primary school teachers and other experts within the local community.7 • Local authorities, together with their health and other Community Planning partners, should consider rural education holistically for their area, from early years to further and higher education, actively seeking solutions to enhance the viability of rural communities. https://www.gov.scot/publications/commission-delivery-rural-education-report/pages/3/ Experts within the local community were used in the Outer Hebrides to deliver the boatbuilding and crofting courses. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 11 Casestudy 5: From Denmark to Galloway Sources: • Denmark: https://danishfolkhighschools.com/, and https://www.britannica.com/topic/folk-high-school • Kilquhanity: Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group and Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (2024), “Education and Learning in the Glenkens” (11th July 2024), https://glenkens.scot/reports-resources-archive/education-and-learning-in-the-glenkens-event Folk high schools in Denmark Folk high schools, which originated in Denmark in the mid-19th century as a means of providing the ‘common people’ with a knowledge of their history, religion and cultural heritage, are residential schools for adults that are common in Scandinavian countries and have been adopted elsewhere in Europe. The first school opened in Denmark in 1844. Following Denmark’s military defeat by Prussia in 1864, the folk high schools served as a powerful instrument of national regeneration. There are no entrance qualifications, grades, or leaving examinations. The schools are private but receive state subsidies. Courses are short in duration, lasting from several weeks to one year. Most students are young adults, and many folk high schools also attract an international body of students. According to https://danishfolkhighschools.com/, a folk high school is a non-formal residential school offering learning opportunities in almost any subject. Most students are between 18 and 24 years old and the length of a typical stay is four months. It is a boarding school, so students sleep, eat, study and spend their spare time at the school. During their stay, they live, eat, study, party and clean together with the other students. Everybody has the same duties and the same rights. There are no academic requirements for admittance, and there are no exams - but students do get a diploma as a proof of your attendance. One of the core-ideas of the folk high schools is equality and mutual learning between teachers and students. The classes are characterised by the free word, dialogue and an open curriculum which can be changed during the course. The main focus is to discover and strengthen the unique skills of each student in a challenging yet supportive social atmosphere. “The task of the schools is to create a climate where culture is a reality.” There are approximately 70 independent folk high schools located all over Denmark, offering learning opportunities in more than 300 different subjects. Every year in Denmark, an average of 40,000 people attend a folk high school for courses of varying lengths. While there are seven different types of folk high schools in Denmark, they all have the same purpose: to provide life enlightenment, public enlightenment, and democratic education. In other words, folk high schools aim to provide an education that enables individuals “not only to make a living but also to live a meaningful life”. Writers on folk high schools have written about communal singing, storytelling, residential schooling, democratic education, life enlightenment, learning through the body, exam free school, social learning and education for humanity. The seven different types in Denmark are: 1. Christian, bible or spiritual schools; 2. General and Grundtvigian schools: traditional folk high schools with many disciplines where students can immerse themselves in a single topic or choose between multiple topics; Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 12 3. Gymnastics and sports schools: about half of the course is dedicated to sports, while the other half will be more general education; 4. Lifestyle schools with a special focus on diet, exercise and personal development, as well as offering general education with a choice of various subjects; 5. Schools for senior citizens that arrange short-term courses only throughout the whole year; 6. Specialised schools, with a specific focus on a single discipline e.g. film, design or arts. However, half of the teaching according to the law for folk high schools must be of a broad general nature; 7. Youth folk high schools (16 to 19 years): there are only two of these schools. The Global Folk High School Movement was established during the International Folk High School Summit in September 2019. This enables people to join a community from all around the world working professionally as folk high school practitioners, researchers or in other ways working with thoughts surrounding the special pedagogical praxis of the folk high school. Kilquhanity School, Galloway We conclude this casestudy with a short comparison with local Kilquhanity School, the first ‘'free school'’ established in Scotland. While Kilquhanity is for children and the folk high schools focus on young adults, they share some similar ideas and approaches. According to Andrew Pyle, Head of Kilquhanity Children’s Village since 2007, the school is set on a 7-acre estate between the Bridge of Urr and Corsock. It was set up in the 1940s on the principles of Summerhill School.8 Unusually for the time, there was no physical punishment, and apart from basic numeracy and literacy, there was no compulsory curriculum. Principles of communal living were also strongly embedded in the way that the school was run, with democracy being an underpinning principle. The whole school community would meet every Thursday afternoon for a council meeting. A pupil would chair the meeting and record the minutes, and there was no restriction on points that could be raised. Rather than staff being responsible for intervention and punishment in cases of unacceptable behaviour, incidents were discussed in the meeting, with all parties involved giving their view and a collective decision made on how to proceed. Staff and pupils also carried out all the necessary housekeeping and gardening tasks, with every pupil engaging in ‘useful work’ tasks for 45 minutes per day. These included cooking, cleaning, chopping wood, etc. If the tasks were not carried out, the whole community would suffer, including the individual, but there was scope to swap your task with another person. This focus on the community and the individual’s role, as well as the principles of free choice in learning which meant that the students followed the learning that interested them, was conceived to develop pupils with a strong sense of individual responsibility to the community, and educational motivation through the freedom to explore. 8 A.S. Neill, who founded Summerhill in Suffolk in 1921, “set out to make a school that would fit the child rather than forcing pupils to do what parents and educators thought might be best for them. Summerhill is as unlike a conventional school as it could possibly be, founded … to provide a space where children can grow in a ‘freerange’ environment.” (https://www.summerhillschool.co.uk/) Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 13 Case study 6: Galloway Glens Intern Programme Source: Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership, Dumfries and Galloway Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland, Galloway Glens Intern Programme: Overview + Findings, 2023 The specific interns project, ‘Galloway Rural Skills’, included a programme of internship/work experience positions, with 15 roles (over four years) supported in posts hosted by a variety of employers. These were full-time paid internships for six months with 50% funding intervention. Two of the roles supported were subsequently extended for a further six months. The Galloway Rural Skills project had a number of aims: • to provide work and training opportunities; • to give young people a chance to see what it was like to work in Dumfries & Galloway; • to illustrate the range of heritage-related and other careers available in the region; • addressing the current departure rate of our young people (the population of Dumfries and Galloway continues to be one of the oldest in Scotland); • to introduce a new range of employers to the benefits of internships/work experience programmes. Beyond the selected candidates, the approach and overall programme sought to take every opportunity to highlight the merits to young people of working and living in Galloway. Later roles were advertised on indeed.com website. This advertised the role but also advertised the concept of working in Galloway, raising the profile of the range of careers available. It was hoped that even people who didn’t apply would start to think about Galloway as an attractive place to work The Galloway Glens Team were keen that the interns weren’t simply taken on for basic duties, essentially just at a subsidised rate. Hosts were therefore asked to make the internships as rewarding as possible, with maximum benefit for intern future employment. A strong and active approach to recruitment was vital to the success of the intern programme. The approximate cost of a 6-month internship was £12,800 (excluding employer staff time and project worker time). Note: The scheme relied on the strong advertising of roles. This usually resulted in a competitive appointment process. This scheme therefore did not provide dedicated support to applicants classed as ‘further from the workplace’ or needing additional support. Nine out of the 15 interns have continued working in the sector of their internship: • 3 secured a permanent role with the host, and 2 more a subsequent role with the host. • 2 secured a permanent or subsequent role in the sector, but not in D&G. • 1 entered further education in the sector of the internship, and 1 was able to continue independent self-employed work. Among the remaining six, two have moved away from D&G or the UK for roles outwith the sectors of the internships (one to Humberside, one to Bolivia), and two are now working in temporary roles in D&G, but not in the sector. Some ambitions of some of the interns: I would like to be working for Galloway Fisheries Trust leading a successful freshwater Pearl Mussel Conservation Project among many other projects. Living in a house that I own in the local area. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 14 I’d like to be a lepidopterist doing habitat restoration. To reach my goal I would need to take part in a Moth research project and have worked as a Butterfly Conservation Field Assistant. both interns at Galloways Fisheries Trust To travel, work Freelance, and work again for Better Lives Partnership. (Intern at Better Lives Partnership) Running my own arts space or festival in Glasgow with a programme that centres around connecting people to nature in natural environments in the city. (Intern at Catstrand) Ambitions of some of those whose subsequent path was not known at the time of writing: I'd be living in a comfortable apartment shared with friends or living with friends rurally with ease of transport, an enjoyable job, and feeling fulfilled but productive. (Intern at Better Lives Partnership) I want to be working in forestry or related industry, be financially stable, and live rurally. I want to be feeling successful and accomplished in life. Helping friends and family as much as possible. (Intern at Carsphairn Community Woodland) Reflections on the employers: These were the employers who provided internship opportunities: • Galloway Fisheries Trust (4 interns) • Better Lives Partnership (2 interns) • GCAT/Catstrand (2 interns) • Crichton Carbon Centre (environmental charity) • Carsphairn Community Woodland • Czernin-Kinsky Scottish Company Ltd (family forestry company) • Mr Pooks restaurant • Drax • Natural Power The Intern Programme was ‘relationship-led’. They did not advertise for hosts, instead approaching partners or organisations that they had worked with or had already established a relationship with. It was commonly cited that the project was providing impetus to something the host had been meaning to do previously. Many of the organisations wanted to give an internship to a young person they could keep on and who would become part of their team. The internship was a way of testing them out while offering a nurturing environment of mentorship and training. A number of hosts did keep the interns on after completion of the six-month period. It is interesting to note the hosts were a range of sizes, from micro businesses through to large organisations. Natural Power used the internship to re-start their intern activities and Drax used it to address historically low local application rates for their established apprenticeship programme. Both of these cases illustrate that the intern model is not restricted to smaller organisations. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 15 It was great to note the near-universal enthusiasm from hosts to undertake similar initiatives in the future. Natural Power won a Green Industry award for their hosting of an intern role. Conclusions and key learning points ✓ There is an appetite from employers to take part in an Intern Scheme, but it will often not be fully realised without support – either financial input or broader partnership backing. ✓ There are a number of sectoral/employer employment support schemes in operation but none of these prevent additional work in the sector. ✓ The time-limited nature of the Galloway Glens Scheme was often an advantage, resulting in the prioritising and expediting of the internship advertising process by the hosts. ✓ However, the five years delivery phase of the Galloway Glens Scheme was not long enough to undertake apprenticeship roles – with ‘shared apprenticeships’ possibly requiring even more lead time and support. ✓ Pro-active advertising of roles adds value, using press releases and targeted use of recruitment channels. Accompaniment of professional photos to illustrate the role resulted in an increase in number of applicants. ✓ Roles should also be advertised through sector networks/university lecturers. ✓ Pro-active advertising also addresses wider challenges such as the general perception that an area has no jobs of interest. ✓ Interns require clear a management structure, ideally a single manager, and awareness from the host beforehand that on-the-job mentoring will be required. ✓ The Galloway Glens’ limited area of operation allowed closer relationships to be developed with employers. ✓ Roles should be advertised with as few restrictions (geography/age) as possible to maximise the number of applicants. Case Study 7: Natural Power Consultants (NPC) Source: presentation at the Education and Learning in Glenkens event (see here) by Richard Nash, who has been the Director of Finance and Board Company Secretary for Natural Power Consultants Limited (NPC) and its subsidiaries for the last 10 years. He has also been a resident of New Galloway and Kells for 10 years now and has two children, both of whom went to Dalry Primary and Secondary schools before completing their Highers at Castle Douglas. Natural Power Consultants Limited (NPC) is an energy consultant and service operations business headquartered at The Green House in Dalry, with offices across the UK and Ireland as well as a presence in France and the USA. The company employs 500 people globally, providing services to help investors and developers with renewable energy generation projects, from planning to construction, analysis and operations. NPC does not own renewables assets. It operates the largest independent control centre for renewables in the UK, working with the National Grid to balance power from renewable energy projects into the Grid. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 16 Despite the Green House being NPC’s head office, recruiting staff to the Glenkens with the right skills and experience is a challenge. Across the board, the renewables industry is growing rapidly because of the move towards Net Zero, and companies are struggling to recruit from an insufficient pool of potential candidates. At the same time, young people in the Glenkens struggle to see a future for themselves in the area because of limited job opportunities. Lack of higher education facilities in the area is also a challenge for employers like NPC who normally recruit at graduate level; UWS and the University of Glasgow have campuses in Dumfries, but there is a general perception that people need to leave the area for higher education. However, NPC is willing to work with local young people to help them to move into the Renewables sector, either through relevant courses at local further and higher education institutions (e.g. the BSc in Environmental Science and Sustainability from the Dumfries Campus of the University of Glasgow) or through the introduction of a skills pathway. A skills pathway could help young people from the area to study for qualifications which were more directly relevant to the skills needed by local employers. Engaging with local schools is key to this process; NPC has already been in touch with Castle Douglas/Dalry Secondary Schools and Kirkcudbright Academy, and while Kirkcudbright pupils have visited NPC, the company has struggled to engage with the Castle Douglas/Dalry cluster to date. Richard joined the Dumfries and Galloway College Board in order to help to turn round the college’s perceived poor reputation, as his son experienced. It was also to improve the college outcomes with local employers like Natural Power. As an example of how business and educational institutions can work together and improve outcomes, Richard facilitated meetings between NPC and D&G College tutors in order to tailor the Wind Turbine Technician course already running at the College and make it fit for purpose for local employers. NPC offered an opportunity for three students to do a summer placement at Brockloch/Windy Standard. Two of the students were subsequently recruited into posts at NPC. The College was very positive about the outcome and has named the course after NPC. The Scottish Funding Council also put it into their ‘outcome and agreements report’ as an example of good practice and economic transformation. The cornerstone to achieving this type of success is having the connections between education and business to make this work. Case study 8: Vattenfall Wind Power Source: presentation at the Education and Learning in Glenkens event (see here) by Matthew Bacon, a senior project manager in Vattenfall’s onshore wind team. He is currently overseeing the site design and planning permission process for the Quantans Hill wind farm near Carsphairn. Matt outlined his journey into the renewables sector, having come from a rural, agricultural area of Lincolnshire with some of the same issues as the Glenkens. He was inspired to look for a career in renewables because of a personal wish to work towards mitigating the climate crisis when looking for a job as a new graduate. At this point the sector was relatively new and there were not many established routes into the sector, but structured pathways are now available. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 17 Vattenfall has roughly 21,000 employees across the UK and Scandinavia, running hydro and wind generation sites, district heating, electricity network facilities etc. In the Glenkens, Vattenfall has put in an application to construct 14 wind turbines and battery storage at Quantans Hill near Carsphairn. The application includes 250Ha of land managed for biodiversity, interpretation boards and improved access to the site for recreational purposes, and a community benefit package likely to total around £16m over the operational lifespan of the site, as well as scope for apprenticeships and work for local businesses during the construction phase. Vattenfall Wind Power is committed to the use of local suppliers in its projects and has recently launched an apprenticeship scheme directly associated with all its new developments across Scotland. Matt is keen to explore with local communities how Vattenfall can create an employment pathway into the renewable sector in south-west Scotland. Onshore wind is a growth area, and the number of qualified employees needs to vastly increase to meet the demands of the 2030 deadline. Most of Vattenfall’s renewables developments will be in the Highlands and Dumfries & Galloway, and there are a huge range of roles in the sector, ranging from construction, forestry, turbine construction and maintenance to environmental work and project managers. Matt highlighted the Climate Exchange May 2024 report which reinforced this, showing that operational positions needed on wind farms are predicted to rise by 250% by 2030 in Dumfries and Galloway, from 112 to 395 positions. These are long-term, well-paid roles. Vattenfall’s apprenticeship programme will create 50 new apprenticeships by 2030, working with Developing the Young Workforce. The company is looking to recruit across a wide range of ages to both graduate and early stage apprenticeships. Vattenfall asked consultants to come up with a draft strategy for the community benefit fund from Quantans Hill wind farm if consented, and through this have identified objectives relating to jobs and young people, including access to local economic opportunities. This could lead to training 250-350 young people and providing up to 50 qualified apprentices, although these numbers are currently indicative and the strategy is still a draft. However, this potentially offers huge opportunities for South West Scotland in terms of renewables posts. The benefits of this scheme can potentially be maximised if other wind farm developers work with Vattenfall on supply chains and with schools and colleges to develop a joined-up scheme. Matt highlighted the following website as a good place to begin for those interested in a career in renewables: https://www.scottishrenewables.com/our-industry/starting-in-renewables. Case study 9: Abi Mordin, Propogate Source: presentation at the Education and Learning in Glenkens event (see here) and interview by Abi Mordin, a founder member of Propagate, which launched the Glenkens Food Hub project in 2021 (now Galloway Food Hub; see here). Abi has been working across community and local food projects for over 20 years, and is an experienced grower, facilitator, practitioner and researcher. She works at local and national level to embed sustainable practice into food production. She lives in Balmaclellan. Abi focused on land-based skills for the future. Propagate is a worker-led collective based across Central and South Scotland with 18 members working on sustainable food topics. Farming, tourism, forestry, energy generation and transmission, game and community uses can be seen as competing demands on our land-based resources. However, work is being done to bring together land managers, for example at the South West Scotland (SWS) Future Landscape Conference, Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 18 held at SRUC’s Barony campus on 1st July, 2024. This event, looking at identifying the skills needed for the future, as well as launching a ‘Natural Innovation Partnership’ between SRUC and SOSE, highlighted the fact that ‘Nature doesn’t do silos, and neither should we’. Focusing on farming and food production, Abi organises the SWS Regenerative Farming Network, a growing group of livestock and vegetable producers with around 250 members, who are focused on the key principles underpinning retaining and improving soil ecosystem quality. However, the principles of soil function are still not being taught in schools and agricultural colleges, despite the fact that healthy soil is vital for plant growth and nutrition, is more resilient to the impacts of flood and drought, and stores more carbon. The soil food web, where in healthy soil there will be billions of microorganisms in one teaspoon of soil, can be easily disrupted. The understanding of the role played by soil has progressed dramatically in recent years, but information about management for carbon sequestration, soil health, climate change, livestock and people has not yet been incorporated into the curriculum. Regenerative management is guided by five principles of soil health, three rules of adaptive management and four ecosystem processes (see report on the Education and Learning in Glenkens event). All these principles need to be adapted for each location’s microclimate, sometimes even on a field-by-field basis. The Barony’s horticulture course was discontinued eight years ago, reducing the scope for people to learn about commercial vegetable production in the region. The UK imports 70% of its fruit and veg, much of which is grown in places facing severe water scarcity. Young people are not learning about commercial growing; a market garden requires very different management from a school vegetable plot, allotment, or home-grown vegetables. Most commercial food crops are grown with a high level of chemical inputs (fertiliser and pesticide) which radically disrupt soil ecosystems. Produce not marked as organic will have been grown using those systems. Propagate has been working to raise awareness of the issues and the solutions, including their film ‘Rooted’ and accompanying educational resources: https://www.propagate.org.uk/rooted. The Dumfries and Galloway Learning for Sustainability Partnership Group has been set up, having identified big gaps in the provision of education across food, food security and sustainability; the group meets quarterly to share successes and agree strategies to work together on broad sustainability issues. The Learning for Sustainability Action Plan (here) highlights the importance of embedding this into the curriculum, but this is not yet being delivered in schools as teachers have not been trained to deliver the subject. However, the Scottish Government have introduced a number of interrelated policies on food (see https://www.nourishscotland.org/mapping-our-food-policy-landscape/). The Scottish Government have committed to producing a Good Food Nation Plan which will need to be implemented at a local level, and the Agriculture Bill has also recently been introduced after years of consultation and engagement – it is still a framework bill, so it is possible to lobby the government to shape the final piece of legislation. The Rural Support Plan will deliver payments on a tiered basis, with Tier 3 focusing on agri-environment schemes. These schemes embody good practice as well as attracting subsidy so it is vital that land workers are prepared and trained to implement these changes and that education provision recognises this need. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 19 The case of Propogate points to opportunities and pathways for young people into work that can also directly address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. The Galloway Food Hub, set up by Propogate, is already stimulating demand and awareness of local food (see detailed case study here). Local schools, including Dalry School, have land which could be utilised. In partnership with Propagate a number of programmes could be co-delivered, including, for example, • Cultivate - 'grow your own' programme with eight sessions on learning about organic veg production. • Hidden Veg – Propogate’s small market garden can host workshops and training days. • Veg Power - developed to link veg growing with healthier cooking. Profiles a 'veg of the week' each week over 10 weeks, and gives participants the opportunity to share knowledge and lead. Dives into food systems and food justice, and signposts to Food Hygiene training – thereby leading towards a number of progression pathways from growing, preparing, food hygiene and hospitality. • Permaculture Design Courses with experienced and knowledgeable teachers. Also Growing Food in Small Space and linked with the UK 'Children in Permaculture' project. In terms of accreditation, there is a menu of rural skill qualifications at SQA which could be aligned to the skill set and delivery partners in agriculture, horticulture and permaculture in the local area. Skills around food production are the future: local food production that contributes to sustainability, food security, health & nutrition, and reduces food miles, all addressing the climate crisis. Case study 10: Bairn Banter, Carsphairn Source: Case study by CoDeL from April 2024: see here, which includes illustrations also. Key Insights ✓ In rural communities with populations spread over large areas, it is vital to nurture connections. Social opportunities are really important for young children, as they impact significantly on children’s development. They are also important for parents and carers. ✓ Local services are critical for nurturing positive population trends. Bairn Banter has enabled many young families, including those who have moved into the area, to meet socially on a regular basis, to enable children and families to socialise with each other, a critical investment for the future population, economy and community in the area. ✓ The loss of a local school can be a real blow to the sustainability of a local community; schools are often the very heart of a community. While there are frameworks to ensure that local schools are not closed without consultation, local authorities can circumvent community influence over such decisions by mothballing schools (i.e. not officially ‘closing’ them). ✓ Bairn Banter is another example of great things being delivered in rural and island communities by energetic and committed volunteers. This is all part of community resilience and cohesion, but exacts a significant toll on rural and island people. And dependency on volunteering limits how much communities can do. Funding to pay some hours to volunteers who deliver on so Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 20 many Scottish Government priorities could have a dramatic impact on services and cohesion within rural and island communities. ✓ The ‘Community Action in Uist and Glenkens’ project clearly demonstrates how even small amounts of funding for locally rooted community intiatives can trigger significant action: the returns on the investment are large when communities are enabled to deliver on their priorities, what they are passionate about. This was demonstrated so clearly in practice during the pandemic, but since then funding has often reverted back to the much more highly controlled and outcome-driven processes, with outcomes so often determined by distant policy-makers or funders, rather by communities themselves. ✓ In the case of Bairn Banter a small grant of £2,500 has enabled the group to raise match funding and purchase a trailer to take the group’s activities to other areas in Glenkens, and to enhance outdoor educational opportunities for young children, all within a few months. Case study Bairn Banter is a volunteer run stay and play children’s group based in the rural hill village of Carsphairn in Dumfries & Galloway. The group was established in July 2021 by the founder Melissa Ade and her husband, Ben. Together with their three small children, they continue to provide a welcoming, nurture enriched, inclusive, fun play space for children and their families to attend on a weekly basis for free. So how did Bairn Banter begin? As the country emerged out of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021, which caused a detrimental effect on rural communities and young families, it was felt by many local parents and grandparents that there was a lack of social opportunities within the local area for pre-school children. Carsphairn also suffered within the same year with the mothballing of the local primary school, which severed vital connections for young children within the parish. Coupled with the ongoing cost of living crisis, social situations seemed to ‘dissolve’ and many young children begun to struggle without their vital socialising needs being met. Research carried out by the Institute of Education concluded that; “children's social background impacts the early development of cognitive and social-emotional competences, like verbal skills, selfcontrol and peer relationships, and their subsequent outcomes in adulthood.” (see here) All these considerations led Melissa to establish Bairn Banter. To aid with local networking and some experienced support she set to work approaching the Carsphairn Community Council who now offer a very helpful ‘umbrella’ for the group. As well as children, parents/carers also suffered from lack of social interaction with others, with potential knock-on effects on their social and mental wellbeing and, in the longer term, on the overall economics of the rural area. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 21 Bairn Banter has grown into a much loved asset to the Glenkens, as it is the only pre-school/children’s group operating in the area. The group offers a wide variety of fun activities and experiences for children ranging from 0-7 years and always welcomes older children including siblings along. Bairn Banter consistently operates every Saturday morning from 10am – 11.45am in Carsphairn and aims to offer a nourishing healthy snack for both children and adults to support families with potential food poverty issues. Many of the snacks are now being sourced through the Galloway Food Hub. “Two of the four themes of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan are ‘A Connected Community’ and ‘An Economically Flourishing Community’. We know that to flourish, we need young families living and working in the area, but there are very limited private or statutory facilities to support them. Bairn Banter’s stay and play sessions on Saturdays offer important socialisation opportunities for exCovid babies who are now pre-schoolers and their older siblings, as well as respite and peer support for parents and carers. The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust, who lead on delivery of the Community Action Plan, see Bairn Banter as a key partner in delivering these priorities in the Plan.” Helen Keron, Executive Manager, GCAT As Bairn Banter moves forward into the future, they want to break down the barrier of social exclusion due to transport barriers. Bairn Banter know that they are not reaching all the young families in the area. A particular barrier to attendance is the location of Carsphairn at the top of the Glenkens area. Public transport links to it are basically non-existent. So Bairn Banter is launching a new way of working where they bring Bairn Banter to the other communities in the Glenkens. They did a survey in 2022 that showed that transport was the main barrier to attendance, so they are confident that it will be well received. With a small amount of funding through the project, quickly matched with funding from the local windfarm, Bairn Banter has now purchased a box trailer that will be used to advertise, store, and transport the group’s equipment and resources to occasional free events and other local venues, like Town Halls or outdoor parks, around the wider Glenkens. The first event, outdoors, is booked for 1st June. The word is out that Bairn Banter have the opportunity to be mobile and is sparking interest from other areas. The group is now awaiting quotes from artists to design and decorate the trailer with a unique mural to help promote Bairn Banter and other aspects of the local area such as farming, renewable energy, local community initiatives, etc. Bairn Banter hopes that when the trailer is ‘on tour’, many will be drawn to the attractive display and perhaps be encouraged to visit and indeed, down the line, settle in the area. The trailer will allow Bairn Banter to ‘branch out’ to offer more outdoor learning opportunities to enhance opportunities for outdoor learning for children, young people and their families, and connect communities together within the beautiful outdoor environment. Melissa is working towards obtaining a Level 3 Forest School Leader qualification this year. The trailer will become Bairn Banter’s ‘mobile welfare base’ as well as vital storage of equipment such as waterproofs, water, tools, safety equipment, etc., whilst travelling to areas of woodlands around the Glenkens. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 22 Delivering on Scottish Government Priorities Bairn Banter delivers on many Scottish Government Priorities, for example within the National Performance Standards, e.g "we grow up loved, safe and respected so that we realise our full potential", "we live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe”, and "we are healthy and active". While so-called ‘remote rural areas’ do as well or slightly better than other rural and urban areas in terms of attainment, employment and other positive destinations on leaving secondary school, numeracy and especially literacy levels at primary school are lower in ‘remote rural areas’ (Rural Scotland Data Dashboard). This may well reflect the lack of pre-school opportunities in some areas, making community initiatives like Bairn Banter critical for those areas. Bairn Banter’s focus on developing more outdoor education, using the trailer as a mobile facility to take equipment and activities into outdoor spaces, is also delivering on the Scottish Government’s commitment, made in Scotland’s National Outdoor Play & Learning Position Statement (see here), to value and expand opportunities for playing and learning outdoors. And not least Bairn Banter contributes directly to the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan (2024), by providing a critical local service that connects local families, to each other and to their locality. Creating opportunities and a positive space for young families is vital to ensure a long-term demographic future. The mix of families that have stayed, returned or newly settled in the Glenkens is a striking feature of the Bairn Banter sessions, and provides an important incentive for them to stay. The Depopulation Action Plan “endorses the importance of local leadership and seeks to exemplify the maxim ‘local by default, national by agreement’. We know that a place-based approach to applying national, regional, and local policies will be essential to sustainably and effectively address depopulation.” Bairn Banter is one piece in the local jigsaw to deliver on these, and is integrated into the wider local strategies set out in the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, which includes delivering on local childcare as a priority for a flourishing local community. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 23 Appendix 11: Creating a vision for Dalry / Glenkens Education: Notes taken of participants’ contributions These notes were recorded by the facilitators based on verbal contributions to the vision from participants at the two community sessions held in Balmaclellan in September. They are in the order in which participants came forward with their ideas. Participants imagined how things would be in 2030, and many spoke in the present of 2030. So these comments represent how they would like things to be. Community schools at centre of village, optimising travel eco-sustainable, open A frame – let’s build for next 100 years, not just 25 Campus: cradle to grave, centre of community. Grow at rate suitable to each child. Adult learning too, lifelong learning Cutting edge technology – connect to experts on line Health and wellbeing Swimming Affordable family housing and community land. Local families Enables children to live successful lives in this area – practical aspects – renewables/forestry vs going away to get work. Mentorship – enabling – access to knowledgeable people to help guide individuals’ pathways (incl. right up to loder age) Not limited – if you want to be a forensic scientist, why not? How can? Rather than why not? Mentality Self-directed learning Leadership to help each individual be themselves, to develop which ever way they want. My children will be challenged, happy to learn. Acknowledgement from council that education is vital here; they support education centres Eco-school built from wood from Carsphair community woodland, solar panels, enterprise Everyone encouraged to learn, but not have to be academic. E.g. everyone’s job is important, non-hierarchical. Everyone has some variation of training, be up-to-date Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 24 Schools don’t have hierarchical system. Students can talk “back” to teachers; different relationship. Choose career they want, not be failures for less academic Encouraged and inspired to achieve whatever they want. Rural skills brought back to rural areas, e.g. skilled tradesmen. Trades academy / hub, not just technical college, also for younger children. So much going on in area, very busy. Linked with school. People come into school to explain what they do. Children go out. After school clubs, sports, handcrafts, growing food, plants Bus at later times. Devolution of funding down to community. E.g. £40,000 per child x 60 pupils in catchment area. Wow, what we could do! Community ownership of assets. Nature-based nursery Teachers qualified, know how to nurture children Nursery, open longer Food is brilliant – locally sourced veg, foraging, good soil, children involved in preparing Big demand for renewable energy → countless jobs Small holdings, sustainable living Absentee landlords selling plots. Internet works, people can work from home. Children taught tools to manage mental health. System nurtures them, not stresses them. Looking today, not stressed by future. Loads more small farmers; demand for local food. Educating for wider world. Quite a lot of former pupils have returned. For everyone in Glenkens to be able to access the education they need. Advanced highers (e.g. in maths) on-line, in a hub. Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 25 Hub of creative skilled people Arts and crafts ‘vocational’ skills Transport provision. Childcare to adulthood campus so that people do not have to leave Glenkens. Centre of intergenerational learning Work together Wide range of subjects in the curriculum, with a large pupil cohort Rented accommodation available No empty homes Apprenticeships for water, electricity … Self-sufficiency Good sample of subjects Music technology / nature stuff / rural skills / farms round about / more than ICT Education delivered in community woodlands and nurseries Out in all kinds of weather So close, and part of heritage Feeling of ownership / belonging Rural Skills Centre; Sustainability Affordable housing has increased Traditional skills and new emerging subjects Attracted to area because good place for families People can choose to leave, but are not forced to by circumstances Houses for couples to move in, when their children have left More houses for families, and for working (Pamela Trust has long waiting list, now in 2024) Better balance of population Intergenerational working Digital art classes available (like centre in DC – Castle Douglas??) Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 26 Appendix 12: Creating a Vision for Dalry / Glenkens Education: Writing and drawing by participants These contributions were made by the participants at the two community sessions held in Balmaclellan in September local community, locally managed, locally owned, locally produced, locally sourced Learning ‘Hub’ offering huge choices for all and hopefully encouraging new generations to stay here and thrive Education from baby to adult education / Education from cradle to grave education children young people ❖ Education / Development Centre / Hub / Campus ❖ All Ages / All Scopes ❖ Specialists connected via internet – Remote Learning Facilities Building sense of ownership, of local decision-making and control True community inter-generational learning COMMUNITY Community Mingling among peers in school / children don’t have to go to schools outside community Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 27 HEALTHY HAPPY COMMUNITY Wellbeing + learning hub SCHOOL CAREERS PEOPLE After school clubs / Transport home / 24 hours / In person All is considered to make strong, viable, healthy community Pavements / cycling tracks between Dalry, New Galloway and Balmaclellan Swimming pool heated by ground source heat pump Bairn Banter travelling trailer + learning / play → taking it to all communities in Glenkens Vibrancy: welcoming (Come for a Day Stay!), exciting, interesting, multi-subject outside learning – environment – non-traditional settings Integration: generations, multi-skills, inclusive, accessible, for all abilities “Past skills for future communities” ❖ I know that anything is possible ❖ I can be who I want to be ❖ I’m learning practical skills for life ❖ I feel safe and supported and confident in my chosen path Appendices for a Review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 28 (Young person:) Digital art introduced to Art & Design Course Widening skills offered Technology in music Proper lessons on using AMPs (as an example) ✓ Community-owned land, alternative energy ✓ Devolution of Power and Money ✓ Resources from windfarms flowing into schools ✓ Kids and people learning ✓ Suitable opportunities for all ✓ Child/person specific mentorship ✓ Good selection of subjects – as wide and varied as possible ✓ Subjects: broad range to give children wide experience and good basic knowledge ✓ Practical skill learning ✓ Teach traditional skills mixed with modern ✓ Links to community skills teaching ✓ Learning outdoors (in all weathers) ✓ On-line access to specialists ✓ Varied activities within and outside teaching time ✓ Young people have opportunities for entertainment, social, learning ✓ Good transport / Great transport ✓ Use the environment and what is happening already  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. 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For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data  Text Any textual data included in the document A review of rural education Theona Morrison and Thomas Fisher November 2024 Links between education and the sustainability of rural communities  Latest rigorous research (from Denmark, Finland & Canada), confirms school closures contribute to depopulation in the medium term (e.g. from year 6 onwards).  While small rural schools face challenges, they can deliver many benefits to communities and pupils, giving them a sense of belonging, respect and resilience.  This presents a significant challenge to D&G, a rural region facing an ageing population and depopulation, that has 100+ schools, many of them small and old.  Critical is to consider school policy not just in terms of financial constraints, or even just educational policy, but its wider impacts, not least on depopulation. Key findings  The provision of rural education plays critical roles in delivering on national (Scottish) and local (D&G) policy to support thriving rural communities, directly addressing depopulation and developing skills, opportunities and resilience for their long-term sustainability.  Rural education must ...  give young people skills, opportunities and genuine choice to pursue their lives and careers locally, or elsewhere (place-based education rather than schooling focused on ‘learning to leave’)  enable vibrant local economies, meeting recruitment needs of local employers, in the present and future  equip rural communities with skills to respond to the climate and biodiversity emergencies, building on existing local knowledge and experience. Place-based education: some examples  There are many successful models of educational provision that have been developed to sustain rural communities in practice, for example,  Western Isles: vocational strategy  Breadalbane Academy: Rural skills  Baltasound Junior High School, Shetland  Galloway Glens Internship Programme  And there are many opportunities for developing locally relevant skills and job opportunities: e.g. in renewables, and in local sustainable food production Local hub or centre of excellence  Emerging community vision to create an educational hub at the heart of the community to deliver rural place-based learning from cradle to grave.  The hub could become a centre of excellence for relevant rural skills, for example for the land-based and renewable energy sectors. 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Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_26 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Glenkens & District Trust Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource CoDeL CAP Theme 3 education https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/628/A_Review_of_Rural_Education_in_the_Glenkens.jpg e578f167cd838e0b357b12f35e341e67 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/628/A_Review_of_Rural_Education_in_the_Glenkens.1.pdf c4646c5b4c7416e47f85cee92e2fd64f PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document A review of rural education in the Glenkens Commissioned by the Glenkens and District Trust Written by Thomas Fisher and Theona Morrison, CoDeL November 2024 A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 2 Executive Summary This report reviews the links between education and the sustainability of rural communities. The review focuses on opportunities and challenges for educational provision in the Glenkens, a dynamic and engaged rural community in Dumfries and Galloway (D&G). The research reviewed some of the latest national and international research, and created case studies of practical strategies for delivering education in rural areas. The researchers also facilitated community sessions and interviewed people with relevant insights. Key findings: ✓ Educational opportunities are intricately bound up with community and economic development, as well as housing provision, and should not be seen in isolation. ✓ The provision of rural education plays critical roles in … • delivering on national (Scottish) and local (D&G) policy to support thriving rural communities, directly addressing depopulation and developing skills, opportunities and resilience for their long-term sustainability; • equipping rural communities with the skills to respond to the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies, building on existing local knowledge and experience; • sustaining vibrant local economies, through education that meets the recruitment needs of local employers, in the present and the future, and encourages enterprise. ✓ Recent rigorous research shows that school closures lead to local rural depopulation in the medium term. ✓ Place-based education can contribute to the sustainability of rural areas. It rebalances schooling not just to focus on ‘learning to leave’, but gives young people skills, opportunities and genuine choice to pursue their lives and careers locally, or elsewhere. ✓ Small rural schools face challenges, but can deliver many benefits to their communities and pupils, giving them a sense of belonging, respect and resilience to become responsible and contributing individuals, whatever pathway they take beyond school. ✓ There are many successful models of educational provision that have been developed to sustain rural communities in practice, for example, • learning locally relevant rural skills, drawing on local knowledge and resources (Perthshire); • developing curriculum opportunities and accredited qualifications that create pathways for young people into local employment and enterprise (D&G, Outer Hebrides and the Isle of Wight); • Developing life-long learning opportunities through diverse community organisations, in partnership with the public and private sectors (Uist and Denmark). A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 3 Hearing the voices of local people led to an emerging vision for education in the Glenkens: to create an educational hub at the heart of the community to deliver rural place-based learning from cradle to grave. The hub could become a centre of excellence for relevant rural skills, for example for the land-based and renewable energy sectors. This review was commissioned by the Glenkens and District Trust to set out options for educational provision to support the goal within the local Community Action Plan “to be an area where people will want to live, work, bring up their families and grow old.” The review was delivered by CoDeL, a social enterprise based in the Outer Hebrides with knowledge and experience in rural and island issues across Scotland and internationally, including depopulation and education. About the authors CoDeL’s two founding Directors, Thomas Fisher and Theona Morrison (who is also the current Chair of Scottish Rural Action that delivers the Scottish Rural Parliaments), bring extensive experience and understanding of rural issues, not just through research and policy development, but also direct lived experience of delivering and facilitating community action across a wide range of sectors for 20+ and 30+ years respectively in the Outer Hebrides, and previously in many different contexts within Scotland, Britain, Europe and internationally. Both Theona and Thomas have direct and long-term experience of innovating and delivering education and learning that directly addresses the specific needs of rural communities and local economies. Theona worked for almost 20 years for the Education Department in the local council in the Outer Hebrides, including a strong focus on enterprise education informed by a deep understanding of local economic literacy. In particular, she developed education linked to the needs of the local economy, and was part of the team that ensured the council adopted the Vocational Education Strategy in 2008. She managed the development of the first crofting course for schools delivered at the local secondary school in Uist, and supported the development of other vocational training matched to the needs and opportunities of the local economy, e.g. in health and social care. She has continued to support this kind of work as a member of the UHI Post Graduate Nursing & Midwifery Committee and of the advisory group that supported Community Land Scotland to develop curriculum resources for schools. Thomas organised the first Children’s Parliament group of children aged 8 to 13 in Uist and Barra, worked for almost a decade at the local adult education centre, Cothrom, a local social enterprise with a special focus on adults facing challenges in their lives. At Cothrom he developed the Enterprising Young People’s programme with Theona at the Education Department, delivering enterprise workshops for all senior phase pupils across the Outer Hebrides. Thomas also developed two mentoring programmes for young people, and, as a long-term facilitator for the Social Enterprise Academy, designed and delivered the first Wide Horizons programmes for young unemployed people, which have been delivered across the Highlands and Islands, and a range of leadership programmes, including for young leaders in rural and island communities. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 4 Table of Contents Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................... 2 About the authors ............................................................................................................................. 3 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Introduction to this review............................................................................................................. 5 Introduction to CoDeL .................................................................................................................... 6 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 6 Context and issues............................................................................................................................. 7 The context: the Glenkens and Dumfries and Galloway .................................................................. 7 School closures and rural depopulation ......................................................................................... 9 Centralisation vs. local educational provision ............................................................................... 10 Opportunities and challenges of small schools ............................................................................. 13 The demands of the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies ................................................... 16 A note on integrated policy .......................................................................................................... 18 Potential models: evidence from within and beyond Dumfries and Galloway .................................. 19 Example 1: Rural skills (Breadalbane Academy and the Rural Skills Training Centre) ..................... 19 Example 2: Subject offerings and accredited qualifications relevant to the local economy (Outer Hebrides, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Isle of Wight) .................................................. 20 Example 3: Offering wider curriculum choices in small schools (Shetland and e-Sgoil) .................. 23 Example 4: Rethinking local food (Propagate)............................................................................... 25 Example 5: The Interns Project under the Galloway Glens Initiative.............................................. 26 Example 6: Enterprising Young People in the Outer Hebrides ....................................................... 26 Example 7: Life-long learning within the community (Uist and Denmark) ..................................... 28 Conclusions: looking forward ........................................................................................................... 29 Key principles emerging from this review ..................................................................................... 29 An emerging vision for educational provision in the Glenkens ...................................................... 31 Is the ambitious vision practical and achievable? ......................................................................... 33 Assets and strengths that can contribute to the realisation of the emerging vision ....................... 34 A note on housing ........................................................................................................................ 36 Reflections on options for education in the Glenkens ................................................................... 36 Concluding remarks ......................................................................................................................... 37 Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 38 References....................................................................................................................................... 39 A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 5 Introduction Introduction to this review This review was commissioned by the Glenkens and District Trust (GDT). The Glenkens is an active and engaged rural community in Dumfries and Galloway (D&G). The Trust, established in 2011, is a fund distribution body to resource, enable and stimulate community development in the Glenkens and surrounding communities, defined as the Community Council areas of Balmaghie, Balmaclellan, Carsphairn, Corsock & Kirkpatrick Durham, Crossmichael, St. Johns Town of Dalry, Dunscore, Glencairn, New Galloway & Kells and Parton. The decision to commission this review was triggered by the proposed mothballing of Dalry Secondary School, but GDT wanted to review options for educational provision within the area more generally, rather than focusing just on the future of Dalry. GDT wanted “research to explore developments in, and discussions around, rural education in Scotland and beyond, particularly in areas that are suffering depopulation and have seen a decline in school rolls”. The aim is that this report “will be used to inform local groups, the Education Forum and the Council on potential options for educational arrangements in our area. Among other benefits this should support the goal in our Community Action Plan to be an area where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families and to grow old. It could also be used to input into consultations by the Council’s Education Department on the future of education facilities in the Glenkens.” These aims reflect the integration of this review within other community processes, including the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (CAP; see here) and the Education Forum set up by the CAP Steering Group, at the same time that GDT commissioned this review. The Glenkens is in fact a highly organised community that adopted the CAP in 2020, with three closely connected but distinct voluntary entities to ensure delivery and accountability of the Plan: GDT, the Community Action Plan Steering Group and the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (GCAT). At an event on Education and Learning in the Glenkens in July 2024 (see here), Helen Keron, Executive Manager of GCAT, explained: The underlying aim of the CAP is for the Glenkens to be ‘a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place, where people will want to live, work and visit, to bring up their families, and to grow old’. The Community Action Plan is fully aligned with D&G Council’s Locality Plans and the South of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy – it represents non-siloed thinking that embodies ‘place’ and community wealth building in their widest senses. The CAP does not explicitly mention education; it was created by the communities in 2020 in the context that the current educational provision was thought to be assured. However, Education and Learning is an underpinning element of the ‘Economically Flourishing’ theme of the CAP, and the overall goal of sustainable communities. Cradle-to-grave education and learning provision is a crucial part of community wellbeing and empowerment, as well as averting depopulation. Can we work together to find a pathway between the current status quo and no provision at all? We are looking for a creative solution based on a vision of thriving rural communities where current and future economic development is underpinned by innovative educational provision, working in strategic partnership with businesses, communities and the Council and where all parties are valued for their expertise. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 6 Introduction to CoDeL GDT commissioned Community Development Lens (CoDeL), based in Uist in the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), to deliver the review. CoDeL was launched in 2018 on the back of community-rooted research on young people returning, settling or staying in Uist. This led to collaboration with the James Hutton Institute on the Islands Revival blog bringing together case studies of island communities that were turning the tide of depopulation. This work changed the narrative around island demographics within Scotland. During Covid CoDeL led the partnership for an EU-funded research project that included 13 universities, research institutes, public bodies and private and social enterprises. The project researched the economic impacts of Covid on so-called ‘remote’ rural communities across the Northern Periphery and Arctic, from Canada to Finland, and including Scotland and Ireland. This research changed the narrative on ‘remote’ communities, highlighting their strengths, assets and resilience in times of crisis. The research earned CoDeL the Best RSA Blog Post of 2022 Award from the global Regional Studies Association. CoDeL has continued to do community-rooted research, on young island voices, rural social enterprise, community responses to evolving environmental policies, and case studies on community action in Uist and the Glenkens (working with GCAT, the Galloway Food Hub and Bairn Banter). CoDeL also delivers Uist Beò, an innovative digital platform to support repopulation within Uist (see here). CoDeL’s two founding Directors, Thomas Fisher and Theona Morrison (who is also the current Chair of Scottish Rural Action that delivers the Scottish Rural Parliaments), bring extensive experience and understanding of rural issues. This comes not just through research and policy development, but also from direct lived experience of delivering and facilitating community action across a wide range of sectors for 20+ and 30+ years respectively in the Outer Hebrides; and previously also in many different contexts within Scotland, Britain, Europe and internationally. Both Theona and Thomas have direct and long-term experience of innovating and delivering education and learning that directly addresses the specific needs of rural communities and local economies (see further about the authors at the end of this report). Methodology This report is based on a review of relevant published literature, interviews, case studies, and local community engagement. Literature review Although not always easy to find, there is in fact a significant and growing body of published research on rural education from across Europe and North America, on the challenges and opportunities of small rural schools and how rural education intersects with the development and sustainability of rural communities, including around depopulation. What was immediately apparent from this research is how common the themes and challenges, policy measures and opportunities are across different countries and places, and how emerging research is influencing insights elsewhere within Europe and North America. Dr Anna Karlsdottir, a Nordic academic, for example pointed to “a rapid decrease in the number of schools in rural areas in the Nordic countries” (personal communication). The situation in the Glenkens, and in Dumfries and Galloway generally, is far from unique, and examples and research findings from other countries are of significant relevance. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 7 Interviews and case studies A larger research project would have allowed more extensive processing of this growing body of published research, which makes clear the impact of rural education policy on the future of young people and of rural communities. This is especially the case when such policy is not designed within a more integrated policy framework, including around depopulation and the climate emergency. However, the published research does not often reveal practical strategies for delivering effective rural education that can support and sustain local communities and economies amidst the current challenges, not least financial constraints. That is why the methodology included searching for some unpublished materials as well as interviews of individuals with relevant experience and insight. The interviews and other communications have included senior staff within Education Scotland, a senior education policy maker in Ireland, and Headteachers or teachers from other schools. The insights from this have been captured in a range of case studies found in the appendices to this report, including some case studies written by CoDeL itself. These have been supplemented by case studies which were shared at the event on Education and Learning in the Glenkens in July (see Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group et al, 2024). Material from the case studies is cited in this report, but those who want more detail can view each of the case studies. Community engagement The third major component of the methodology has been community engagement, participating in the July event in the Glenkens, delivering two community sessions in the Glenkens itself in September (attended by current and former parents and pupils, and the new Head Teacher at Dalry), and conducting seven interviews, including with the Executive Director of Education in D&G Council. The published research, especially on placed-based or place-conscious education, demonstrates that effective educational provision that is rooted in local places and communities must be adapted to the specific context in each place. For example, the local economy and the network of potential partners for engaging with local education will be different in each place. That is why voices and insights of local people are just as important as any published research. Indeed, with the deep commitment to education that communities in the Glenkens have demonstrated over many decades, it is apparent that there is significant insight and experience within the Glenkens, which has informed this review and could help with developing and implementing effective local educational strategies in future. Context and issues The context: the Glenkens and Dumfries and Galloway The Glenkens is a collection of remote-rural villages in Dumfries and Galloway, facing significant challenges of social isolation, rural poverty and inequity of provision. It has an older demographic, with very low numbers of 18-35 year olds. At the same time, the Glenkens has a track record of community empowerment stretching back decades, with many and diverse community organisations and actions. The Glenkens is increasingly organised and ambitious, aligned across the area around the Community Action Plan, published in September 2020 after significant community consultation. The Glenkens fall within Dumfries and Galloway (D&G) in south west Scotland. The region is a highly rural area, with agriculture accounting for 70% of land, and woodland a further 25%, with only three A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 8 towns with a population of more than 5000 people. The opening paragraph of the Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens (see here) reflects much of D&G as a whole (although not its coastal areas): We are a forested area, a farming area, an energy generation area. We are a watery area, given life by our rivers and lochs. Our natural environment is so special that we are part of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Our landscapes attract visitors from all over the world. We are a peaty area and our soil stores some of Scotland’s best carbon. At the same time Dumfries and Galloway faces significant demographic challenges. The D&G Council Plan for 2023-28 (see here) expects the overall population to decline by almost 3% by 2028. Dumfries and Galloway has a greater proportion of older adults and a median age of 49.6 years compared to Scotland's (42 years). The population is aging and it is expected the proportion of older adults will grow over time with the number of younger people decreasing. The population projections by National Records of Scotland (NRS) in 2018 predicted that by 2043, for every 10 people of working age there will be 9 children or older adults, compared to 7 currently. The overall vision and ambition of the D&G Council Plan for 2023-28 is “to be a successful region, with a growing economy, based on fairness, opportunity and quality public services, where all citizens prosper. Working in partnership, with connected, healthy and sustainable communities. The region will be the natural place to live, work, visit and invest.” From the Dumfries and Galloway Council Plan for 2023-28: on education “The Council will improve education and learning opportunities to help all our children, young people and citizens fulfil their potential. This starts with pre-school, then school, before progressing into further or higher education or transition into work. “We will work with our partners to create and promote lifelong learning opportunities so everyone in the region can live a meaningful and fulfilling life, and contribute to their community.” ** Places of learning are inclusive, sustainable and meet the needs of local communities. ** Children, young people and adults transition successfully through all life stages. ** Young people and adults succeed in what they want to achieve. ** Local people can build their skills and confidence. Such educational provision will not only directly address aspirations for education within D&G, but also the second principle in the Plan on supporting our citizens, specifically addressing inequalities “to ensure inclusivity, accessibility, celebrate diversity and secure social benefits of change” for all, including in rural communities. One data point in the plan is that “4549 adults and children reported improved mental health and wellbeing through the Council’s lifelong learning activities”. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 9 School closures and rural depopulation The impact of school closures on rural populations has been keenly debated and researched in many countries, in Britain, across Europe, North America and elsewhere. Some of the most recent rigorous research comes from Scandinavia, which has seen significant school closures across rural areas. The tensions within policy are very similar. “In the debates on possible school closures, policy makers often express their hopes of cost reductions and higher quality in education. On the other hand, local citizens fear that closing their local school will have adverse effects on the community and lead to population decline.” (Sørensen et al, 2021, p.226). Evidence from Denmark and Finland confirms a robust and statistically significant link between school closures and depopulation. Sørensen et al’s research on the impact of the closure of eight rural schools in one municipality in Denmark concludes that there is clear evidence of a negative population effect of rural school closures: … a statistically significant population decline of 7.6 percentage points was found in the eight communities affected by school closures throughout the 10-year post-closure period. Stated differently, we found that the population development in the affected communities would have been 7.6 percentage points more favourable if the schools had not been closed. (p.233) Lehtonen (2021) analyses the community-level population effects of 518 school closures that were carried out in Finland during 2011–2018. Of these school closures, 66% were in rural areas. The major finding of this study is the association of school closures with depopulation of the communities around the closed schools. The results indicate that after school closure, the population of the surrounding community decreases more than before the school closure. Therefore, a primary school seems to be an increasingly important element of the critical services that impact household location decisions. (p.145) Both studies reveal important aspects of the depopulation that results from school closures. First, the impacts of school closures are often very local, within the immediate local communities. Lehtonen’s analysis in Finland focuses on small catchment areas: the 5-km and 10-km catchment areas encompassing the local communities surrounding the school closures. Second, there is a time lag in those impacts. Sørensen et al used a 10-year timeframe, discovering that “the population decline first got statistically significant from the sixth year following the closures and onwards. … if we had used a post-closure period shorter than 6 years, we would not have found any significant population effect.” (p.233) It is obvious that a school closure may not lead to families moving away immediately, as they are bound by many other social, cultural and economic ties. “The delayed materialization of negative population consequences suggests inertia in the reaction towards the school closures. Residents in the affected areas may need time to evaluate the new situation and to possibly react to it, e.g. by moving away” (Sørensen et al, 2021, p.231). And the critical impact of reduced in-migration of families returning or settling, because there is no local school, will also take time to manifest itself in the data, as research from Canada demonstrates (Foster et al, 2021, p.23) … the [Canadian] data analysed for this article provide support for the common belief that the presence of community schools helps communities, rural, urban, or otherwise, retain and attract young population. We find that communities closer to a school [both elementary and secondary] are more likely to see inmigration of school-age children. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 10 The evidence from Ireland also lends support (see Case Study 4 in the Appendices). “National and international data supports the Inishbofin islanders’ contention that appropriate education provision on the island increases sustainability of the community, as stated in their submission to the Department of Education requesting a post-primary school on the island.” When the Department turned down this request on the grounds of small pupil numbers, the Ombudsman for Children’s Office challenged the decision on the basis of human rights, and stated, “If the school was opened the numbers would grow as living on the island would be made viable for families with children or planning to have children, and families who have left ….. could now return with their children.” It is these two important insights, the local impacts and the time lag for those impacts to arrive, that distinguish the research from other earlier studies, which often used wider regional or municipal data and shorter timeframes, such as 2-year or 4-year post-closure periods. In consequence, earlier studies delivered either mixed results or no population effect of rural school closures. Sørensen et al complemented their demographic analysis with qualitative research, interviewing local people on the impact they experienced from the school closures (pp.231-33). They “reported of families with children who had moved away from the village as a direct result of the school closure.” The most frequent negative consequences mentioned included “depopulation, difficulties in attracting and retaining families with school-aged children, eroding social connections”, “less people volunteering and a decline in the number of members in local associations” pointing to “an erosion of social capital in the community” and even “social fragmentation”, especially among children who were sent to different schools after their local school closed. The research by Sørensen et al in Denmark and by Lehtonen in Finland confirms a robust link between school closures and local depopulation, which comes after a time lag, and is supported by the research from Canada also.1 This presents a significant challenge to Dumfries and Galloway, a rural region facing an ageing population and depopulation, that has 100+ schools, many of them small and old. Critical considerations for council policy are not just financial constraints, or even just educational policy, but the wider impacts of school policy in the context of overall council policy, especially in addressing depopulation. As the Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education in Scotland recommended back in 2013 (Scottish Government and COSLA, 2013), Local authorities, together with their health and other Community Planning partners, should consider rural education holistically for their area, from early years to further and higher education, actively seeking solutions to enhance the viability of rural communities. [emphasis added] Centralisation vs. local educational provision “The reasons behind school closures in most countries are cited typically as financial (i.e. small rural schools are too costly to run in comparison to larger schools).” (Fargas-Malet and Bagley, 2022, p.830). In the recent long period of deep austerity it is not surprising that many local authorities have struggled with maintaining small schools. Nevertheless, financial reasons are not the only factor involved. For 1 Dr Anna Karlsdottir, a spatial geographer at the University of Iceland and Nordregio, who has reviewed spatial disparaties in the significant school closures seen across the Nordic region this century (e.g. in Karlsdottir et al, 2019), writes: “One thing is sure, that the attraction value/amenity value of potential future inhabitants with kids declines with local schools closing down. That then reduces the regional ability for transition and renewal.” (personal communication) A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 11 example, issues like the breadth of curriculum choice and other opportunities, as well as pupil socialisation, are important other considerations for children and parents. However, extensive relevant research suggests that there may well also be underlying biases against rural education, biases that are in fact reflected across much public policy. Michael Corbett was the first to articulate these concepts most clearly, in his thesis and book, Learning to Leave (2007), about rural education in Nova Scotia in Canada. The blurb for the book states: This innovative case study from Nova Scotia analyzes the relationship between rural communities and contemporary education. Rather than supporting place-sensitive curricula and establishing networks within community populations, the rural school has too often stood apart from local life, with the generally unintended consequence that many educationally successful rural youth come to see their communities and lifestyles as places to be left behind. They face what Michael Corbett calls a mobility imperative, which, he shows, has been central to contemporary schooling. Learning to Leave argues that if education is to be democratic and serve the purpose of economic, social, and cultural development, then it must adapt and respond to the specificity of its locale, the knowledge practices of the people, and the needs of those who struggle to remain in challenged rural places. Learning to Leave has triggered much additional research. For example, Gulløv and Gulløv (2020) clearly analyse how children and young people in rural Denmark are educated to leave, from early learning in nurseries through the choices that young people are forced to make in terms of their secondary education, all within a system in which almost all further and higher education has been highly centralised in the past few decades.2 The impact on further rural decline is hardly surprising. In a later lecture, Corbett (2021) argues that centralisation promoted on the premise of increased efficiency has in fact long been core policy across developed economies, from health-care provision to education: … the relentless centralization and bureaucratization of public services whose mandate is principally driven by the establishment of performance norms and the application of standardized indicators to quantify relative performance across space. These comparative metrics, in turn, support managerialism and the marketization of education. (p.2) Corbett analyses how such centralisation has its roots in thought and policy since the mid-19th century, since when the primacy of centralised and urban centres was seen as embodying modernity and progress, while rural, and especially small rural, was seen as backward and in decline. Powerful economic and political dynamics, which have drawn social, cultural and educational policy and practice in their wake, have led to the rapid growth of urban living and an apparently relentless decline in rural populations. The evidence from Canada and Denmark confirms that these processes have meant that schooling in rural areas has often focused on educating young people to leave or even escape their place, and to pursue aspiration and success in urban centres, through the pursuit of ever more specialist and 2 Gulløv and Gulløv directly link the findings of their own research to Corbett’s: “As argued by Corbett & Forsey (2017), in the organisation of the education system, curriculum, assessments, counselling, teachers’ preferences and indeed the whole educational mindset there is a fundamental orientation toward an urban middle-class way of life with an emphasis on individual aspirations and social flexibility. These values permeate the students’ beliefs and hierarchies in terms of what is desirable and recognisable. Despite the fact that a local sense of social commitment and attachment is regarded in general as positive in the local setting, the high-school students [in Denmark] refer to it mostly as an obstacle which has to be overcome in order to gain success in an urban, middle-class way.” (p.122) A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 12 narrowly-defined knowledge, which is assigned the highest value in our economic and social structures. Significant recent publications suggest that many research agendas, including on education provision, have in fact been deeply influenced by a deficit perspective on rural areas, rather than recognising and valuing the many assets and strengths of rural communities. In the book Ruraling Education Research Roberts and Guenther (2021) devote considerable attention to this issue: … remote is often conceptualised as peripheral to the city by distance as well as socially and culturally. However … for people whose families live in remote towns, it is the city that is distant and peripheral. Such perspectives are rarely considered in discussions of educational policy. To address this, and other, implicit biases, this chapter examines how language socially constricts the ‘problem’ to be solved, rather than implicitly valuing people, places, and communities. (p.13, emphasis added) The counterpoint to centralisation rooted in seeing rural areas as backward is a strong emerging focus within research, as well as practice on the ground, of place-based or place-conscious education. Place-conscious education is a response to more than a century of what Wendell Berry (1997) called ‘unsettlement,’ or the progressive emptying of the countryside, which has detached the majority of people in advanced capitalist societies from the sources of the energy, food, and materials necessary for shelter and comfort, while at the same time vilifying rural people and places as backward. A focus on place in education also confronts “metrocentric” education and social policy that fail to account for differences between places and how rural areas have been largely absent from key educational discussions. (Corbett, 2021, pp.1-2) Many of the principles underlying a place-based approach to education are in fact reflected in the principles set out in the Dumfries and Galloway Council Plan overall for supporting communities: They are also reflected in Scottish Government policy: “We know that a place-based approach to applying national, regional, and local policies will be essential to sustainably and effectively address depopulation.” (Scottish Government, 2024, Addressing Depopulation Action Plan). This applies to education policy as much as policies in any other sector. The next section on small schools will reflect more on the value of place-based education. Here we conclude that the drive for efficiency savings, especially in times of austerity, presents a significant A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 13 challenge for Dumfries and Galloway as a primarily rural region, but also an opportunity to build on its extensive rural assets. One of the key principles to emerge from this research (see pp.29-30 below) is that rural education “needs to be rooted and connected in the place, drawing on local assets, connections, networks and partnerships, and incorporating local experience and knowledge, including experience and skills in adapting rapidly to changing circumstances. Educational provision needs to demonstrate in practice, from nursery through further and higher education to life-long learning, that it values local assets and strengths, experience and knowledge.” With its over 100 schools, most of them rural, Dumfries and Galloway is well placed to develop this principle in practice. And, as we shall see, this is also critical amidst the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies. It is important to recognise that there should be no assumption that young people must stay in their rural areas. What is required is to recognise “a core tension between pedagogies of belonging and pedagogies of mobile aspirations” (Cuervo et al, 2019). What is required is a significant rebalancing of schooling that does not just focus on learning to leave, but gives rural young people genuine choice and opportunity (a) to pursue their lives, and work, locally within their community, or (b) to migrate elsewhere, whether to urban or other rural places, or (c) to pursue a mix of these options. Including significant opportunities to develop skills relevant to rural life (see the Case Studies from the Western Isles and on Breadalbane for examples) can contribute to this rebalancing to give young people genuine choice, including to develop a career path locally. And the community consultation complemented this focus on formal schooling to include broader educational provision for the community as a whole that enables local rural people to enhance their knowledge and skills to meet their personal and community aspirations throughout their lives. This is already reflected in the Dumfries and Galloway Council Plan for 2023-28: “We will work with our partners to create and promote life-long learning opportunities so everyone in the region can live a meaningful and fulfilling life, and contribute to their community.” Opportunities and challenges of small schools In the previous section we explored a potential bias within much policy against rural, seeing it as backward. It is also important to draw attention to a potential bias against small schools. The two biases are of course closely related, as reflected in Fargas-Malet and Bagley’s article in 2022, titled “A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe”. The authors report that in several countries ... there is a policy bias which presumes that rural schools are somehow deficient, that multi-age teaching in small rural schools is ‘inferior’ to age homogenous teaching in larger schools, and that the way to improve rural education is making schools bigger. Significantly, these prejudices seemingly exist despite little or no hard evidence that pupils in small schools do worse than others in larger ones. (p.830) This is confirmed by Sørensen et al (2021: p.226): Studies have found that school closures have reduced costs, while empirical studies on whether sending pupils to larger schools improves student achievement have produced mixed results. Moreover, several studies have stressed the importance of the local school for the local community. Thus, small rural schools have been found to promote social cohesion and social capital, be rich on parent involvement, and to contribute to the general ‘health of a community’. The authors (p.227) quote Wood, on rural schools as “not only an educational establishment, but also a focal point for community life”. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 14 Fargas-Malet and Bagley’s review of research on small schools identifies a range of common challenges, including financial pressures and inadequate infrastructure, falling school rolls and the challenges of delivering a wide-ranging curriculum. There are also challenges around recruiting and retaining teachers, as well as challenges for teachers in the job, including intense workloads, multi-age teaching and professional isolation. Nevertheless, Fargas-Malet and Bagley conclude their review as follows (pp.839-40): despite all the challenges mentioned, teachers and principals have expressed being satisfied with working in a small rural school, and some believed that it was a good learning environment for all pupils, including those with special needs. In fact, small rural schools have also been shown to provide multiple opportunities to teachers, principals, pupils and the communities they serve. Firstly, small rural schools are possibly well placed to provide ‘a place-based curriculum’, which emphasizes children’s relationship with nature and promotes local history and culture. Secondly, small rural schools appear better able to form strong links to their communities, as well as utilize the communities’ potential to enrich the educational experience of their pupils, which in turn builds social capital and social cohesion. Thirdly, small rural schools have shown their potential to identify and address pupils’ individual needs. Finally, small rural schools have been used as a testing ground for innovation. In relation to all of the above, and returning to the title of our paper, small would in some ways still appear to be beautiful! In Ireland, according to Joe McHugh the Minister for Education and Skills in 2019, almost half of all schools are small schools, and almost 15 per cent of all Irish children attend one (see Case Study 4 in the Appendices). The Irish Government takes a positive attitude towards small schools, both primary and secondary, and is committed to supporting and strengthening them: Small schools can and do provide an excellent education to our children, right in the heart of their communities. I went to a small school as a child. I live in an area where small schools are a facet of life and that is replicated up and down the country. They are often the heartbeat and lifeblood of a community. … Ní neart go cur le chéile – we need to work together to find new ways of supporting small schools [to ensure their long-term sustainability]. This commitment to small schools continues, with the Secretary of State for Education in Ireland, Minister Foley, stating in May 2024 that small schools are a support and a beacon for local communities. They are at the heart of educating generations of young people and providing a focal point for families and communities. … small schools collaborating and working together offers promise for the future. Similarly, in 2023 the Nordic Rural Youth Panel (Nordregio, 2023) also included the following recommendation among its 40 recommendations for rural revitalisation: “Working to maintain and develop smaller schools in rural areas, as they are important for both children and the local community. At the same time, cooperation should be promoted between smaller schools ”. It is important to emphasise that while the research on small rural schools cited above includes many small primary schools, some small secondary schools are also included in the evidence base, including in the Irish example. The advantages of small schools featured prominently in the community consultation in September, where ex- and current pupils of Dalry primary and secondary school shared a story or example of how their small local schools had benefited themselves or others (see Box and also the Appendices). A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 15 Dalry school provided a safe space to feel comfortable and a sense of belonging away from a difficult homelife. Teachers had enough time / small class numbers to notice, to care. Positives of smaller groups and friendships ... Smaller groups – children / students have to learn to get on with each other and understand each others differences / opinions / likes / dislikes. True inclusivity, & kindness, & being part of the village. If it weren’t for Dalry I would have to go to a larger school which I have already tried and then decided I much preferred Dalry so I came back. A small, close knit community where families know each other and look out for each other. Open space, fresh air, nature on our doorstep. Incredible sense of community, unlike anywhere else! In small community schools children are aware of backgrounds of other kids; helps with acceptance and understanding if behaviour problems arise. Schools don’t have hierarchical system. Students can talk “back” to teachers; different relationship. Dalry welcomed my daughter when she joined 2 years ago. The way she settled in so easily helped us to feel a part of our new community. An obvious challenge for small schools may be to offer a wide subject choice for pupils, which the community consultation identified as a significant concern for current and potential future parents within the Glenkens. Evidence from two small secondary schools interviewed during this research demonstrates that a flexible and can-do approach by the school management can overcome this challenge to deliver significant personalisation of pupil choices across a wide range of subjects, especially when sharing teachers with other neighbouring schools, and supplemented with some online provision also. The evidence from Ireland reinforces this (see Case Study 4 in the Appendices): Notwithstanding the additional challenges faced by [five small post-primary] island schools arising from their off-shore remote locations, these Education Training Board island schools have built up a reputation for being well led and managed, academic excellence, resilience, innovation in adopting and adapting teaching and learning methodologies, including experimenting with distance learning to best support their communities. When it comes to pupil socialisation, some families want to choose larger schools, but small schools can deliver advantages, including for particular pupils. This is reflected in the Glenkens already, where the D&G Council’s willingness to give parents a free choice about which school their children attend has meant that 5 our of the current 13 pupils at Dalry Secondary School come from outwith the catchment area. One of the main attractions for families is the small size of the school which allows a more personalised education with closer relations among peers and between pupils and teachers. Head teachers of small secondary schools I spoke to feel that the pupils coming out of their schools are often more socially able than those coming out of larger schools due to the fact that pupils relate to people of all ages and have learned to work alongside others who they may not see eyeto-eye with, and therefore develop empathy and respect for others. (Sarah Ade) Small schools deeply connected to their community can also be very good at nurturing a sense of belonging and being rooted. In a rapidly and sometimes dramatically changing world, a sense of belonging, of having an identity that is deeply rooted, can be a critical strength for young people growing up in today’s world. As one of the participants in the community consultation said, A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 16 Going to Carsphairn and then Dalry enabled me to feel truly rooted within my community; from this I was able to move away and engage with other communities, before coming ‘home’ to raise my own children. I think a strong sense of community is key to feeling secure and grounded in life [generally]. The case study of Baltasound Junior High School in Shetland (Case Study 3 in the Appendices) shows how much a school can actively build connection with the local community. In the fortnight prior to the interview, the coastguard, the fire service and the local health centre had all visited the school or been visited by pupils. The school even has “Bring your Parent Days”, where parents follow their children for the whole day in school. The Headteacher explained, “They are absolutely knackered at the end of the day, but they love opportunities to come into the school. We are the hub of community activity. One school, one community.”3 The demands of the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies There is rapidly increasing evidence of the impact of the climate and biodiversity emergencies, on local communities, nations and globally. These emergencies demand responses across all policy areas. Within their Plan for 2023-28, Dumfries and Galloway Council has positioned Safeguarding our Future as the very first principle: • • Address the climate emergency: urgently respond to climate change and transition to a carbon neutral region. Protect our natural capital: protecting and enhancing our region’s natural capital and habitats through conservation and sustainable development. In the Scottish context, the vast majority of natural assets, including Scotland’s biodiversity, are located in rural Scotland, including of course within Dumfries and Galloway. Education will therefore play a key role in addressing the climate and biodiversity emergencies, by enabling rural people and communities to have the skills and be equipped to manage those resources effectively. As the Commission for the land-based learning review reported to the Scottish Government (2023:1): The Commission has sought to review learning in Scotland’s land-based and aquaculture sectors from early years to adulthood …. The aim of the work is to help deliver a just transition to net-zero, by ensuring the learning system equips people with the skills and knowledge both they and the Sector requires and that the workforce is sufficient. … Collectively these [land-based] industries utilise and manage the majority of Scotland’s land and coastal areas and have the largest impact on our environment. More recently, the land-based industries have also been included within ‘Green Careers’ recognising the key role the Sector plays in nature restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation. … the wide variety of career opportunities available across all of the Sector’s industries reflect the specialist skills and knowledge required to produce food and raw materials from our natural environment in a safe and sustainable manner. This includes the need to manage land in a way that continues to provide a range of ecosystem services such as flood protection, pollination and opportunities for recreation. The recent increase in the number of skilled workers needed to meet 3 The day includes having school dinners with the pupils. “Complaints about the quality of school dinners tend to stop after this!” A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 17 long term Scottish climate and biodiversity targets also presents an opportunity to improve wellbeing and increase our national connection with nature. Yet across the Sector, businesses are experiencing workforce shortages and struggling to recruit. Given their importance in terms of food and materials production, addressing the nature and climate crises and supporting rural communities and the economy, it is imperative that we find solutions which attract more entrants, widen the pool of applicants, and increase training opportunities. Likewise, the Irish Government published The 2nd National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development – ESD to 2030 in June 2022 (see here). Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has three interlinked and equally important strands: Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability. The accompanying ESD to 2030 Implementation Plan 2022 – 2026 sets out the roadmap to achieving its targets by 2030 “across the Education Sector from early learning and care to third level and beyond to non-formal and informal education”. ESD aims to ensure that all learners have the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. ESD is acknowledged as a key enabler for the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Funding of €250,000 is being delivered to organisations to support them in carrying out ESD related projects to schools, including, for example, making the school and its grounds more sustainable; teacher training in ESD; student projects; collaborative projects between the school and the local community, etc. None of this should be seen as a call for urban based experts needing to educate backward rural residents. The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has stated very clearly that current policies and frameworks “emanating from predominant political and economic decisions based on a narrow set of values ... will fail to deliver on climate and biodiversity” until they incorporate the understanding, perspectives, values and worldviews of local communities and indigenous peoples (IPBES, 2022). This places the experience, knowledge and worldviews of local communities, especially rural communities, at the very heart of effective responses to the climate and biodiversity emergencies. Abi Mordin, founder member of Propagate (see Case Study 9 in the Appendices) and local resident, is just one among many with local experience and knowledge rooted within Dumfries and Galloway itself. In reflecting on education amidst the climate and biodiversity emergencies, Abi states, The principles of soil function are still not being taught in schools and agricultural colleges, despite the fact that healthy soil is vital for plant growth and nutrition, is more resilient to the impacts of flood and drought, and stores more carbon. The understanding of the role played by soil has progressed dramatically in recent years, but information about management for carbon sequestration, soil health, climate change, livestock and people has not yet been incorporated into the curriculum. The Dumfries and Galloway Learning for Sustainability Partnership Group has been set up, having identified big gaps in the provision of education across food, food security and sustainability. The Learning for Sustainability Action Plan highlights the importance of embedding this into the curriculum, but this is not yet being delivered in schools as teachers have not been trained to deliver the subject. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 18 A note on integrated policy The overall vision and ambition of the Dumfries and Galloway Council Plan for 2023-28 is to be a successful region, with a growing economy, based on fairness, opportunity and quality public services, where all citizens prosper. Working in partnership, with connected, healthy and sustainable communities. The region will be the natural place to live, work, visit and invest. The plan itself sets out an integrated vision across different sectors and policies, and seeks to embrace the creativity and resilience of local places and people, and to make rural communities and places vibrant and thriving. With over a third of the council’s budget spent on education, educational provision within D&G’s many rural communities must play a critical element of any strategy to deliver on the council’s vision. Educational provision cannot be seen on its own, but must contribute to delivering environmental, demographic and economic sustainability for rural communities across D&G. This includes investing in people through education: “Dumfries and Galloway is shaped and defined by the people who call it home. They are its lifeblood and reflect the history, heritage and culture of the region.” This means that considerations for educational provision are not just financial constraints, or even just educational policy, but the wider impacts of school and education policy in the context of overall council goals, especially in addressing depopulation. The Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education recommended back in 2013 (Scottish Government and COSLA, 2013), Local authorities, together with their health and other Community Planning partners, should consider rural education holistically for their area, from early years to further and higher education, actively seeking solutions to enhance the viability of rural communities. [emphasis added] This is reflected in the D&G Council Plan: Together with partners, the Council will strive to promote a region of opportunity and innovation – where natural capital drives green growth, ambition and quality of life rivals the best in the UK, communities are empowered and cultural identity and heritage are cherished. This will enable people to thrive and attract a new generation to live, work, visit, learn and invest in the South of Scotland. The box contains some other relevant recommendations from the Commission, which were highlighted by our Irish sources who derived inspiration from the Commission’s work. The Commission for the Delivery of Rural Education was asked to review the Schools Consultation Scotland Act 2010 and its application, and make recommendations on the delivery of all aspects of education in rural areas. Thirty-eight clear recommendations were made, including: • The Scottish Government and local authorities should agree a coherent rural regeneration strategy to support economic outcomes for rural areas. • Local authorities, the Scottish Government, teaching institutions and trade unions should work together to explore innovative solutions to reduce the barriers to teaching in remote areas; and to ensure effective delivery of CPD to teachers in rural schools, learning from international best practice to reduce teachers’ isolation and sustain skills and development. • There must be a commitment to resource the curriculum in small rural secondary schools to support the achievement of positive outcomes and destinations for young people. This will require innovative and flexible arrangements to be developed including use of local primary school teachers and other experts within the local community. (Note: Experts within the local community were used in the Outer Hebrides to deliver the boatbuilding and crofting courses.) A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 19 Potential models: evidence from within and beyond D&G This section contains evidence of good practice that is captured in the case studies. The case studies demonstrate potential models that could prove effective in addressing some of the issues and challenges set out above. Many of the examples focus on the links between education and the local economy and community, including pathways into employment for young people, but also supporting local enterprise. Others deal with curriculum choices, including learning to help address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. And the final example focuses on life-long learning opportunities. Example 1: Rural skills (Breadalbane Academy and the Rural Skills Training Centre) An obvious starting point for reviewing potential models is delivering education on rural skills that are relevant to rural communities across D&G, including of course within the Glenkens. There is an existing Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) accredited National Progression Award in Rural Skills, described as “a starting place for candidates pursuing a future in one of the major land-based industries” (see https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/41752.html); it also includes a qualification at National 4 level. The case study of Breadalbane Academy in the Appendices demonstrates just how effective education for rural skills using these SQA qualifications can be. Initially developed with funding from Lantra, delivery of the course builds on significant assets and opportunities, like the many farms and estates within a 10-mile radius of the school. The subject provides opportunities to gain qualifications, specific tickets (e.g. in operating quad bikes and maintaining chainsaws) and significant practical work experience. There are many different pathways, so it is great for diverse pupils. The course delivered at Breadalbane has received glowing SQA reports, not least because of how good many of the local partners are in delivering opportunities for practical experience and learning. The current course lead at Breadalbane reckons that 50% of pupils taking rural skills end up in local employment in land-based activities. Many of them might have done so anyway, as they come from families with similar employment. However, not only does the rural skills course provide opportunities to gain tickets, qualifications and experience, it also values, affirms and accredits skills that some pupils come with already through their family background. This is hugely important for place-based education, recognising and building on local skills, and valuing pupils for skills they may already have. As the course lead said, “I have learnt a huge amount myself about sheep, pigs and deer from pupils who could easily deliver a lesson based on knowledge and skills they are already masterful in”. An example from within Dumfries and Galloway of working effectively with local partners to deliver locally relevant skills is the forestry classroom at Dalbeattie High School funded by Jas P Wilson, a large forestry and firewood machinery suppliers and engineers based in the town. And here are reflections by Wallace Currie, a lecturer based at SRUC’s Barony campus in Dumfries and Galloway (Currie, 2024): As a former lecturer and Nuffield Scholar who’s traveled extensively to study global agricultural education, I’ve seen the transformative power of integrating rural topics into learning. … In the Netherlands, Switzerland, and New Zealand, for example, students engage directly with agriculture, gaining insights into food production and sustainability. These experiences equip young people with practical knowledge, foster a deep connection to the land, and prepare them for futures in rural industries or as informed consumers. … By integrating topics like farming, environmental stewardship, and sustainability into early education, we can inspire a passion for these fields long before young people consider their careers. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 20 Example 2: Subject offerings and accredited qualifications relevant to the local economy (Outer Hebrides, Dumfries and Galloway, and the Isle of Wight) The rural skills qualifications are just one example of subject offerings in local schools that include qualifications to meet recruitment needs of local businesses, in the present and the future, and to provide pathways for pupils to realise those opportunities, either by staying or returning. Such offerings are critical if educational provision is going to address depopulation, whether within the Glenkens, Dumfries and Galloway as a whole or elsewhere, and the range of potential subjects and qualifications is significant. In addition many local employers state that they have recruitment gaps, which is confirmed within the wider community.4 The Box takes information from Case Study 1 in the Appendices to reflect the strategy adopted by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (CnES), namely a formal Vocational Educational Strategy, to address similar needs across the Outer Hebrides. To address the dire population projections, a formal Vocational Educational Strategy was introduced and adopted in 2008. Local Labour Market Intelligence (LLMI) was key to informing decisions around which courses would be introduced into the curriculum, based on ‘where the jobs would be in the future’. If it was identified that a sector of the economy was struggling with recruitment gaps or predicted to expand, but an appropriate course didn’t exist, a writing group was established and the courses were commissioned, written, verified and accredited, with parity of esteem to sit alongside the qualification diet offered to pupils. It was important that courses were not just for the less able, but relevant to all pupils. Such courses included, at National 5 level, Harris Tweed, Crofting, Maritime Skills and, at Higher Level 6, Local Food Production, which could provide progression following a number of courses including the crofting course. The strategy meant every child had the entitlement to a nationally accredited industry recognised qualification linked to employability within the local economy informed by LLMI. The delivery of the courses, along with many Skills for Work courses, were delivered, at least in part, by an industry experienced tutor. This gave pupils learning in context and relevance which proved successful and popular with pupils. Other courses were already available through SQA but were not necessarily offered by the schools. In this case any accredited presenting centre could verify and deliver the course. For example, a collaboration between Stirling University and the Western Isles Health Board created a Pre-Nursing Scholarship to address recruitment gaps in the nursing sector. Further collaboration followed with the Education Department of CnES and Cothrom, a local training centre. All this enabled young people to gain relevant work-based experience in the local hospital, clinic and GP practices and gain qualifications, equivalent to at least two Highers, for entry into a nursing degree. Subsequently this was replaced by the Foundation Apprenticeship in Health and Social Care, with the addition of the Scottish Vocational Qualification (SVQ) 2 in social care, which is essential to access employment within the social care sector. This was a council wide programme of curriculum development, including local labour market intelligence, effective partnerships (including with employers in the public, private and Third sectors), course design, all 4 Compare the situation in Nordic countries: “There is already a severe lack of care workers, nurses, ICT workers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics in many rural areas of the Nordic countries” (Karlsdottir et al, 2019, p.21). A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 21 within an overall integrated strategy. Initially the delivery of specific courses was located in one secondary school (e.g. maritime studies in Barra and crofting in Uist), but as internet-based teaching was developed across the Outer Hebrides (including through e-Sgoil, CnES’ online teaching and learning platform), some of the courses became available to pupils in the other secondary schools also. Obviously a different set of qualifications will be relevant within the Glenkens and within Dumfries and Galloway. We have not engaged in any review of local labour market intelligence in D&G. However, drawing on the D&G Council Plan for 2023-28, as well as the record of the Education and Learning in the Glenkens event, some of the key sectors within the local economy that (a) provide opportunities for local young people to stay and (b) support the sustainability of local communities are: • • • • • • • agriculture, forestry and renewable energy; other land and environmental based activities (UNESCO biosphere, peat restoration, dark skies, etc. etc.); all public sector services, including health and social care; digital services; culture, heritage (including industrial heritage) and arts; hospitality and tourism; a wide range of micro- and community enterprises. The following figure, taken from the D&G Council Plan for 2023-28, reflects the largest employment sectors currently across Dumfries and Galloway as a whole. It is equally important to consider, like in the Outer Hebrides, which jobs are likely to be needed in the future. A very good example comes from the presentation by Vattenfall Wind Power at the event on Education and Learning in the Glenkens in July (See Case Study 8 in the Appendices). Senior Project Manager Matthew Bacon is currently overseeing the site design and planning permission process for the Quantans Hill wind farm near Carsphairn, and said, Onshore wind is a growth area, and the number of qualified employees needs to vastly increase to meet the demands of the 2030 deadline. Most of Vattenfall’s renewables developments will be in the Highlands and Dumfries & Galloway, and there are a huge range of roles in the sector, ranging A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 22 from construction, forestry, turbine construction and maintenance to environmental work and project managers. … the Climate Exchange May 2024 report … showed that operational positions needed on wind farms are predicted to rise by 250% by 2030 in Dumfries and Galloway, from 112 to 395 positions. These are long-term, well-paid roles. Vattenfall’s apprenticeship programme will create 50 new apprenticeships by 2030, working with Developing the Young Workforce. The company is looking to recruit across a wide range of ages to both graduate and early stage apprenticeships. Vattenfall asked consultants to come up with a draft strategy for the community benefit fund from Quantans Hill wind farm if consented, and through this have identified objectives relating to jobs and young people, including access to local economic opportunities. This could lead to training 250-350 young people and providing up to 50 qualified apprentices, although these numbers are currently indicative and the strategy is still a draft. However, this potentially offers huge opportunities for South West Scotland in terms of renewables posts. The benefits of this scheme can potentially be maximised if other wind farm developers work with Vattenfall on supply chains and with schools and colleges to develop a joined-up scheme. While there was need in the Outer Hebrides to develop new qualifications, which may also be appropriate for the Glenkens and for Dumfries and Galloway as a whole, many suitable courses already exist in the SQA menu of courses, and can be utilised quickly. Examples include: • • • • Foundation Apprenticeships in Health and Social Care, to which can be added SVQ 2 in Social Care as that is a requirement to work in the sector ( https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/76825.html); Construction Skills (https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/94698.html); Engineering (https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/31441.html), into which some renewable energy has been embedded; Hospitality (https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/31584.html), which of course includes front of house skills etc. For such courses, a key element is ensuring relevant local work-based placements for pupils, e.g. in local hotels and restaurants for hospitality. There are in fact many obvious local partners to develop further tailored pathways into employment for pupils. The next sections provide evidence from Propagate and the experience of the Galloway Glens Initiative. Here is an offer from another dynamic company within the renewable energy sector, Natural Power Consultants (NPC) (see Case Study 7 in the Appendices): NPC is willing to work with local young people to help them to move into the Renewables sector, either through relevant courses at local further and higher education institutions, or through the introduction of a skills pathway. A skills pathway could help young people from the area to study for qualifications which were more directly relevant to the skills needed by local employers. NPC has already been in touch with Castle Douglas/Dalry Secondary Schools and Kirkcudbright Academy. To illustrate that developing a locally relevant curriculum is already happening in a variety of different places, not just in the Outer Hebrides, Education Scotland highlighted the work of the Cowes Enterprise College in the Isle of Wight around its maritime curriculum. The Glenkens is a part of Dumfries and Galloway which is not coastal, but the box on Cowes further illustrates what can be achieved through curriculum innovation within a school environment. And the college has produced a how to guide on designing a careers driven and local context curriculum (see here). A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 23 Cowes Enterprise College, a secondary school academy in the Isle of Wight, has sought to create a broad and sustainable curriculum that is anchored in their local maritime context, which they call Maritime Futures. It includes teaching curriculum subjects through immersion in maritime topics, for example design and build of model boats in design technology using concepts taught in science; looking at migration by sea and a case study of the Mary Rose in history; and, in geography, studying containerisation, coastal defences and tourism in the local context. Local employers and maritime experts routinely deliver lessons, and pupils become engaged in the interactive and practical learning. Maritime Futures has inceased attainment and motivation among pupils, and instilled a sense of place, changing “their perspective of where they are living from backwater to centre stage”. The Academy is currently working on designing a specific accredited maritime course for those pupils who find the above maritime projects interesting. Maritime Futures also seeks to create positive associations with local economic opportunities, with students having encounters with local employers and job opportunities. And these do not only include standard maritime careers. In history, for example, the pupils have learnt alongside professional curators and conservators, and heard from a professional shipwreck diver. The College has created a series of resources to inform and inspire others, including an introduction on their website (see here), a case study of Maritime Futues and its impacts (see here) and the how to guide on designing a careers driven and local context curriculum (see here) In concluding this section, it is critical to point to the evidence from the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Wight and elsewhere that a focus on practical and vocational qualifications relevant to the local economy is not a recommendation for the traditional two-tier educational system, with some pursuing more academic subjects and others more vocational qualifications. Any vocational provision must be nationally recognised and accredited with parity of esteem so that it does not become seen as the place for the less able. Indeed, many of these qualifications can lead on to excellent employment opportunities in sectors that are important for the future. In terms of parity of esteem, the crofting course in the Outer Hebrides, for example, is perceived as being on a par with biology applied in a locally relevant context. With such parity of esteem, these qualifications are equally relevant to all pupils, even if the focus is skewed toward local employability. If the accreditation levels stand equally alongside a more traditional offer, it means that for young people who are likely to go on to Higher Education, the offer is still relevant for them and contributes to them recognising that the area they grew up is a place to return to. Some pupils on the crofting course have gone on to gain their PhD and returned to the islands, have become Vice Chair of the local agricultural committee and office bearer of the livestock committee, all rooted in their community, and contributing to the local community. Example 3: Offering wider curriculum choices in small schools (Shetland and eSgoil) One of the challenges that small schools may confront is offering a wide subject offering for pupils. It is clear that in the Glenkens some parents have chosen to send their children to other schools because they provide wider subject choices. We specifically discussed this with two very different small secondary schools who have successfully developed personalised choices for their pupils. The evidence demonstrates that a flexible and can- A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 24 do approach by the school management can in fact deliver significant personalisation of pupil choices across a wide range of subjects, especially when sharing teachers with other neighbouring schools, supplemented with on-line provision also. So an exclusive focus on “efficiency”, that would argue that it is inefficient financially to offer subjects for very small pupil numbers, may be partly misplaced, based in particular on comparisons with urban schools with larger classes. A small rural secondary school can offer a wide choice of subjects, but each year it will deliver only those subjects that pupils actually choose – fulfilling pupil personalisation and choice. This delivers an effective and desirable personalised educational offering for individual pupils without the need to allocate resources to those subjects not chosen by the specific cohort of pupils. Baltasound Junior High School in Shetland (see Case Study 3 in the Appendices) offers English and Maths, three sciences, two social sciences, music and art, home economics and technical subjects (including IT). Modern languages are also possible through e-learning. The school shares some teachers with secondary schools on other islands, and each year the Head Teacher at Baltasound spends significant time and energy timetabling classes based on pupil choices that year. This is done in a public space, so that pupils see the HT doing it, and even make suggestions. Key features of this approach are flexibility and the determination to make things work. When numbers are small, the school may combine classes (e.g. teaching chemistry to S3 and S4 pupils in the same class). One year the school added a computer game development course in computer science, based on the aspirations of the specific cohort of pupils that year. If there are gaps in teaching provision, then the school will find a way round. Currently they don’t have a teacher trained in Home Economics, but a teacher is delivering the subject supported by other Home Economics teachers elsewhere to ensure alignment with SQA accreditation. When the school was without a technical teacher, they used e-Sgoil (the only time they have done this). And if a pupil is very keen to do a different subject than those on offer, the school will seek to be really flexible to make it work. This has happened for example in the case of a pupil who wanted to study Modern Studies. On another occasion a subject choice for one pupil could simply not be timetabled, but they had the ability to pursue this choice through self-study, and the school allocated support from a qualified teacher in that subject. The Head Teacher commented, I have a relative who works in a big secondary school in England, even with some large subjects running identical classes in different rooms at the same time. There is no tailoring, no flexibility, no ability to go off on an interesting tangent. They don’t even know all the names of their pupils. Many of our former pupils are still in touch with the school. Very few pupils don’t do well here, and then excel when they move to Lerwick in S5. Most continue the trajectory from their junior secondary. All the pupils are given a lot of responsibility at a young age. They take personal responsibility and become effective contributors. Obviously such flexibility requires a flexible allocation of human resources, which may be challenging for a small school by itself and for D&G Council as their employer. However, in the case of Dalry Secondary, for example, the school is currently linked with Castle Douglas Secondary, which is very important to deliver a full choice of subjects. In addition, web-based learning can further widen what subjects are offered and delivered. One of the original purposes of e-Sgoil in the Outer Hebrides was to ensure that (a) all pupils across the islands would be given the same subject offering, not just those in the largest school in Stornoway, and that (b) all pupils would have access to more specialised subjects that might be taught in person in any one A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 25 of the four secondary schools (see Case Study 1 in the Appendices). Obviously it took significant resources to develop e-Sgoil, which now earns some of its income from providing services beyond the Outer Hebrides. However, offering wider choices through e-Sgoil to pupils across the four secondary schools within the Outer Hebrides is not resource intensive once the technology platform is in place. A key success factor is simply coordinating timetabling across the four schools to allow pupils in different schools to share the same class times. As Anne Paterson said at the July event on Education and Learning in the Glenkens, “Distance learning and technology is available but has not yet been capitalised on. It could work by digitally pooling classes so that young people can take subjects with their peers in other schools whilst physically present in their local school.” This only requires the support of a non-specialised teacher for pupils in those schools joining on-line. Example 4: Rethinking local food (Propagate) Like renewable energy, regenerative food production, as well as sustainable management of soil, are also critical for the climate and biodiversity. And skills around food production are vital for a sustainable future: local food production that contributes to sustainability, food security, health and nutrition, and reduces food miles. These topics align with the predominantly rural region of Dumfries and Galloway. In terms of delivering opportunities in these subjects for pupils, local partnerships are once again key. There is already an active local social enterprise, Propogate, committed to “rethinking local food”. The Galloway Food Hub, set up by Propagate, is already stimulating demand and awareness of local food (see Case Study 9 in the Appendices). Through Propagate there are existing opportunities that could provide pathways for young people into work that can directly address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. These opportunities could also use land around schools, for example around Dalry School, while Propagate’s own small market garden can host workshops and training days. Some of the learning and other programmes available through Propagate that could be co-delivered in partnership with local schools are: • • • Cultivate - 'grow your own' programme with 8 sessions on learning about organic veg production. Veg Power - developed to link veg growing with healthier cooking. Profiles a 'veg of the week' each week over 10 weeks, and looks at food systems and food justice. The course signposts to Food Hygiene training, and so leads towards a number of progression pathways around growing, preparing, food hygiene and hospitality. Permaculture design courses and Growing Food in Small Spaces which are linked with the UK 'Children in Permaculture' project. In terms of accreditation for engaging in such learning opportunities, again there is the menu of rural skill qualifications at SQA which could easily be aligned to the skill set and delivery partners in agriculture, horticulture and permaculture in the local area. The previous example of rural skills at Breadalbane Academy is instructive, where the course lead ensures that whatever learning and work the pupils deliver is aligned with the SQA qualification, to ensure that the pupils not only learn and share valuable skills but gain recognition for their skills through an accredited qualification. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 26 Example 5: The Interns Project under the Galloway Glens Initiative The first examples of relevant models have focused on learning opportunities within schools. The Galloway Glens Initiative’s interns project (‘Galloway Rural Skills’, see Case Study 6 in the Appendices), provided opportunities for young people beyond school, providing pathways into work through a programme of internship/work experience positions: 15 roles were supported over 4 years. Key to the success of the programme were the partnerships with the local employers who hosted the interns. These included a couple of large employers, Drax and Natural Power Consultants, but also smaller employers: Galloway Fisheries Trust, GCAT/Catstrand, Crichton Carbon Centre (an environmental charity), Carsphairn Community Woodland, Czernin-Kinsky Scottish Company Ltd (a family-run forestry company), Mr Pooks restaurant as well as the Better Lives Partnership. These internships were full-time and paid for 6 months with 50% funding intervention. Two of the roles supported were subsequently extended for a further six months. The Galloway Rural Skills project had a number of aims, some directly linked to addressing depopulation: • • • • • to provide work and training opportunities; to give young people a chance to see what it was like to work in Dumfries and Galloway; to illustrate the range of heritage-related and other careers available in the region; to address the current departure rate of young people; to introduce a new range of employers to the benefits of internships/work experience programmes. Beyond the selected candidates, the approach and overall programme sought to take every opportunity to highlight the merits to young people of working and living in Galloway. Later roles were advertised on the indeed.com website. This advertised the role but also advertised the concept of working in Galloway, raising the profile of the range of careers available. It was hoped that even people who didn’t apply would start to think about Galloway as an attractive place to work The Galloway Glens Team were keen that the interns weren’t simply taken on for basic duties, essentially just at a subsidised rate. Hosts were therefore asked to make the internships as rewarding as possible, with maximum benefit for intern future employment. A strong and active approach to recruitment was vital to the success of the intern programme. At least 9 out of the 15 interns have continued working in the sector of their internship: • • • • 3 secured a permanent role with the host, and 2 more a subsequent role with the host. 2 secured a permanent or subsequent role in the sector, but not in D&G. 1 entered further education in the sector of the internship. 1 was able to continue independent self-employed work. Example 6: Enterprising Young People in the Outer Hebrides The D&G Council Plan for 2023-28 confirms that 98.8% of all businesses in D&G are micro (below 10 employees) or small (below 50). The case study from the Western Isles in the Appendices also points to the critical importance of micro-enterprise within a local rural or island economy. In so-called ‘remote’ rural areas the vast majority of enterprises are in fact micro-enterprises (although the Glenkens does have a noticeable number of small or larger enterprises based in the area). A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 27 Engaging with work opportunities through micro-enterprise can be more challenging, with many micro-entrepreneurs struggling to provide apprenticeships, even though these are critically important for sustaining, for example, local trades and local farming. The Galloway Glens initiative, which adopted a very flexible and can-do approach, is a good example of what a focused but flexible partnership with smaller local enterprises can deliver. The D&G Council Plan also states that the region experienced 420 new start-up businesses in 2022. Fostering and sustaining micro-enterprise, including the most micro with no or only a few employees, as well as community and social enterprise, is a key strategy for the sustainability of rural communities, and needs to be reflected in rural education provision. A broad base of private, public, third sector and community enterprises is more resilient than being dependent on just one or two larger employers, who may bring inward investment and offer multiple jobs in one sweep, but such external investment can be fickle. In a global market, cheaper labour elsewhere will pull the plug in a relatively short time after start-up funds have been swallowed up. One strategy that can contribute to a broad base of enterprise within the local area is effective enterprise education and support that could enable some young people to set up their own business. There have long been a range of enterprise programmes which have enabled school pupils to trial setting up an enterprise, including in the Outer Hebrides. However, the Education Department in partnership with the local social enterprise, Cothrom, delivering adult education, co-designed and delivered the Enterprising Young Peoples programme that linked exploring enterprise opportunities with local economic literacy (see Case Study 1 in the Appendices). Over a few years, day-long workshops were delivered to every senior phase pupil across the Outer Hebrides, in which every pupil set out and presented an enterprising idea, whether private businesses, social enterprises or community projects. Because the workshops enabled pupils to understand the local economy and identify local enterprising opportunities, all the ideas they came up with were very strongly rooted within the local context. While the programme provided some follow-up through coaching for those young people who wanted to take their ideas forward into practice, this element was never adequately resourced. At the same time, the impact of the programme was not so much short-term, found in how many pupils implemented their enterprising ideas (very few, not least because all were still at school), but more likely to be long-term. When each participating pupil presented their idea at the end of the day, and got positive feedback from community representatives, the overwhelming impact was the sense of just how many good enterprising opportunities there were within the local economy. It is very difficult to determine the contribution of the many different initiatives over more than two decades that have led Uist and Barra in the Outer Hebrides to experience the largest number within any Scottish islands of young people returning in their 20s and 30s. However, the Enterprising Young People’s programme, which was delivered to more cohorts in Uist and Barra than elsewhere, has contributed, by demonstrating to young people that there are so many opportunities they could return to in the future, should they wish to. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 28 Example 7: Life-long learning within the community (Uist and Denmark) Example 2 above sets out evidence on the progress made in the Outer Hebrides to develop qualifications and pathways relevant to the local economy. It is equally important to recognise other contributing factors that have delivered life-long learning opportunities in particular (see Case Study 1 in the Appendices). Like many other rural areas in Scotland, Uist (the seven inhabited islands from Berneray to Eriskay in the Outer Hebrides) has benefited from learning opportunities provided through a local college, Lews Castle College (LCC), now part of the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). LCC’s learning centre in Benbecula next door to the secondary school provided opportunities for young people and adults to engage in further and higher education, and at times extended the curriculum offer for senior phase pupils by taking courses at the centre, courses that were not taught in the school. What is more distinctive to Uist is the extent of life-long learning opportunities developed by the community sector over the last 30 years. Cothrom, a charitable adult learning centre was initially set up in 1992 to help women back into work, a mission that ensured a long-term commitment to childcare, including eventually the creation of Cothrom’s own Gaelic-speaking nursery. Another fullday all year round nursery was established by a community organisation in North Uist as well; this has now been absorbed into the new primary school built for North Uist. Over the years Cothrom has developed a wide range of life-long learning opportunities for adults, with a strong focus on learning and support services for young people and adults facing challenges in their lives. Accredited qualifications included SQA qualifications in horticulture, delivered in partnership with another community organisation, Tagsa Uibhist. The collaboration has contributed to a significant expansion of local horticulture. Tagsa developed the largest community growing project in Uist, which was managed for a time by three graduates from the first cohort of the horticulture course. 5 And it was the partnership between the local council’s Education Department and Cothrom that delivered the Enterprising Young People’s programme (see Example 6 above). Taigh Chearsabhagh, the arts and heritage centre set up in 1994, has long collaborated closely with LCC (now UHI) to deliver art courses at further and higher education level, recently being able to teach a full BA. The primary inspiration for art at Taigh Chearsabhagh has always been the distinct island environment. And the local community riding school offered accredited qualifications in equestrian studies. Most recently, the Gaelic music and culture organisation within the community, Ceòlas, first set up in 1996 to run an annual summer school, entered into partnership with UHI. They jointly built a £7 million cultural centre, Cnoc Soilleir. This was opened in 2022 and now delivers community-based courses and events in Gaelic language, music and culture, as well courses accredited by UHI, including resident academic staff in music and in archaeology. Gaelic music, dance and culture have in fact long been part of community-based learning, including for young people through the two annual feisean (one in South Uist, one in North Uist, both targeted at children, with many of the tutors being young people themselves), as well as a range of local dance schools. 5 For more detail on the emergence of a multi-pronged and integrated strategy, led by Tagsa Uibhist, to start rebuilding a local food economy in Uist, see the CoDeL case study at http://codel.scot/community-actions-inuist-and-glenkens, which also includes three case studies from the Glenkens. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 29 The evidence highlights two important characteristics of these educational opportunities delivered through the community sector. First is their organic growth over many years, with community organisations responding to needs as well as opportunities as they arose within local communities. Second is the extent of partnerships, among different community organisations, between these organisations and the local college delivering further and higher education, and also with the local council. The Enterprising Young People’s programme was delivered through an innovative partnership agreement between local council and community organisation as equal partners equally responsible for all outcomes, rather than a typical Service Level Agreement or equivalent, in which the commissioning authority holds much of the power. There are of course many different models to deliver life-long learning in rural communities. An example of a very different model is the folk high school in Denmark (see Case Study 5), a non-formal residential school offering learning opportunities in almost any subject. Most students are between 18 and 24 years old and the length of a typical stay is four months. It is a boarding school, so students sleep, eat, study, and spend their spare time at the school. There are no academic requirements for admittance, and there are no exams - but students do get a diploma as proof of their attendance. One of the core ideas of the folk high schools is equality and mutual learning between teachers and students. Everybody has the same duties and the same rights. Classes are characterised by the free word, dialogue and an open curriculum which can be changed during the course. The main focus is to discover and strengthen the unique skills of each student in a challenging yet supportive social atmosphere. “The task of the schools is to create a climate where culture is a reality.” There are approximately 70 independent folk high schools located all over Denmark, offering learning opportunities in more than 300 different subjects. Every year in Denmark, an average of 40,000 people attend a folk high school for courses of varying lengths. Conclusions: looking forward Key principles emerging from this review Some key themes have emerged from both the secondary research and the case studies, which this section draws out as a series of principles that are important for the delivery of rural education. (To make the principles support a broader framework for policy and action, additional principles have been included, around creativity, inclusiveness and digital skills which were discussed in meetings with the Steering Group for this research, but which were not a focus of the primary and secondary research gathered for this report.) Educational provision needs to … • 6 be rooted and connected in the place, drawing on local assets, connections, networks and partnerships, and incorporating local experience and knowledge, including experience and skills in adapting rapidly to changing circumstances. The last is essential for the resilience of rural communities and in preparing young people for jobs in the future that have not yet been conceived.6 Educational provision needs to demonstrate in practice, from nursery through Tapping into the resilience that rural communities so often display will strengthen young people’s own resilience within a fast changing world, whether they stay or move away. The focus on what works well locally is therefore good for young people wherever they may evetually end up. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 30 further and higher education to life-long learning, that it values local assets and strengths, experience and knowledge. • A better education that is rooted locally also strengthens young people’s ability to choose where to go. So education provision needs to value and support local communities and their sustainability, e.g. giving young people education and learning that delivers genuine choices and opportunities, equipping them to go anywhere, whether they stay, leave or a combination of both, rather than only “learning to leave”. • deliver to the needs of the local economy; and provide opportunities for young people and those engaged in life-long learning to meet those needs through learning that links to the local labour market and local community action.7 This principle relates not just to the local economy as is, but also enabling young people to identify enterprising opportunities that (a) enable them to forge their own paths and (b) address needs that are currently not being met within the local area, or society more widely. • support creativity, which is critical for young people and adults to respond to and demonstrate resilience in the face of the rapid changes like climate change that all of us are facing, and will continue to do so in future. 8 • be inclusive, meeting the needs of all. This includes provision of education and learning for those with diverse and special needs, and can build on the strengths of small schools where diverse pupils may often be taken at ‘face value’ without stigmatisation or labelling. • give young people the opportunity to apply and develop their digital skills so that they can thrive in an increasingly digital world, but also practice skills for adaptability in the face of rapid change and uncertainty, e.g. about the impacts of AI on future work. Intergenerational work, with young people helping adults in their community to acquire better digital skills can bring mutual benefit, including valuing the digital skills that many young people already have. • urgently needs to adapt learning and practice to the demands made by the twin climate and biodiversity emergencies, equipping young people and adults with the necessary knowledge, experience and skills to live more sustainably. These are diverse, for example ranging from technical skills for renewable energy through growing local food to social capital for community resilience. 7 Relevant strategies can include, as some examples, using local assets as educational resources (see Examples 1 and 4 above), delivering accredited qualifications that relate directly to local labour markets but are recognised nationally (see Example 2 above), and providing relevant life-long learning opportunities (see Example 7). 8 The following are comments from Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for the Directorate of Education and Skills and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at OECD in an Education Scotland podcast (7 March 2024): “We found that, across the board, everywhere where we looked at this, 15-year-olds were less creative than 10-year-olds.” “Our education systems destroy some of the capabilities that are innate to us as humans … this kind of compliance-based, conformity driven culture in education drives out some of the creativity that in early childhood develops very naturally.” “There’s a more global trend towards more project-based learning where students set their own goals and have to become good at monitoring their own learning progress. What we all know that in the world of today it’s not what you do in school – it’s your motivations, your capacity to continue learning throughout life on your own, to organise yourself, to have that inner resilience that’s increasingly important.” A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 31 An emerging vision for educational provision in the Glenkens In this report we have set out relevant secondary research, concrete examples of positive action elsewhere that deliver effective education within rural communities, and some broad principles that can frame educational provision in rural areas. An important strand of the research was also to hear the views and voices of local people within the Glenkens itself, who have the direct experience of education in the area. Such engagement was facilitated through two community sessions (involving parents, current and former pupils and teachers), as well as conducting interviews with some community representatives, all in September 2024. These sessions facilitated local voices and information sharing that have been included in sections of this report. What was also apparent was the commitment and passion for education that was shared among the participants from the Glenkens, and the depth of relevant knowledge and experience, insight and aspiration within local communities. The sessions focused on direct experiences of local education, in the past and the present, and aspirations for the future. The latter led to the emergence of ideas for a vision for education provision in the Glenkens, and the following diagram seeks to capture some of the elements of the vision. The short sessions did not allow the creation of fully integrated visions within and across the two sessions, and to ensure that all participant voices are heard, we have included two Appendices (11 and 12), one of our notes while participants were contributing their ideas verbally, and the other of what each participant themselves recorded on paper. Clearly parents, pupils and other stakeholders wanted to see an educational hub or campus at the heart of communities in the Glenkens, for rural place-based learning from cradle to grave. The hub would not just be located in one building, but also have mobile elements that can take educational provision out into communities. The obvious core of such provision are the current primary and secondary school in Dalry. The vision seeks to demonstrate a positive and sustainable future for those schools as part of a wider educational offering that can sustain high-quality and innovative educational provision, relevant to the local area, at the heart of the Glenkens. An essential part of a vision relevant to the local area would be to develop a centre of excellence with a special focus on giving young people the opportunity to develop essential rural skills, especially skills for the land-based and renewable energy sectors, enabling young people who want to to stay, or those who leave, to return later. Some of the examples or models from elsewhere cited in the previous sections of this report would be highly relevant for developing such a centre of excellence. What is striking in fact is how much those positive examples or models from elsewhere align with the vision from within the local community in the Glenkens. Inclusive, accessible, safe making strong, viable & healthy community good place for families encouraging new generations to stay, or come, and thrive I know that anything is possible Opportunities for all I can be who I want to be For all ages and abilities Everyone encouraged to learn, but not necessarily academic I feel safe and supported, and confident in my chosen path Child / person specific Flexible, including flexi-schooling Individual pathways Challenging, and happy to learn Mentoring and self-directed learning people can leave, but not forced to Learning / Wellbeing Hub / Campus ... in centre of community Wide selection of subjects ... from cradle to grave, so that people do not have to leave Traditional and modern skills ... life-long & intergenerational learning “Small” that enables ... Nurturing, support, kindness Sense of belonging Practical skills and academic options Everyone getting on with each other, both peers and across ages Apprenticeships & local job opportunities Everyone valued Outdoor learning & non-traditional settings Rooted within community On-line learning with cutting-edge technology to expand choice; also mobile options to take learning into community Rural skills and trades brought back Practical skills for life Community contributing to skills teaching “Past skills for future communities” with local decision-making and control, devolution Children managing mental health Not hierarchical, different relationship btw teachers & pupils After-school clubs & activities outside teaching time drawing on what is already there; there is so much going on locally and nature on doorstep Eco-sustainable buildings Sports, arts, crafts, growing food People come in and children go out Renewable energy Entertainment & social opportunities, as well as learning Self-sufficiency Great food, locally sourced; some prepared by children Resources from windfarms Good transport Is the ambitious vision practical and achievable? A critical question is whether such a vision for an educational hub, a centre of excellence, is practical and achievable. The evidence from the views of multiple stakeholders captured in this review, and from the research and documentation reviewed, suggests it is practical. In fact it meets the needs and aspirations of (a) the communities within the Glenkens, (b) key private sector actors and (c) the Dumfries and Galloway council. For local communities critical elements include educational provision that is local, avoiding potentially very long bus journeys; that is able to meet the needs and aspirations of individual pupils effectively; that delivers opportunities for life-long learning; and that, not least, contributes to repopulation within the Glenkens by helping to make the area a great place to live and work, for young people and families to stay, return or settle. As the Glenkens Hub argues on education and learning (see here): The provision of high-quality education for our young people and learning opportunities for our whole community is a key under-pinning of thriving communities here in the Glenkens. We know that lack of provision leads to families leaving the area, which is completely at odds with our aims of achieving sustainable communities through averting de-population. Locally-based private businesses, many operating in land-based activities like renewable energy and forestry, want skilled individuals whom they can recruit locally, knowing that will lead to greater employee retention, rather than being forced to bring in (often expensive temporary) workers from outside. And recruitment gaps for local businesses are found across the board, including among local community organisations and social enterprises. Despite The Green House in Dalry being Natural Power Consultants’ head office, recruiting staff to the Glenkens with the right skills and experience is a challenge. Across the board, the renewables industry is growing rapidly because of the move towards Net Zero, and companies are struggling to recruit from an insufficient pool of potential candidates. (See Case Study 7 in the Appendices) And the Education and Learning Directorate within Dumfries and Galloway Council aspires to improve education and learning opportunities to help all our children, young people and citizens fulfil their potential. This starts with pre-school, then school, before progressing into further or higher education or transition into work. We will work with our partners to create and promote lifelong learning opportunities so everyone in the region can live a meaningful and fulfilling life, and contribute to their community.” (D&G Council Plan for 2023-28) The vision for educational provision in the Glenkens directly addresses these aspirations, and links very closely with the Rural Skills Training Centre being developed with funding from D&G Council and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). The SQA qualifications in rural skills are particularly relevant to the Glenkens, and the Rural Skills Centre could provide significant opportunities for collaboration between local schools and the wider community. Depopulation across Dumfries and Galloway, which is almost all rural, remains one of the biggest challenges confronting the Council. The emerging vision provides a positive response that could deliver an innovative and effective strategy to turn around depopulation in rural areas, delivered through partnership working across the community, private and public sectors. It would deliver pathways to work opportunities that enable young people, and their families, to stay, return or settle in the area. With very strong links to rural skills and land-based activities, the vision can also evolve to include a centre of excellence for learning within the community that directly addresses the challenges of the climate and biodiversity emergencies. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 34 With the distinct mix of a highly active community within the Glenkens, many local employers and enterprises, including local trusts, from large to small, and a local Council aspiring to find positive and sustainable solutions, there can be few better areas within D&G than the Glenkens to develop and demonstrate such an innovative educational strategy that directly addresses depopulation and climate challenges, that delivers the sustainability for local rural communities that is critical if rural areas across D&G are going to survive and thrive. The strategy could develop an innovative partnership, rooted in the Glenkens as a place, that demonstrates best practice in responding to the challenges of rural depopulation and the climate emergency, enabling it to attract attention and funding for its ambitions. It would also be recognised under the Scottish Government’s Rural Delivery Plan, and its Action Plan to address depopulation. The Plan “endorses the importance of local leadership and seeks to exemplify the maxim ‘local by default, national by agreement’. We know that a place-based approach to applying national, regional, and local policies will be essential to sustainably and effectively address depopulation.” Assets and strengths that can contribute to the realisation of the emerging vision The emerging vision is sufficiently coherent and accords with the needs and aspirations of all sectors that it could act as a sound starting point for collaboration. Critical for success would be to build on existing assets and strengths within the community and area. This research has identified many of these. Assets and strengths within the community sector ... The Glenkens is fortunate to have highly active communities, with a plethora of active community organisations (see here). These include organisations and trusts with significant experience in community ownership of assets and engaging constructively with local windfarms. They also include organisations focused on local heritage, local land and natural assets, including the Carsphairn Community Woodland that is developing the Rural Skills Training Centre. And of course many of these community organisations themselves require skilled employees. Activities across the area are coordinated under the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (see here), with its four key themes of a Connected Community, an Asset Rich Community, an Economically Flourishing Community and a Carbon Neutral Community. The Plan is being progressed through an organisational structure for effective delivery, governance and accountability shared across the Glenkens and District Trust, the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust and the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group. In addition to a highly active and organised community, families and communities within the Glenkens have long had a very strong commitment to education. This is evidenced in: • the very high educational attainment of Dalry Secondary School in the past; • the significant local experience in delivering alternative educational provision, for example at Kilquhanity School (since the 1940s) (see Case Study 5 in the Appendices); • the determination with which local communities have fought school closures, such as Carsphairn primary school and Dalry secondary; • the expertise in establishing groups like Bairn Banter (see Case Study 10 in the Appendices), including a deep commitment to developing outdoor educational provision for children; A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 35 • the high levels of flexible schooling currently exercised by parents in the Glenkens; • the active and dynamic parent councils in the area. This strong commitment was clearly reflected in the attendance at the sessions CoDeL facilitated in September, and in the ambitious vision that emerged. Assets and strengths within the private and enterprise sector … Many of the key sectors within the local economy are land-based, including agriculture, forestry and renewable energy, with a range of businesses, from micro to large. The hospitality and tourism sectors are also important. And the community sector is a critical part of the local economy too, not just delivering vital services, but also providing employment in community enterprises and charities. (For a list of many local businesses see here.) There are significant local employers with an interest in local education and learning. These include, for example, Natural Power Consultants Ltd and Vattenfall Wind Power, who presented at the event on Education and Learning in the Glenkens in July 2024, setting out their needs for skilled workers to recruit (see Case Studies 7 and 8 in the Appendices). Young people in the Glenkens struggle to see a future for themselves in the area because of limited job opportunities. Lack of higher education facilities in the area is also a challenge for employers like Natural Power Consultants who normally recruit at graduate level …. South West Engineering and Fabrications Ltd is a good example of a local small business employing 15 employees, including many local people. However, they face recruitment gaps as well, especially in critical skills like fabrication and welding, and a fifth of their workforce comes from abroad. There are no shortages of local businesses, whether private or community, micro or larger, that can contribute to enriching educational provision in the Glenkens by highlighting opportunities, sharing experience, contributing to elements of the curriculum, and offering opportunities for work experience and internships, apprenticeships and jobs (see Case Study 6 for some examples). Critical for the success of delivering on the emerging vision will be larger businesses, potentially including windfarms (such as Vattenfall), that might also contribute financial and other resources, not just work opportunities. Assets and strengths within the public sector … Dumfries and Galloway has a long history of delivering rural education, including through a multitude of small schools, as well as supporting diverse and dynamic schools, especially at secondary school level, that create their own particular ethos and distinct educational provision, and even compete with each other to attract pupils. Within some schools there is a strong tradition of partnership; we have already cited the example of the forestry classroom at Dalbeattie High School funded by a large local forestry machinery suppliers and engineers. The Education and Learning Directorate at D&G Council is also very supportive of parental choice, for example with many parents sending their children to schools outwith their catchment areas and exercising their rights to flexi-schooling. In addition, implementing the vision would also contribute to other themes at the core of the D&G Council Plan for 2023-28: the economy; health and wellbeing; and travel, connectivity and infrastructure, as well as the first principle of “securing our future” through “addressing the climate A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 36 emergency” and “protecting our natural capital”. With a skewed demographic across rural D&G, recruiting people to deliver health and social care will remain critical. The emerging vision for an educational hub within the Glenkens clearly fits very well within the Council’s overall framework of ambition and delivery for the area. The educational hub would also fit well into wider regional and national policy. This includes SOSE’s strategy to support the South of Scotland's communities, environment and economy. SOSE has already invested in the Carsphairn Community Wood, for example, which is now developing the Rural Skills Training Centre. Obviously, more work is required on the vision and a huge amount of detail would need to be worked through among all the relevant partners. This will require discussion and negotiation among partners over time, perhaps with some facilitation, or even appointing a Development Officer, to develop the vision and implementation strategy in greater detail. It is likely to be unrealistic, in the current financial climate, to attract large funding all at once to create the educational hub or campus envisaged in the vision. Instead it will have to develop on the basis of incremental and organic growth over many years. A note on housing Developing educational provision, and opportunities for local employment cannot be delivered effectively in isolation. Affordable housing must be a critical part of the mix. This is deeply relevant to the Glenkens. Recently two families with pupils at Dalry have had to move out of their existing homes and have been unable to find alternative homes in the catchment area. The community also knows that existing housing has been bought up by wind and power generation companies when they develop new infrastructure, removing such housing from the market. And there are individuals and families who are living in temporary accommodation and caravans for long periods. Even though this review has focused on rural education, it cannot ignore the challenge of available and affordable housing, especially when housing is lost to developers, incoming retirees and holiday homes. The lack of housing is deeply undermining potential school rolls and also, of course, the ability of young people and families to take up work opportunities in the local labour market. Much of the vision and the educational strategies that are reflected in this report cannot be realised unless the local housing crisis is also addressed. A strong action plan relating to housing needs to be taken up within the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan to complement the development of high-quality local educational provision. Reflections on options for education in the Glenkens Key decisions about secondary school provision in Dalry will be taking place in the next couple of years and these will deeply affect the viability of the community vision that is emerging. So some next steps for Dalry may be critical at this moment in time. The Glenkens Education Forum, under the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan Steering Group, and with the support of GCAT, will need to reflect on the emerging vision and decide how to take developing the vision and strategy forward. Critical to these community discussions will be bringing the various public and private sector organsiations on board, to see the opportunity for an education centre of excellence that includes a specialist focus on land-based and renewable energy skills. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 37 While decisions about the continuation of Dalry Secondary School or not will have very little immediate impacts on D&G’s overall education budget (the total cost of the school represents only just over 1% of the total educational budget), they will have very serious consequences for educational provision in local communities throughout the Glenkens. The closure of Dalry Secondary is likely to undermine the positive vision and opportunity that has emerged during this research. A few participants at the community sessions proposed the idea of establishing an independent school in Dalry in partnership with the private sector alone. We believe it is unrealistic for local communities within the Glenkens to deliver on this. Communities in the Glenkens are already highly active in many different activities across the area; and, to be successful, huge energy and resources would have to be invested in developing an independent school, detracting from those other initiatives. We have also spoken to an independent school with a specialist eductional focus. Even with Government finance for places, the school still has to raise very significant additional funding every year to be able to deliver their educational offering; an independent school in Dalry would face similar challenges on an annual basis. Finally, the vision for an educational hub in the Glenkens in fact goes beyond what a small independent school could offer. The decision has been taken not to mothball the school this year, and a new Head Teacher for Castle Douglas and Dalry is working energetically to ensure good educational provision at Dalry Secondary School. For example, he is working hard on curriculum offering, additional opportunities such as Duke of Edinburgh awards, and establishing local partnerships. Also helpful in the short term would be to introduce one or two new courses aligned with local employability oppoprtunities, and the HT is already looking at such opportunities. This could illustrate the direction of travel and test demand from within the Glenkens community. Overall this report provides evidence and examples that can assist all involved to determine a positive path forward for local education to benefit the Glenkens communities in the longer term. To fully utilise the evidence and examples, people need to have time to digest and consider them and to discuss in detail what can realistically be achieved and delivered. In view of the long-term implications of closing a school, we would encourage all involved to take the time to look at options and to debate and discuss them in an open and respectful way before taking such a major step. This process will take time, but premature decisions to close the school without a full assessment of the implications, opportunites and possible mitigation measures will severely hamper the longer term sustainability of all the communities in the Glenkens. Concluding remarks Looking at the national and local policy context, at the focus on mitigating the risks of rural depopulation and at the passion for education and community development within the Glenkens, there is an opportunity, by working together across the public, private and community sectors, to develop rural education provision in the area that is innovative and transformational. Such place-based education could directly address rural depopulation and climate challenges, and meet the needs of the local economy and of local communities in the present, and for the future. It could build on local assets and strengths, experience and knowledge, to create resilient rural communities, individuals and enteprises, able to adapt rapidly to the many changing circumstances that rural Scotland will increasingly face in the future. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 38 It could “help deliver a just transition to net-zero” in the Glenkens, “by ensuring the learning system equips people with the skills and knowledge both they and the Sector require” (Commission for the land-based learning review, Scottish Government, 2023:1). In this way it could serve as a valuable model for other communities across Dumfries and Galloway and further afield in Scotland. With the distinct mix of a highly active local community, many local employers and enterprises, including in the land-based and renewables sectors, and a local Council aspiring to find positive and sustainable solutions, we believe there can be few better rural areas than the Glenkens to develop and demonstrate such an educational strategy. The strategy needs to be developed through an innovative partnership, rooted in the Glenkens as a place, that demonstrates best practice in responding to the challenges of rural depopulation, the climate emergency and thriving local economies and communities, enabling it to attract attention and funding for its ambitions. As the Executive Manager of the Glenkens Community and Arts Trust put it at the event on education and learning in the Glenkens in July 2024, We are looking for a creative solution based on a vision of thriving rural communities where current and future economic development is underpinned by innovative educational provision, working in strategic partnership with businesses, communities and the Council and where all parties are valued for their expertise. Acknowledgements We would like to thank the Glenkens and District Trust, who commissioned this review, and for the diverse inputs and support from the members of the Steering Group, Fiona Smith, Richard Middleton, Sarah Ade and Stephen Connelly, as well as Emma Hutchison at Foundation Scotland. We thank all those who gave of their time to share with us about rural education, including Abi Mordin (Propagate), Alison Macleod (Carsphairn Community Woodland), Anna Karlsdóttir (University of Iceland), Dougie Woodrow (Breadalbane Academy), Gillian Brydson (Dumfries and Galloway Council), Helen Keron (GCAT), Iain Stewart (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), Joan MacKay, Nicola Crawford and Stephen Bullock (Education Scotland), Kenneth Taylor (St. Mary’s Music School, Edinburgh), Lesley Atkins (Galloway Food Hub), McNabb Laurie (Dumfries & Galloway Woodlands), Melissa Ade (Bairn Banter, Carsphairn), Paul Thomson (Baltasound Junior High School, Shetland), Rosie Alexander (Scottish Islands Research Network) and Tomás Mac Pháidín (Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, Ireland). In particular we want to thank all the participants at the two community sessions in Balmaclellan in September: current and former pupils, parents and teachers, and the new Head Teacher for Dalry, Stephen Foster. These sessions were deeply informative and inspiring. A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 39 References Berry, Wendell (1997), The unsettling of America: Culture & agriculture, Sierra Club Books CoDeL (2024), Casetudies on “Community Action in Uist and the Glenkens”, including on Bairn Banter, the Galloway Food Hub and the Glenkens, http://codel.scot/community-actions-in-uist-and-glenkens Corbett, Michael (2020), Learning to leave: The irony of schooling in a coastal community, West Virginia University Press Corbett, Michael (2021), “Re-Placing Rural Education: AERA Special Interest Group on Rural Education Career Achievement Award Lecture”, Journal of Research in Rural Education 37(3): 1-14 Corbett, M., and Forsey, M (2017), “Rural youth out-migration and education: challenges to aspirations discourse in mobile modernity”, Discourse studies in cultural politics of education 38(3): 429-444 Cowes Enterprise College (2022), “Case Study: Cowes Enterprise College Maritime Futures careers curriculum”, https://cowesec.org/curriculum/maritime-futures Cowes Enterprise College (2022), “How to Guide: How to design a careers driven and local context curriculum”, https://issuu.com/cowesec/docs/how_to_guide?fr=sYjY4NDMzMzc5Mjk Cuervo, H., Corbett, M., and White, S. (2019), “Disrupting rural futures and teachers’ work: Problematising aspirations and belonging in young people’s lives”, in S. Pinto, B. Walker-Gibbs, S. Hannigan, and E. Charlton (eds.), Unsettling space and place (pp. 87–100), Springer Currie, Wallace (2024), “Barony Lecturer Raises Awareness of Why We Need Rural Education in Our Schools”, Dumfries and Galloway! What’s Going On? (Nov 11, 2024), https://www.dgwgo.com/ruralfarming-news/barony-lecturer-raises-awareness-of-why-we-need-rural-education-in-our-schools/ Dumfries and Galloway Council Plan for 2023-28, https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/24295/ e-Sgoil (2024), Evidence of Impact Report 2024, https://e-sgoil.com/media/kljl4rf2/impact-report-2024.pdf Fargas-Malet, M and Bagley, C (2022), “Is small beautiful? A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe”, European Educational Research Journal 21(5): 822–844 Foster, K, Bollman, R and Main, H (2021), “How important is a school? Examining the impact of remoteness from a school on Canadian communities’ attraction and retention of school-age children”, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies 12(2): 12–34 Galloway Glens Landscape Partnership, Dumfries and Galloway Council and National Lottery Heritage Fund Scotland (2023), Galloway Glens Intern Programme: Overview + Findings Glenkens and District Community Action groups/community-action-plan-steering-group Plan (2020), https://glenkens.scot/community- Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group and Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (2024), “Education and Learning in the Glenkens” (11th July 2024), https://glenkens.scot/reportsresources-archive/education-and-learning-in-the-glenkens-event Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (2023), “A Vision for Land Use”, https://glenkens.scot/reportsresources-archive/a-vision-for-land-use-in-the-glenkens Government of Ireland, Department of Education (2022), The 2nd National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development – ESD to 2030, https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/8c8bb-esd-to-2030-secondnational-strategy-on-education-for-sustainable-development/ A review of rural education in the Glenkens, Page 40 Gulløv, J and Gulløv, E (2020), “Mobility and belonging – A case from provincial Denmark”, Journal of Pedagogy 11 (1): 107–126 IPBES, The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (2022), The assessment report on the diverse values and valuation of nature: Summary for policymakers, https://www.ipbes.net/the-values-assessment Karlsdottir, A, Cuadrado, A, Gaini, F, Jungsberg, L and Ormstrup Vestergård, L (2019), Enabling vulnerable youth in rural areas: not in education, employment or training, Nordregio Report 2019:8 Lehtonen, O (2021), “Primary school closures and population development – is school vitality an investment in the attractiveness of the (rural) communities or not?” Journal of Rural Studies 82: 138–147 Nordregio (2023), “The Nordic Rural Youth Panel’s Recommendations”, https://pub.nordregio.org/r-202313-from-fields-to-futures-40-action-points-for-rural-revitalisation/the-nordic-rural-youth-panelsrecommendations.html Roberts, P and Guenther, J (2021), “Framing Rural and Remote: Key Issues, Debates, Definitions, and Positions in Constructing Rural and Remote Disadvantage”, Chapter 2 (pp.13-27) in Roberts, P and Fuqua, M (eds), Ruraling Education Research: Connections Between Rurality and the Disciplines of Educational Research, Springer Scottish Government and COSLA (2013), Commission on the Delivery of Rural Education, https://www.gov.scot/publications/commission-delivery-rural-education-report/documents/ Scottish Government (2023:1), Commission for the land-based learning review: report to Scottish Ministers, https://www.gov.scot/publications/commission-land-based-learning-review-report-scottishministers/documents/ Scottish Government (2023:2), “Target 2030”: A movement for people, planet and prosperity: Scotland’s Learning for Sustainability Action Plan 2023-2030, https://www.gov.scot/publications/target-2030movement-people-planet-prosperity/documents/ Scottish Government (2024), Action Plan to Address Depopultion, https://www.gov.scot/publications/supporting-enabling-sustainable-communities-action-plan-addressdepopulation/ Sørensen, J, Svendsen, G, Jensen, P and Schmidt, T (2021), “Do rural school closures lead to local population decline?”, Journal of Rural Studies 87: 226–235  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource A review of rural education in the Glenkens Description An account of the resource This report reviews the links between education and the sustainability of rural communities, and focuses on opportunities and challenges for educational provision in the Glenkens, a dynamic and engaged rural community. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_25 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Glenkens & District Trust Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource CoDeL CAP Theme 3 education https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/627/241015_CAP_SG_DGC_meeting_write-up.jpg d406cf610c0e990759fe90b14521e809 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/627/241015_CAP_SG_DGC_meeting_write-up.1.pdf 14da800ef6b8974b0b339353e645f58b PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Glenkens Community Action Plan Steering Group. Education and Learning sub-group. Write-up of meeting 8th October 2024. Fiona Smith and Sarah Ade, representatives of the Glenkens Community Action Plan Steering Group, and Helen Keron, GCAT Executive Manager, met Gillian Brydson, Director of Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing and Ingrid Gemmell, Stewartry Ward Officer, on Tuesday 8th October 2024. The actions from their July meeting and future plans for partnership working to find a sustainable model of education and learning in the Glenkens were discussed. GCAT updated the meeting on conversations with SOSE and The Crichton Trust about the possibility of the creation of a rural Skills Hub in the Glenkens. This would be for post-16, so not statutory education, but of course of great relevance to Skills and Community Wellbeing. Neither SOSE nor the Council are resourced to lead on this idea, despite the long pipeline of rural industries coming into the Glenkens. Developers are interested but there are too many moving parts at present for them to grasp on to. The Crichton Trust however has some extremely interesting ideas for rural skills training and GCAT will look forward to working with them on that. Gillian confirmed that the contract into research into depopulation mitigation is out with procurement for quick quotes which will be open until the 8 November 2024. She confirmed later that ‘the Glenkens community will be the rural community that will be part of the community engagement programme’. This research will report in March 2025. Gillian confirmed that she is holding dates for a meeting with the Chair of Dalry Parent Council and the new Head of Dalry and Castle Douglas Secondary Schools to progress next steps with respect to Dalry School (later confirmed for the week of the 28th October). The secondary school currently has 11 pupils across S1-S4, and the number transitioning up to S1 will be confirmed in November. Fiona confirmed that the CoDeL report into models of education for rural areas will be published in November, as an evidence-based research report designed to inform next steps for all parties. We updated Gillian and Ingrid that the Community Action Plan Steering Group were in the process of formalising their Education and Learning sub-group, with membership to be drawn from Glenkens residents, Glenkens Parent Councils, Elected Members, Developer / business representatives and Ingrid, on behalf of the E,S & CW dept. Gillian suggested the addition of a Developing The Young Workforce (DYW) rep, which was a good idea. We stated our hope that the Education and Learning sub-group could be a valuable resource to the Council, adding in a deep place-based understanding of the implications of Council decisions to the wide policy-based context that the Council has to work within. Also our hope that the depopulation work would act as a lever to review national urban-biased policies that are unintentionally exacerbating rural depopulation. It was agreed that the South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership should have a role in this work, amplifying the voice of the South of Scotland and the rural lens to Scottish Government. Gillian updated that the Mothballing Policy group, consisting of 5 Members and Officers, and Chaired by Gail MacGregor, had had its first meeting. This is a cross-party, cross-D&G group that will report its recommendations to full Council in March 2025 after engagement with stakeholders. We reiterated the Glenkens commitment to working with the group in a constructive manner to achieve the best outcomes for our remote-rural context. We raised the question as to whether the E,S&CW dept could give any assurance about the timeline for Dalry Secondary School. It was discussed that it was very hard for P7 parents to make the decision to send their children there in the absence of any confirmed period of the status quo. With the CoDeL report, the Mothballing Policy and the depopulation research all reporting late this year / early next year, it was hoped that a firm decision could be made now to maintain the status quo while the implications of these reports were analysed. However, Gillian could not make any commitment about this. The group agreed to meet again after the CoDeL report was published, to reflect on the findings and next steps. Thanks to Fiona and Sarah for volunteering their time and expertise on this important matter, and to Gillian and Ingrid for continuing to engage as we all strive towards a sustainable place-based solution for education and learning in the Glenkens. Helen Keron, 14th October 2024  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource CAP Education and Learning sub-group meeting with Dumfries and Galloway Council - 8th October 2024 Description An account of the resource Fiona Smith and Sarah Ade, representatives of the Glenkens Community Action Plan Steering Group, and Helen Keron, GCAT Executive Manager, met Gillian Brydson, Director of Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing and Ingrid Gemmell, Stewartry Ward Officer to discuss actions from the July meeting and future plans for partnership working to find a sustainable model of education and learning in the Glenkens Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_24 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CAP Education and Learning sub-group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 3 education https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/626/240730_Ed_Dept_CAP_SG_Meeting_Note.jpg c864efe24d1ca64ea9367d1bb224fa2d https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/626/240730_Ed_Dept_CAP_SG_Meeting_Note.1.pdf ffa3b2409e5fedbdc3cb56d23288ff2d PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document OFFICIAL Meeting Note 30 July 2024 The Smiddy, Balmaclellan • • • • • • Mr John Paterson, Chair of Glenkens Community Action Plan Steering Group Ms Fiona Smith, Chair of the Glenkens and District Trust and Community Action Plan Steering Group member. Ms Caroline Reeves, Community Action Plan Steering Group member and Chair of the E&L event on the 11th. Mr Stew Gibson, Chair of Dalry Schools Parent Council Ms Helen Keron, Executive Manager, GCAT Dr Gillian Brydson, Executive Director Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Apologies – None Purpose of the meeting was to build relationships and share understanding of the issues related to education provision in the Glenkens. While there is a pressing matter over educational provision at Dalry secondary school there was understanding that the meeting would benefit from a wider discussion. There were a number of points circulated that we agreed to talk to at the meeting: • DGC strategic vision for Education and Learning was discussed with the recognition of the need for a strategic approach towards a modernised and sustainable school estate. There was debate over the key principles that emerged during the consultation and the risks of falling rolls for finance and rural provision. https://dumfriesgalloway.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s58719/Transformation %20Update%20-%20School%20Models.pdf GCAT raised concerns that, taken to their ultimate conclusion, the existing principles could facilitate and lead to rural depopulation. The policy and context of the current debate on rural depopulation raises the issue as to whether the principles are still wholly appropriate in a rural context and whether they need to be reviewed through the rural lens. • Actions from the event on the 11th which designed to inform and inspire, in response to the changing nature of education provision in remote-rural Glenkens. The full write-up from this event is published on Glenkens Hub - Education and Learning in the Glenkens event. The CAP Steering Group is delighted that the event has prompted these ongoing conversations with the Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing Department. OFFICIAL OFFICIAL • Dalry Secondary School; Challenges set out from both perspectives. It was agreed that GB to discuss further options with the Chair of Dalry Secondary School Parent Council Stewart Gibson, and a meeting to be held with Head of Education Resources, John Thin and the Headteacher, Steven Foster. All were of the view that a positive and future focussed discussion was required recognising that there were national issues that we could only work together to influence. GB raised that rolls at Dalry Primary School and nursery provision were also a pressing concern. It was agreed that the immediate focus for the Council, School Management and Dalry Secondary School Parent Council discussion would be 215yrs educational provision, ACTION GB to arrange meeting with those noted above A broader discussion over 15-24yrs employability and learning to be shaped by community and industry partners. 'ACTION GCAT (TBD) ACTION GB to introduce HK to Frances Woodifield. FS to contact Dame Barbara Kelly for an initial discussion. • Employment connections and commitments with Developing Young Workforce. GB to meet with Natural Power in the afternoon and have a discussion regarding enhancing the school/employer links. ACTION GB to consider curricular model with the Headteacher and build senior phase opportunities as part of normal school focus on employability coordination group. Consideration of Glenkens learning hub where CLD and employability, retraining and upskilling could be the focus linked to local employment needs. The role of SOSE in the shaping of this was helpful and some examples were shared where other communities were taking forward similar work. ACTION; HK to establish connections with SOSE. • Community transport – HK is the route for requests, although it is early to consider any specific requirements at this time. NO ACTION REQUIRED until the meeting with the school re curriculum is established. • Mothballing Policy - A member officer working group is now established and due to commence in September. The composition and chair of the group is being finalised and can be confirmed following the recess. ACTION GB It was agreed that a further meeting be established to engage again on the work todate. Timescale early Oct, ACTION Ingrid Gemmell / HK to arrange and support. OFFICIAL  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Education Department and CAP Steering Group Meeting Note - 30th July 2024 Description An account of the resource The Education and Learning event held in the Glenkens in July 2024 catalysed a very useful meeting between the CAP Steering Group and Dr Gillian Brydson, Director of the Dumfries and Galloway Education, Skills and Community Wellbeing department. The meeting has led to actions that are being worked by both sides, and hopefully heralds a new era of community and Council partnership working on these critically important issues for the area. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_23 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CAP Steering Group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 3 education https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/625/240711_Education_LearningEvent_Presentation_cover.jpg 944493924c3cd7ba56294786110f9b75 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/625/240711_Education_Learning_event.pdf fac21d1ca1dded2a3d0235f4d6e17589 PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Education and Learning in the Glenkens 11th July 2024 Caroline Reeves, CAP Steering Group Member Timings • • • • • • • • • 7pm: 7:05: 7:40: 7:50: 8:00 - 8:20: 8:20: 8:55: 9:25: 9:30: Welcome Industry Panel Brief reactions / clarifications Theona Morrison (CoDeL) Break Educational Panel Q&A / discussion. Wrap-up and next steps End Richard Nash, Natural Power Consultants. Education and Learning in the Glenkens Presenter: Richard Nash Date: 11 July 2024 © Natural Power 2024 Working to create a world powered by renewable energy Education and Learning in the Glenkens A potted Bio about me Richard Nash o Chartered Certified Accountant for 27 years. o Also represents the years I have worked within the Fred. Olsen group of companies. o Working in Shipping & Freight, Cruise Lines, Travel Agency and now within the Renewables sector. o Last 10 years as Director of Finance and Board Company Secretary for The Natural Power Consultants Limited and its subsidiaries. o For the last 3 years, am a non-executive Board Member on the D&G College Board, chairing the Finance and General-Purpose committee. o Resident of New Galloway & Kells for 10 years. o Two children, who went to Dalry Primary and Secondary schools before completing their Highers at Castle Douglas. © Natural Power 2024 Education and Learning in the Glenkens Who are Natural Power? o Head Quarters at The Green House, based 5 miles from Dalry. o Have offices in Stirling, Glasgow, Inverness, Newcastle, Aberystwyth and Dumfries. Also in United States, Ireland and France. o Provides consultancy and operational services exclusively for renewable energy projects. o This includes: Creating a world powered by Renewable Energy • On-shore wind farms • Off-shore wind farms • Solar • Battery and other energy storage • Renewable heat © Natural Power 2024 Education and Learning in the Glenkens The staffing resource problem… o The renewables industry has matured. o Means there are now more roles in the industry than suitably experienced or qualified individuals. o High demand for staff with a low supply has pushed up wages in the industry. o Staff no longer travel for (what was) a hippy idealistic industry. o D&G is an area not blessed with leading Higher Education providers producing the talent needed for the future. o These issues makes it difficult to attract new staff to the Glenkens. o Natural Power expects to continue growing by 12% annual through to 2030. This represents a fantastic opportunity for our local talent, if we can get this right! © Natural Power 2024 Education and Learning in the Glenkens Skills pathways to employability at Natural Power: Local education route for skills required: Glasgow University (Dumfries Campus) NP’s requirement: Ecologist & Environmental Scientists D&G College Engineers & Geotechnical Internships Data analysts On the job learning Back-office support skills Secondary Schools © Natural Power 2024 Education and Learning in the Glenkens Great example of when it works: o Creating a link between D&G College and Natural Power, including introductions and linking up the right people. o Worked with D&G College to refine their Wind Turbine course to better fit our needs. o Resulted in three summer placements. By the end of the summer, two locally based staff were recruited by Natural Power as Wind Turbine technicians. o D&G College named the course after Natural Power that is a recognised national qualification in Scotland. o The achievement was recognised and showcased in the Scottish Funding Council report. → o Addresses Natural Power’s skill gap. © Natural Power 2024 Thank you. © Natural Power 2024 Matthew Bacon, Vattenfall. Green Jobs for Glenkens Let’s build a fossil fuel free future 30/07/2024 Confidentiality: C1 - Public 13 Introducing Vattenfall Our plans in the Glenkens Maximising careers & jobs as we build What jobs? How Quantans Hill's community benefits can support skills, careers and jobs Confidentiality: C1 - Public Introduction 100% 8 million 1.0 million Owned by the Swedish State Electricity customers Electricity network customers 2.1 million 2.3 million 20,995 Heat customers Gas customers Employees Confidentiality: C1 - Public Introduction Location of our operations and major plants Harsprånget Stornorrfors Forsmark Uppsala Wind Biomass Hydro Gas Vesterhav Syd and Nord Horns Rev 3 Ringhals Sandbank Kriegers Flak Dan Tysk Amsterdam Hollandse Kust Zuid Thanet Nuclear Coal Largest facilities marked with a circle 1 Heat Berlin is to be divested to the State of Berlin during 2024 Confidentiality: C1 - Public Solar District heating Berlin 1 Confidentiality: C1 - Public 17 Quantans Hill Wind Farm Our next opportunity to support local jobs Proposal submitted to Planning Feb 2023 An investment in Glenkens to • 14 turbine development plus battery storage • Create new apprenticeships – with Vattenfall and contractors • Bring an estimated £7m boost to local economy • Deliver up to £16m community benefits package with flexible, community-led approach targeted to meet community priorities. • Around £110 million capex investment • 30-35yrs operational life • Over 250Ha+ of land for biodiversity enhancement including new native broadleaf planting and restoration of heathland and peat • Carbon emission savings of around 4m tonnes • 15km of new sign-posted, accessible tracks through restored habitats • Improved access to and understanding of important WW2 crash site and other features of historic interest • Currently awaiting determination and a consultation response from Dumfries and Galloway Council Confidentiality: C1 - Public 18 Study findings Workforce and skills requirements in Scotland’s onshore wind industry – May 2024 Findings • To meet 2030 ambition: • 2024 Scottish onshore wind FTEs: 6,900 • 2027 Scottish onshore wind FTEs: 20,500 • 90% of these roles are in construction. Operations and maintenance is smaller requirement but over a much longer timeframe. Skills shortages identified Wind turbine technicians, high voltage engineers, planning officers, speciality consultants (environmental and technical), civils and construction, digital skills Particular challenges in remote and rural areas • Nearly 50% of these construction roles and 40% of operations roles will be needed in Highland and Dumfries and Galloway. Confidentiality: C1 - Public 19 What jobs? Confidentiality: C1 - Public 20 Jobs and careers in wind farm development Construction phase For info on careers, qualifications etc go to www.myworldofwork.co.uk Confidentiality: C1 - Public 21 Vattenfall's apprenticeship programme We will do our part but others in the industry needed for transformational change • New scheme announced in May 2023. • Our aim is to create 50 new apprenticeships by 2030 locally to where our projects are granted planning permission. • Roles will be both with Vattenfall and across our supply chain. Mandatory for our main contractors​. • Will be a mixture of Modern and Graduate apprenticeships in variety of roles including Project Management, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Construction, Environmental Management and Communications. • Will also be working directly with local schools to support delivery of Foundation Apprenticeships​. • Vattenfall partnership with Developing the Young Workforce in local schools to promote opportunities locally. Confidentiality: C1 - Public 22 Community benefits Confidentiality: C1 - Public Confidentiality – High (C3) 23 Community Development Strategy If consented, Quantans Hill Wind Farm could generate a community benefits package worth up to c£16million Strategy • Developed by independent consultants in 2021 • Desk-based research and stakeholder engagement • Identified 8 Strategic Objectives with re commended actions • First Strategic Objective related to jobs and young people Confidentiality: C1 - Public 24 Potential outcomes Indicative at November 2021 Relevant to job creation, skills and training • 10-15 years of employment for a full-time salaried Project Officer • 250-350 residents upskilled; • Around 50 qualified apprentices fully subsidized. Confidentiality: C1 - Public 25 Conclusions • Huge opportunities for South-West Scotland as a key regional hub in the UK to create high quality jobs across a long-term construction and operational pipeline. • Opportunities for young people and older people looking to retrain. Roles for both graduates and non-graduates. • Incumbent on wind farm developers, supply chains, communities, schools and colleges, and local authority to work together on a strategy and joined up schemes. • None of this can happen without swift approval from consenting authorities. • Today’s planning permissions are tomorrow’s jobs. Construction work at South Kyle Wind Farm, Dalmellington, March 2023. Confidentiality: C1 - Public 26 Abi Mordin, Propagate CiC Theona Morrison Community Development Lens, Uist The Glenkens and district Community Action Plan was published in 2020 and has a goal that the Glenkens will be a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place, where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families, and to grow old. The Glenkens & District Trust has commissioned a piece of rigorous research to explore developments in, and discussions around, rural education in Scotland and beyond, particularly in areas that are suffering depopulation and have seen a decline in school rolls. CoDeL ( Community Development Lens) shines a light and evidences ‘green shoots’ in island and rural communities. CoDeL was the first to recognise that young people, were staying, returning and settling in Uist. What do we educate our children for? While enabling them to be the best that they can be in a global society, how much depends on what they know about where they are? Hebrides experience: The LA adopted a formal education strategy in 2008 designed to stem population decline. We had amongst the worst population projections: a decline of 25% in total population and one-third in the working age population by 2046 This strategy meant every child had the entitlement to nationally accredited, industry recognised qualifications linked to employability within the local economy, informed by LLMI. In parallel, every young person experienced a workshop based on a New Economics Foundation model which provided an ‘economic literacy of their place’. In Uist, an accredited Leadership course was also delivered. CoDeL: Increasingly, we could see that young people were returning, staying and moving to Uist. Budgets and planning were based on declining population. Our obervations were doubted – so we decided to count the young adults. We counted 469 young adults across 7 islands, with a population circa 5,000 ( a very high percentage). The research methodology followed principles of participatory rural appraisal, which emerged in the developing world but now widely practiced across the globe. Redefining Peripherality 2021 research commissioned by the Northern Periphery and Arctic research project. CoDeL were the lead partner in research from multiple universities and civil organisations from Finland, Sweden, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Greenland and Canada to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Ireland. Findings presented at the European Rural Pact conference, at COP26, the World Rural Health Conference and the European Rural Parliament. “One of the most stimulating, visionary but also evidenced and well-informed documents I’ve come across in relation to post-Covid.” David Bryan, Head of Sustainable Business, Social Enterprise Academy. CovidEcon-MR-Part1-Key-finds-Recos-Summaries.pdf (codel.scot) Results …….. What and how do we measure impact: Important to measure what is relevant not just what is measurable……E.g. SfW, NPAs Foundation Apprenticeships ➢This resulted in James Hutton / SRUC recognising that we had data which had not been hitherto picked-up. ➢Subsequently, with funding from SEFARI, we worked with JHI, SRUC and CLS on the Islands Revival project which resulted in the Islands Revival Declaration. The top line of which states We affirm that there is credible evidence of ‘green shoots’ of population turnaround in the Scottish islands, which as yet does not show up in official statistics. New Research……………… Ulva ferry Strontian is a remote rural village on the Ardnamurchan peninsula, over an hour away from Fort William by car and ferry. The Communities Housing Trust (CHT) has worked with the community over a number of years facilitating a Community Place Planning exercise, which included the delivery of affordable housing and providing project and development agency services on Scotland’s second community-owned primary school. Glenkens and District Trust Research Brief: To explore developments in, and discussions around, rural education in Scotland and beyond, particularly in areas that are suffering depopulation and have seen a decline in school rolls. Methodology: • Ensure Glenkens voices are heard, using the CAP Steering Group and GDT Trustees. • Bring in relevant aspects from Redefining Peripherality research. • Use CoDeL networks to explore wider developments – Iceland and Ireland connections as well as rural Scotland. Output: • Written report in September / October. Break Anne Paterson Small Rural Schools in Scotland in Focus Anne S Paterson OBE July 2024 The definition of place often begins with the geography and the demography of place and is further shaped by how these influence the economics and sustainability of communities. The way places are linked and perceived is important for how inhabitants interact with place. 94% of the land mass of Scotland is rural and 17% of the population are resident in rural areas. 34% of Scottish Schools are rural Rural education is part of Scotland’s inclusive and equitable education HOWEVER - Very little research undertaken about rural schools in Scotland – we don’t know if they are beautiful. Is small beautiful? A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe – Fargus-Malet, M and Bagley,C (2021) • Relationships between small rural schools and communities an increasingly popular theme. • Broad perspective from inside and below a closer look at the situation of small rural schools and the people/communities involved. Rural Schools Under Pressure – Fargus and Bagley (2022) • Financial pressure • Staff’s intense (and often unmanageable) workload (including teaching head teachers having a dual role) • High staff turnover and difficulties in recruiting and retaining qualified staff • Falling pupil enrolment • Professional isolation of teachers and headteachers • Inadequate infrastructures • Challenges in delivering a broad and wide-ranging curriculum • Pedagogical multi grade teaching Solutions to support sustainability – Fargus and Bagley (2022) Training and professional development programmes for teachers and principals, which are tailored for working in the small rural school environment Suitable material resources School collaborations, clusters and netrworks to reduce professional isolation and boost schools’ resources Distance learning, virtual learning environment and the use of ICT (when the right infrastructures are provided, ie appropriate digital structures and teacher and pupils’ digital competence to use them). Policy in Practice and Practice in Policy in small rural school in Scotland – Paterson, A (2020 commenced) Importance of context in relation to enacting national, local authority policy in Scotland Importance of community expectations and national policy Knowing me, knowing you – the lived experience Innovation - sustainability, thinking outside the box Relationships of place, people and policy • Policy - development, implementation, results (policy makers) • Place – community, home, school, demographics, topography (walking with the place) • People – children, teachers, parents and community (values, purpose, interconnections) Corbett (2021), Grunewald (2008) “IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE A CHILD” (African Proverb) • Rural Communities play a huge part in educating a child and achieving inclusive and equitable education. Our communities build the potential for our children to be successful and know they are supported in their learning. These communities need to be supported by policy to become inclusive, equitable and provide opportunities for all Rural Researcher responsibility, respect and reciprocity • Encourage self-reflection – your standpoint • Other ways of thinking and knowing are valued and treated equally • Transparent and open engagement with the community from the outset • No to deficit views but also do not ‘romanticise the lived experience of the rural’ • Confidentiality can be challenging in small rural places: ensure participants are given opportunities to amend or refine their comments early in the process • Giving back to the community – learning from rather than about the Other (Anderson & Lonsdale 2014) • Language of wakefulness – alert awareness responsive to communities where diversity is cherished and wondering about possibilities. (Clandinin and Connelly 2000) • Ethically awake to criticism and comments which encourage ongoing reflection and inquiry. • For further discussion points or views on rural education and in particular around policy and place please contact: • Anne.Paterson@strath.ac.uk Twitter #@garvachy11 Suzie Dick - apologies Helen Keron Community Action Plan • The ‘Glenkens and District Community Action Plan’ was published in September 2020. • 4 key themes: • • • • A Connected Community An Asset Rich Community An Economically Flourishing Community A Carbon Neutral Community. • A Glenkens Land Use Vision was adopted as an addendum in July 2023 Community Action Plan Goal The Glenkens will be a connected, resilient and carbon neutral place, where people will want to live, to work, to bring up their families, and to grow old. It will be somewhere that other places in Scotland will look to for inspiration. This is fully aligned with the D&G Council Locality Plans and the South of Scotland Regional Economic Strategy. It represents non-silo’ed thinking that embodies ‘Place’ and Community Wealth Building in their widest senses. Community Action Plan • GCAT leads on delivery of the Community Action Plan. • The CAP Steering Group owns the CAP, assures delivery and keeps it relevant. • The Glenkens and District Trust administers the community benefit monies through Foundation Scotland. Partnership working for CAP delivery CAP SG – community decision making Monthly meetings between Chairs to check in on CAP delivery through GCAT Delivery of CAP priorities GCAT – lead on delivery GDT Chair and up to 3 GDT Trustees sit on CAP SG GDT – bring in the money! Clear separation between GCAT (project delivery) and GDT (project funder) Evolving context • The Community Action Plan does not explicitly mention education – it was created in 2020 in the context that the current educational provision was assured. • However, Education and Learning is an underpinning element of the ‘Economically Flourishing’ theme, and the overall goal of sustainable communities. • Effective cradle-to-grave Education and Learning provision is a crucial part of community wellbeing and empowerment. • It is a key factor in averting depopulation. Working together • The CAP Steering Group knows that it does not have all the answers. • However, it is committed to seeing the principles of community empowerment and voice adhered to. • This will both achieve the CAP Goal and regional and national priorities. Working together • Is there a third path to walk, between the status quo and no provision at all? • A creative solution based on a vision of thriving rural communities where current and future economic development is underpinned by innovative educational provision? • And done in strategic partnership with the Council, communities and businesses, where all parties are valued for their expertise? Andrew Pyle QUIZ: Who Said? If you live in Scotland you are Scottish. Small is Beautiful. Education is the Generation of Happiness. Learning by Doing. The Glenkens is awash with talent. Article 11: Freedom of assembly and association 1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and to freedom of association with others, including the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. 2. No restrictions shall be placed on the exercise of these rights other than such as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others. This article shall not prevent the imposition of lawful restrictions on the exercise of these rights by members of the armed forces, of the police or of the administration of the state. Q&A / Discussion Effective partnership working for CAP delivery CAP SG – community decision making Monthly meetings between Chairs to check in on CAP delivery through GCAT Delivery of CAP priorities GCAT – lead on delivery GDT Chair and up to 3 GDT Trustees sit on CAP SG GDT – bring in the money! Clear separation between GCAT (project delivery) and GDT (project funder) Natural Power Appendix: DYW © Natural Power 2024 Quantan’s Hill Indicative funding allocations NB these figures are indicative - full consultation with local communities will be entered into at later stage The potential deliverable benefits for communities in Carsphairn and GDT over the operational lifetime of the wind farm (estimated to be up to 30 years) Confidentiality: C1 - Public 81 Potential deliverable benefits for the communities of Carsphairn and GDT over 30yrs - Quantan’s Hill NB these figures are indicative - full consultation with local communities will be entered into at later stage Confidentiality: C1 - Public 82 Anne Paterson References • Anderson, M. & Lonsdale, M, in White, S.,& Corbett ,M.,(2014). Doing educational research in rural settings: Methodological issues, international perspectives and practical solutions. Routledge • Clandinin, D.J. and Connelly, F.M. (2000) Narrative inquiry : experience and story in qualitative research. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. • Corbett, M., 2021. Structures of feeling and the problem of place in rural education. S. White & J. Downey (eds) Rural Education Across the World: Models of Innovative Practice and Impact. Singapore, Springer, pp.167-183. • Fargas-Malet, M. and Bagley, C. (2022) ‘Is small beautiful? A scoping review of 21st-century research on small rural schools in Europe’, European educational research journal EERJ, 21(5), pp. 822–844. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/14749041211022202. • Gruenwald, DA. & Smith G.A.(eds) 2008) Place-based Education in the Global Age: Local Diversity, London, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Further information • • • • • CAP Delivery Report, June 2023: Glenkens Hub - CAP Update Report June 2023 Community Action Plan 2020: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) - Overview CAP Steering Group records: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) Steering Group GCAT: GCAT – GCAT Education and Learning page, Glenkens Hub: Glenkens Hub - Education and Learning  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Education and Learning in the Glenkens event Description An account of the resource The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust (GCAT) hosted an Education and Learning event in the Glenkens on 11th July 2024, on behalf of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan Steering Group. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_22 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available CAP Steering Group Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 3 education https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/624/240708_Land_Use_event.jpg dd03be47015becaf315eddc1b68d8853 https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/624/240708_LandUseEvent.pdf 385eefb7a7273e9a3e0f734a2465a36b PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Dalry Community Council Moving the Glenkens Land Use Vision forward. 8th July 2024 The Smiddy, Balmacellan Agenda 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Glenkens Land Use Vision – Helen Keron Wider Context – Morag Paterson Report findings: Feasibility Study into the creation of a Glenkens Land Use Forum – Dr Stephen Connelly. Report findings: Participatory Monitoring of Landscapes – Dr Kerry Morrison Land Use in Local Place Planning – Becca Nelson Q&A / Discussion / Next steps. 1. Wider Context Helen Keron, GCAT Executive Manager, New Galloway 1. Glenkens Land Use Vision • The ‘Glenkens and District Community Action Plan’ was published in September 2020. • 4 key themes: • • • • A Connected Community An Asset Rich Community An Economically Flourishing Community A Carbon Neutral Community. • In July 2023, ‘A Glenkens Land Use Vision’ was adopted as an Addendum to the CAP. • GCAT leads on delivery of the CAP. Land Use Vision Process • 2022: Glenkens selected as one of 5 pilot areas in the RLUP areas to carry out a Community Learning exercise around land use. (SEA) • 2022/23: Dalry selected as a pilot area for a Citizens Panel on climate change. • January 2023: GCAT facilitated a community engagement process that resulted in the creation of the Glenkens Land Use Vision. • July 2023: Land Use Vision adopted as an addendum to the Glenkens CAP. Including a number of recommendations at a local, regional and national level. • November 2023: NatureScot and SOSE funded a suite of projects building on some of these recommendations. Glenkens Land Use Vision The Vision: That everyone who takes value from our land returns value to it. That the Glenkens is an exemplar of sustainable land use practice in building resilience for climate, biodiversity & communities, where learning is valued and all voices are listened to and respected. • Published here: https://glenkens.scot/land-use Key to this will be that: • Land use enhances local climate and environmental resilience, biodiversity and thriving communities and supports re-population. • Community Wealth Building is an underpinning priority. • There is a balance of land use, access and ownership, achieved using whole catchment planning. • Cumulative effect is a key consideration. • Every part of the community feels included. • Nothing about us without us! • We have strong partnership working. • We know we can’t do it alone. The three projects • Feasibility Study into the creation of a Glenkens Land Use Forum. • Feasibility Study into Participatory Monitoring of Land Use Change in the Glenkens. • Creation of a Local Place Plan for Dalry and a template LPP for other Glenkens communities that incorporates land use issues. Thanks to SOSE and NatureScot for their support of these projects, and to all the authors and volunteers who have committed so much time to them. A word of caution • Need to consider governance models going forward – Network / sub-group. • A paid resource will be needed to take the issue much further forward. • GCAT and the current volunteers are running out of capacity. • Even a paid resource needs support, so any grant funding will need to take that into account. • Need to stick carefully to advancing the Vision of balance and partnership working. 2. Wider Context Morag Paterson, Dalry Community Councillor, Dalry Glenkens Vision – Wider Context National Regional Local Agriculture and forestry subsidies Carbon credits Place Planning Regional Land Use Partnership Sub-catchment planning Peatland Restoration Local Development Plan (3) Biodiversity credits Local land use network Woodland and Biodiversity Strategy Land reform Live projects Just transition Net Zero National Planning Framework (4) Natural Capital Innovation Zone Opportunities? Considering land-use in a much wider context - intrinsically connected to other agendas such as education, housing, health and well-being, local economic development. Bringing together multiple operators and communities locally for sub-catchment level opportunities (connectivity, recreation, local employment, skills and education, housing projects etc.) Engage with: •Businesses •Local groups and organisations •Regional Land Use Partnership •Natural Capital Innovation Zone •Local Authority •NGOs and other organisations like GSA Biosphere •Government agencies e.g. SEPA, Scottish Forestry and NatureScot •South of Scotland Enterprise •NHS Lack of resources/capacity Siloed culture Challenges ? Too few people ‘round the table’ Lack of influence over national actions like agricultural or subsidy changes Lack of influence over local decision making Diversity of local perspectives 3. Glenkens Land Use Forum Dr Stephen Connelly, Dalry Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Dr Stephen Connelly 8 July 2024 Introduction • A next step in the development of the Glenkens’ capacity to plan and shape its future: Community Action Plan  Land Use Vision  this and other studies  implementation of the Vision • SOSE and NatureScot funding for GCAT and Dalry Community Council • Who am I? • The next 15 minutes: why and how; main conclusions/recommendations; how this fits into everything else; next steps? Purpose, approach, methods How can the potential of the Land Use Vision be realised? • through a Forum – which might draw up a Land Use Plan? Or something else? Starting point: People matter: interests, emotions, beliefs… …but so do structures of government and the market Approach is pragmatic but idealistic: what can be done in the face of: combined market and policy forces + very limited and weak opportunities for community input + a changing and unpredictable policy environment? Gathering information • Listening empathetically to all stakeholders – especially those who might not be supportive • 22 interviews: forestry, energy, farming, conservation, governance, residents • missing: big farms/estates + policy documents, press articles  a set of 5 options Options assessed for: • Alignment with the Vision’s goals for: o sustainable development o a body/process which can advocate; support local projects and consultations; network; raise awareness; create ‘positive actions’ with landowners; represent the Glenkens; research and learn (!) • Capacity to act • Community support • External support and credibility • Cost – in time and money A set of options… Option Overall assessment Do nothing new Unsustainable and insufficient to realise the potential of the Vision. Supported stakeholder interaction (ad hoc and reactive) Flexible stakeholder group (seeking win-wins) Very feasible, low risk, could achieve some positive change, but insufficient to realise the potential of the Vision. Planning group (developing a Glenkens Land Use Plan) A fully inclusive stakeholder Forum Feasible, low risk, would partially realise the Vision’s goals and improve stakeholder relations, but would not achieve structural change. Feasible, would provide a solid basis for future advocacy and possibly structural change; high risk of deepening divisions between stakeholders. Difficult to organise and high risk. The optimum outcome is very attractive, but unlikely to be achieved; failure could leave the situation worse than at the outset. Highly demanding of volunteer time and Principles for recommendation s Maximise chance of achieving something worthwhile Minimise risk of making things worse Recognise changing and unpredictable policy environment Build in a developmental approach: increasing trust and understanding  more ambitious futures Conclusion 1: not a Plan… • Why have a Plan (i.e. maps+proposals)? • statement of the community’s aspirations • can set targets/limits on land uses • streamlines proposals for land use change (e.g. for new plantations) • nests neatly into the regional land use and local place planning processes • Why not have a Plan? • with statutory force, it would unacceptably bind land managers and discourage investment • without statutory force, it would be pointless / misleading / time-wasting • creating a Plan would increase divisions Conclusion 1: …but a Glenkens Land Use Map • avoids these problems: provides a resource and a platform • collates/collects disparate and scattered information: include community knowledge and values identify info gaps build up a log of change • enables layering e.g. riverine woodland + land holding; valued views + curlew habitats + new plantations • feeds directly into Regional Land Use Partnership work For: project planning, funding bids, policy advocacy, community consultation responses, plantation design… …and could turn into a Plan over time (with trust/buy-in) Conclusion 2: not a Forum but a Network • a home for the Map + a base for positive action • proactive: thematic studies on ‘what is to be done?’ with respect to land use and… …employment, education/learning, tourism, procurement, water etc. = spatial planning for the CAP + LPPs • reactive: responding to proposals, mediating conflicts structure: a worker, a steering group, a network, task-and-finish groups How does this link with everything else in the Glenkens? • Draws on and draws together Local Place Plans o adds a Glenkens-level • Takes forward the Glenkens Community Action Plan (CAP). o A Map could be the spatial version of the CAP – showing where things should happen o The Network could be a delivery (or at least planning) arm of the CAP Steering Group  Potential for overlap / lack of role clarity • Draws on the Participatory Monitoring study. How does this link with everything else beyond the Glenkens? Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) The RLUP wants ‘sub-catchment’ land use frameworks But what are Regional or sub-catchment frameworks for? To ‘inform’ decision making? The Council’s Local Development Plan process • Could it be(come) a Glenkens Local Place Plan, with weak but statutory status? As long as it delivers something useful for us, the rest is a bonus… What next? Some questions for discussion… Who runs the Network and creates the Map? The CAP Steering Group (more effective?) or the community councils (more visibly democratic)? Who funds it? Where do we start… … a map? … a theme? … or do we want to jump straight to creating a Land Use Plan? 4. Participatory Monitoring Dr Kerry Morrison, Balmaclellan The Task To Design a Participatory Monitoring Scheme of Land Use in the Glenkens •Engage with Glenkens communities in a creative manner to understand the values they associate with landscape and how they can be monitored. •Design a participatory monitoring framework to document landscape change over time. Get Out And About And Engage Wild swim meets…...Boating on the Ken….. Crafting groups ……. Photography groups…............Writing groups…… Art classes…… D&G Arts Festival Networking Meet up ……..………………………….. Community woodlands with volunteering opportunities…………... Singing groups .…. Ornithology group ………. Producers’ market….. The Glenkens Story: Music-Making: Past, Present and Future ………. Woodland creation consultation for Duchrae, Lochinvar Out and About: The Process of Engagement and Recording Land Use The Stewartry Ornitholog y Group, Balmaclell an From Corriedoo along the A702 towards Dalry The cows, black The calves, white-ish Suckling Lying Clustered together On high ground Rush, Wet land indicators 16 black cows 12 white-ish claves In the air, strong, sweet, pungent dung aroma melding and fading with the wind and the grasses Rams across the road Stare at me I draw him curiously Staring back at me Fixed point landuse monitoring  I record the lane where I live. I photograph the changes that are happening…  No-one hears me or hears what I’m concerned about. I’d like to be involved in something like this…  It’s not just about recording the landscape changes, it’s also about recording emotions and how I feel when changes happen…  I don’t record the landscape, but I do write protest songs about loss of nature.  I record the birds in the garden. I’m a qualified bird ringer and I ring the birds in my garden.  I’m a botanist and I would love to be involved. I particularly love hedgerows and am concerned about their loss…  I worry about Ash Dieback and what will happen along our lanes lined with ash… Tormentil, Eyebright, Thyme Artist Responses to Land Use in the Glenkens Tormentil, eyebright, thyme Tormentil, eyebright, thyme The whinchat rests its weary wings, over, Tormentil, eyebright, thyme The skylark hovers overhead, sings too So before you bring the darkness Or use your poison spray Look down to the ground. Look all around, over Tormentil, eyebright, thyme For among the broom and hawthorn, The riggit Galloways graze, Written in response to the loss of marginal grassland habitats in the Glenkens through either commercial Sitka spruce dominated forestry or farming intensification and the impact this is having on whinchat and other farmland birds Susan Bielinski And atop the blackthorn the whinchat songs, over Tormentil, eyebright, thyme Tormentil, eyebright, thyme Tormentil, eyebright, thyme The cuckoo calls across the glen, over Tormentil, eyebright, thyme Cairn Chorus Cairn Valley Song Cycle. In 2016, Cairn Chorus commissioned new material to illustrate: what our landscape means to the community, what community means to us and how changes in a rural community affect us. Galloway Sangstreams— Songs Of Life, Land And Legacy (2024) follows on from this with new commissioned works alongside pieces from Cairn Valley Song Cycle. This growing body of work, created and performed by members of our community is inadvertently recording/monitoring changes in land use, and actively singing out the importance and relevance of land use to local people - past, present, and future. deliberately inconclusive investigations into absence Helmut Lemke Ted Leeming and Morag Paterson Morag Patterson, The Species Scrolls, 2023 Ted Leeming. Artful Migration, 2023 The Glenkens Story: Music Making Past, Present, and Future We are producing material, data, and snapshots of our landscape. We are reshaping the landscape to increase biodiversity, bring back and regenerate lost landscapes, increase access to nature, and working towards economic and environmental sustainability. We are creatively responding to our landscape through song and music, creative writing, performance, and the visual arts. Environmental organisations, groups, independent environmental scientists, and nature enthusiasts are collecting quantitative data. We are participating in the array of Nature & Culture opportunities that the Glenkens landscapes offer. Throughout the Glenkens, people are actively participating in these landscapes and are invested in them. A Land-Use Festival Could it happen across the Glenkens? Perhaps in all the community halls? How can I get involved? Our area needs something like this. A biennial land use festival, what a fantastic idea. And it would have art and science stuff? Wow, that’s a great idea. I’m really interested in this, but I don’t live in the Glenkens. Could I still be involved? Maybe I should move here. This is just what we need! Proposed themes for monitoring & recording Land Use and Changes Over Time Theme Example 1 Treasured places and views Otter Pool, views from Waterside Hill 2 Landscapes at risk ‘unproductive’ and unprotected areas 3 Climate adaptation Forest to bog, riparian tree planting, regenerative farming 4 Climate change impacts Flooding, droughts, storm damage 5 Landscapes undergoing change New forestry, changes in farming practice 6 Micro recording Species, water quality, and sounds 7 Work, rest, and play Dog walking, wild swimming, cycling, rambling, meditation 8 Inspiration, spiritual connectedness, and aesthetic appreciation Deeply personal connections to landscapes and nature 9 Just because/it’s on my doorstep Hedgerows, verges, lanes 10 The overlooked Scrubby, dank areas, post-industrial and brownfield sites, lay-bys Land-Use Festival Themes Thank You 5. Land Use in Local Place Plans Becca Nelson, Glenkens Community Space Network facilitator, Dalry Land use in Dalry’s Local Place Plan Local Place Plans were introduced in the 2019 Planning (Scotland) Act Schedule 19: Local Place Plans Introduced by section 15A Preparation of local place plans (1) A community body may prepare a local place plan (2) A local place plan is a proposal as to the development or use of land (3) It may also identify land and buildings that the community body considers to be of particular significance to the local area. Planning circular 1/22 (extract) 4. Local Place Plans are community-led plans setting out proposals for the development and use of land. Introduced by the 2019 Act, these plans will set out a community’s aspirations for its future development. Once completed and then registered by the planning authority, they are to be taken into account in the preparation of the relevant local development plan. The LPP must comply with: • NPF4 • Local Development Plan • Locality plan • Regional Spatial Strategy NPF 4 highlights the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis Information gathering: data/GIS mapping Community engagement Workshops Underlying principles section of LPP • Nothing about us without us • Community wealth building • Everyone who takes value from our land returns value to it • Climate crisis • Biodiversity/Nature crisis Template Local Place Plan • As well as the Dalry LPP, a template LPP has been created. • It has parish-wide Land Use considerations embedded in it, like Dalry’s. • It also amplifies (instead of duplicating or reinventing) the Community Action Plan. • GCAT has made this template available to all Glenkens Community Councils. • An additional package of support (my time!) is also available to advise and facilitate the process, using the D&G Council grant available for LPP creation. 6. Q& A / Discussion / Next steps? 7. Appendix slides for reference (From a presentation of the Reports and Vision to Scottish Government, May 2024) From the Glenkens Land Use Vision We are a forested area, a farming area, an energy generation area. We are a watery area, given life by our rivers and lochs. Our natural environment is so special that we are part of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Our landscapes attract visitors from all over the world. We are a peaty area and our soil stores some of Scotland’s best carbon. It is our home, where we work, live and play. Effective partnership working CAP SG – community decision making Monthly meetings between Chairs to check in on CAP delivery through GCAT GCAT – lead on delivery Delivery of CAP prioritie s GDT Chair and up to 3 GDT Trustees sit on CAP SG GDT – bring in the money! Clear separation between GCAT (project delivery) and GDT (project funder) Land Use Context Overwhelmed by speed and intent of land use change in the area and by lack of power that we hold to effect change. Little opportunity for partnership working with developers, owners and managers The disconnect between national and regional policy intent and what is actually happening in the Glenkens feels absolute. Market forces / outdated woodland strategy / inflexible forest grant scheme options mean cumulative impacts and habitat connectivity are not adequately assessed. Land Use context Land use developments in our area appear to be essentially extractive. Most profits and benefits are realised elsewhere, jobs are created elsewhere. Community Wealth Building principles are not embedded or mandated. Therefore the impact of these developments on our communities is not a catalyst for more jobs, a circular local economy and thriving and sustainable communities. Lack of community agency in decision making or governance . Low awareness of and/or attention to Just Transition and LRRS principles by developers, owners and managers. Dalry Parish – case study 36% of parish currently planted or consented for commercial planting (up from 26% a decade ago). More plans in pipeline. Issues concerning private water supplies Grazing lands change hands, hedgerows pulled out. Waterside Hill, a treasured landscape difficult to engage with manager and owner. Off-market land sales Land Use Forum – Policy and Strategy Alignment Local NSET RES RLUP & RLUF Glenkens Land Use Network LRRS Natural Capital Innovation Glenkens Land Use Map Zone Just Transition D&G Strategy LocalWoodland Place Plans Community Wealth Building D&G LBAP Glenkens Community Action Plan Land Reform Local Government Reform Scottish Forest Strategy Regional ARCB National Next steps for us • Seek funding for the Network Convenor role. • Share learnings from and promote engagement with the Reports. • Formalise Land Use stakeholder group as a Community Action Plan sub-group. • Continue to create LPPs that amplify community concerns and link to the Glenkens Community Action Plan. • Continue to build advocacy for rural communities. • Continue working for improved outcomes on current development proposals. Opportunities & Challenges Opportunities: • Innovative private/public/community partnerships. • Testing zone for new policies and ideas - pilot schemes designed for replicability. • Linking national and regional strategic outcomes to direct delivery on the ground. • High-capacity community offering excellent value for money! Challenges: • Sectoral lobbying for status quo • Lack of flexibility and responsiveness within grant and subsidy schemes. • No resources within the Glenkens to progress this at present. Further information • • • • • CAP Delivery Report, June 2023: Glenkens Hub - CAP Update Report June 2023 Community Action Plan 2020: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) - Overview CAP Steering Group records: Glenkens Hub - Community Action Plan (CAP) Steering Group GCAT: GCAT – GCAT Land Use page, Glenkens Hub (including Land Use Vision and Steve and Kerry’s Reports): Glenkens Hub - Land Use in the Glenkens  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Moving the Glenkens Land Use Vision forward Description An account of the resource A ‘Land Use in the Glenkens’ meeting was held on 8th July 2024 in The Smiddy, Balmacellan to report and discuss the recent land use projects Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_21 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Land Use Forum Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 3 land use https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/623/GK_LUF_FeasibilityStudy_final_for_SoSE_cover.jpg d3559f0de88dd48bc8f985e4683358cb https://glenkensarchive.scot/glenkens_archive/files/original/20/623/GK_LUF_feasibility_study_final_for_SoSE_revised_2024-04-30.pdf 12267d69fffb2f85b1cdc5a2f862ea29 PDF Text Text pdftext_placeholder Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Community Action Plan Description An account of the resource Documents relating to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, initially drawn up by Glenkens & District Trust in 2020. Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Dr Stephen Connelly March 2024 Produced for: Dalry Community Council & Glenkens Community & Arts Trust Supported by: South of Scotland Enterprise and NatureScot St. John’s Town of Dalry Community Council Contents Summary i Acknowledgements iii Disclaimer iii About the author iii List of acronyms iv §1: Introduction 1 §2: Land use and community engagement: the current situation 4 What is the vision for land use in Glenkens? A note on ‘community’ What the Vision says about a “Land Use Forum” 4 4 5 What is driving land use change in the Glenkens? 6 What are the current opportunities for community input? The planning system Regional Land Use Frameworks Community councils (CCs) and the representative democratic system The Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (CAP) Opportunities for influence with respect to the main land use changes 10 10 12 13 13 14 Summary 18 §3: Achieving change 18 Mechanisms for change 18 To Plan or not to Plan? 20 The importance of values, beliefs and attitudes 21 Resourcing change 22 §4: Options for taking forward the Vision 24 §5: Recommendations for action 32 A Glenkens Land Use Network A Land Use and Resource Map Linking the Network into local governance 32 34 36 Implications for other bodies 36 §6: Conclusions 39 Appendix 1: A Vision for Land Use in Glenkens 41 Appendix 2: List of interviewees 45 i Summary This feasibility study provides recommendations and guidance on how the potential of the Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens could be realised. In 2023 the communities of the Glenkens adopted this Vision, which sets out their aspirations for creating a landscape which is environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable, where all voices are heard, respected, and valued, and where empowered communities have more control over the market and policy forces which currently shape the use of land. The goal is that land use activities in the Glenkens will enhance local climate and environmental resilience, biodiversity and thriving communities. This is fully aligned with government priorities and policies, at local authority, regional and national level. The study was commissioned by two key local organisations, the St John’s Town of Dalry Community Council and the Glenkens Community & Arts Trust, with support from South of Scotland Enterprise and NatureScot. The report is based principally on 22 interviews with people from local communities and governmental, private and third sector organisations which have a stake in land use in the Glenkens. Initial recommendations derived from these interviews were discussed at a final workshop with representatives of forestry, farming, biodiversity and community interests, and their feedback was incorporated into this report. This material was supported by examination of local authority, regional and national policy documents, and of articles in the local press. The key recommendations are: A) Establishing a Glenkens Land Use Network with a primary aim of finding win-win solutions to land use issues in the sub-catchment. This would combine: • ad hoc responses to emerging land use issues (including mediation over contentious proposals) and opportunities for collaborative working; with • proactively addressing sectoral issues (such as tourism, active travel, water management) and drawing up thematic action plans to direct investment and activity to support positive land-use based change. The Network would also advocate for policy change on the basis of its work at local, regional and national levels. The Network would be a flexible group of stakeholders signed up to common broad aims, steered by a small stakeholder group, and facilitated and supported by paid staff. B) Producing a Land Use and Resource Map of the Glenkens. This would be a first activity for the Network. The Map would bring together as much biophysical, socio-economic and cultural information about land use and resources in the Glenkens as possible, drawing on professional and community sources, in a way which is readily usable and can be maintained with limited resources. It would be a resource to support many different activities around i land use in the Glenkens, including providing a basis for future Glenkens-scale land use planning. The headline cost for A and B would be £110,000 for a two year pilot project. This period would allow for the completion of the Map and for the Network to have established itself as a productive partner addressing land use issues, with the ability then to seek ongoing funding. The recommendations have been devised to mesh with and support other policy and government initiatives in the Glenkens. The Network and Map could nest within the Regional Land Use Partnership and Framework, collectively making a significant contribution to developing an approach to sub-catchment planning, and contributing to other regional development initiatives, including future natural capital investment. The approach also forms a bridge between other initiatives empowering rural communities, linking the placebased approach of the Local Place Plans with the development aspirations set out for the Glenkens as a whole in the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan. The feasibility of the recommendations is ensured by an approach to stakeholder processes which recognises the reality of existing constraints, and proposes solutions which will work within these and attempt to overcome them. The principal constraints are: • • • • the absence of effective statutory routes for community engagement in land use planning serious resource constraints on all stakeholders divisions between stakeholders over appropriate and desirable ways forward; and a dynamic and unpredictably evolving governance/policy environment. This proposal will enable progress to be made through collaborative working to overcome the statutory weakness, in a resource efficient manner. The divisions are mitigated by emphasising a positive approach of seeking win-win solutions and sharing information in the Map, using these processes to build trust and mutual respect, with the aspiration of moving towards the more challenging aspects of land use planning as a potential future step. This flexible, stepwise approach will also enable the Network to be agile in its responses to the changing policy environment. Overall, the collaborative approach, working through an expanding partnership between the Glenkens communities and state, private and third sector organisations, would continue the structured sequence of development planning taking place in the Glenkens over the past few years. Following on from the creation of the Community Action Plan and its associated Vision for Land Use, this feasibility study sets out practical actions to enable the aspirations of the communities to be realised. Its focus is on the continued empowerment of the Glenkens communities, while at the same time supporting regional and national land use planning and development initiatives, and providing a template and learning resource for other communities with similar aspirations. ii Acknowledgements I am very grateful to the St John’s Town of Dalry Community Council (DCC) and Glenkens Community & Arts Trust for the opportunity to carry out this study, and particularly to the steering group of Jenna Cains (DCC), Helen Keron (GCAT) and Morag Paterson (DCC) for their advice and guidance. Thanks also to Becca Nelson for her collaboration on the overlaps between this study and her parallel project on developing Local Place Plans. The support of South of Scotland Enterprise and NatureScot is gratefully acknowledged. I am hugely indebted to the participants in the study, who gave their time so generously to speak openly to an unknown researcher. I hope that the study meets their expectations and that their faith that their participation will be worthwhile is justified, as the Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens is taken forward. Disclaimer To make this study as useful as possible, participants were interviewed with the guarantee of confidentiality and anonymity so that they could speak freely. In consequence, their voices are absent from the report, and personal sources of information and perspectives are unattributed. I endeavoured to be unbiased in how I engaged with all participants, and have tried my best to chart a course though complex and contested issues, which draws fairly on every participant’s viewpoint. This is not a report of what people told me: it presents my analysis of those ideas, supplemented by wider reading, tempered by discussion with the Steering Group and tested through the later interviews and a workshop. About the author I moved to St John’s Town of Dalry in August 2023 to work as a freelance consultant, building on two previous careers. The first was in rural development in the global South, following an MSc in “Forestry and its Relation to Land Use”. The second was as an academic, starting with a PhD on public involvement in local sustainable development, and specialising in researching and teaching environmental policy, sustainable development, and local democracy. This led me into working alongside voluntary and statutory organisations to advise on stakeholder engagement and to evaluate their work. I have also served as a trustee for environmental and educational non-governmental organisations, and as a director of a social enterprise. iii List of acronyms CAP ................................... Community Action Plan (specifically the Glenkens and District CAP) CAPSG............................................................................ Community Action Plan Steering Group CC .................................................................................................................. Community Council DCC ...................................................................... (St John’s Town of) Dalry Community Council1 DGC ................................... Dumfries & Galloway Council (the local authority for the Glenkens) EIA ......................................................................................... Environmental Impact Assessment FTE ................................................................................... Full-time equivalent (worker or salary) GCAT ....................................................................................... Glenkens Community & Arts Trust GDT .................................................................................................... Glenkens and District Trust LBAP .............................................................................................. Local Biodiversity Action Plan LDP ......................................................................................................... Local Development Plan LPA ......................................................................................................... Local Planning Authority NPF4 ........................................................................... (Scottish) National Planning Framework 4 RES.................................................................................................... Regional Economic Strategy RLUF ................................................................................ (draft) Regional Land Use Framework2 RLUP ............................................................................................ Regional Land Use Partnership RSS ......................................................................................................... Regional Spatial Strategy SF ........................................................................................................................ Scottish Forestry SOSE ................................................................................................South of Scotland Enterprise SPG ....................................................................Supplementary Planning Guidance (to the LDP) UKFS ......................................................................................... United Kingdom Forest Standard 1 ‘St John’s Town of Dalry’ is the full name of the settlement in the Glenkens, locally referred to as ‘Dalry’. 2 Where the acronym refers to the South of Scotland RLUF document (rather than the general programme), the reference is to the consultation draft, produced in November 2023. iv Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens §1: Introduction In 2023 the communities of the Glenkens 3 adopted a Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens4 (the Vision or Land Use Vision for short) which set out their aspirations for creating a “balance in land use where all voices are heard, respected and valued”. Its aim is a landscape which is more truly sustainable – environmentally, socially, economically – with empowered communities who have more control over the externally-driven market and policy forces which currently shape the use of land. The goal is that land use activities in the Glenkens will enhance local climate and environmental resilience, biodiversity and thriving communities, and support re-population. To achieve this, the Vision anticipates that land use planning will be carried out at the landscape scale, lying between the detail of individual settlements and the generalities of regional planning. This report’s overarching purpose is to provide guidance on how the potential of the Vision could be realised. A local Land Use Forum is proposed in the Vision. This was envisaged to be an inclusive body which would build bridges between sectors and provide a vehicle through which the communities could advocate, support projects and organisations, network, raise awareness, create positive actions, and research and learn. However, this study did not take for granted that such a Forum, and/or a single ‘Glenkens Land Use Plan’, would be the most appropriate ways forward. Instead it evaluated a number of options, and this report recommends a pragmatic, feasible, but ambitious, way to take the next steps on the journey started by the Vision. Throughout, the study has paid attention to the complexity of government policies and structures which affect the area. The most relevant is the Regional Land Use Framework5 (RLUF), with its commitments to national (i.e. Scottish) policies which promote sustainable land use planning, community empowerment and wealth building, and a just transition to net zero. It also aligns regional policy with national targets on forestry and renewable energy expansion. However, other initiatives overlap very significantly with the RLUF process, sharing overall goals but rooted in different organisations and policies. The most significant of these are Local Place Planning (from the statutory planning system), Community Action Planning (from the community empowerment agenda) and NatureScot and Heritage Environment Scotland’s joint approach to ‘people, place and landscape’ 6, particularly NatureScot’s “Community Engagement in Landscape Change” project. Along with other 3 ‘The Glenkens’ is a collective name for the settlements in the valley of the Water of Ken, in the traditional county of Kirkcudbrightshire, administered by Dumfries & Galloway Council. 4 The complete text of the Vision is given in Appendix 1. More details can be found at https://glenkens.scot/land-use 5 The RLUF is being developed under the oversight of the Regional Land use Partnership (RLUP). See https://www.southofscotlandenterprise.com/RLUP; the consultation draft of the RLUF is at https://sosrep.dumgal.gov.uk/media/28720/RLUF-Consultation-Draft/pdf/RLUF-Consultation-Draft.pdf. This was the current, most up to date version available at the time of writing (March 2024). 6This is set out in the NatureScot and Historic Environment Scotland joint position statement People, Place, and Landscape (https://www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-andresearch/publications/publication/?publicationId=13053e28-f83a-464d-90d9-aae100f92c3b). 1 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens developments in policy and market conditions, these evolving processes create a dynamic environment within which the Vision will be realised. The study was commissioned by two key local organisations, the St John’s Town of Dalry Community Council (DCC) and the Glenkens Community &Arts Trust (GCAT), with funding from South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). It is one of three projects jointly funded by SOSE and NatureScot in late 2023 and early 2024, which collectively aim to advance the community’s aspirations around balanced land use in the Glenkens. The projects were carried out by individual consultants, coordinated by a Steering Group comprising representatives from DCC and GCAT. GCAT’s interest in this project comes from its mandate to lead on the delivery of the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan and the appended Land Use Vision; Dalry CC’s from the concern of its constituents about the rate and manner of land use change in their parish. This report is based principally on interviews with 22 individuals, carried out between December 2023 and March 2024. They were drawn from local communities and the government, private and third sector organisations which affect land use in the Glenkens7. They were chosen either as key players in their own right (e.g. senior staff from forestry organisations) or as members of important stakeholder groups (e.g. farmers). While not intended to be statistically representative, the study aimed to gain as broad a view as possible of the issues. In particular it tried to include the views of people and organisations outside the groups known to strongly support community-based land use planning8, since the feasibility of any initiative depends partly on it being acceptable and attractive to those not already committed. The analysis and recommendations derived from these interviews – to develop a map of environmental resources and other land use issues in the Glenkens and establish a network to take forward the Vision - were discussed at a workshop at the end of the project. The workshop participants included representatives of forestry, farming, biodiversity and community interests, and their feedback has been incorporated into this report. This material was supported by examination of local authority, regional and national policy documents, and of articles in the local press, in particular the Glenkens Gazette9. The study assumes that people matter. Developing a successful Forum (or any alternative process) depends on the attitudes and actions of real people with individual and collective histories, understandings, interests, emotions, and needs. In such a small community10, with a history of activism around sustainable development and land use issues, historical relationships are important and have to be (to an extent) taken into account in designing an enduring approach to land use. (At the same time, such an approach cannot be built around individuals, but must be able to survive if key people leave.) Policy makers and other stakeholders are also human, and – within the limits set by regulations and formal policy – 7An anonymised list of interviewees is given in Appendix 2. 8 Unfortunately within the time available it was not possible to interview any large landowners: the three interviewed farmers were owners of medium to small farms. 9See https://glenkens.scot/glenkens-gazette. 10 The 2018 population of the Glenkens was 3715 (Glenkens and District Community Action Plan, p. 6 at https://www.glenkenstrust.org.uk/community-action-plan). 2 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens bring their personal motivations and understanding to how they implement policy and engage with other stakeholders, including the public. The Glenkens’ history of activism is a tremendous strength, and the area has an enviable wealth of experience and community organisations, with a track record of developing its own agenda and engaging with external bodies to pilot new initiatives. This history also comes with risks. Taking the Vision forward should learn from and build on past experience, and respect the fact that a great deal of consultation has left some people understandably wary of repeating similar processes without obvious practical effects. The weariness and cynicism mentioned by some interviewees, and the rejection by all of them of the idea of a Forum as simply ‘a talking shop’, have been taken account of in carrying out of this study and in what is proposed. The body of this report has three sections. In §2 the Vision is briefly introduced along with the context of land use change in the Glenkens, followed by a description of existing opportunities for local input into decision making. §3 discusses important considerations when trying to achieve change, before §4 presents a structured evaluation of a set of options, ranging from ‘do nothing new’ to setting up an independent Forum. §5 draws on this analysis to put forward recommendations for the next steps towards realising the Land Use Vision: the establishment of a Land Use Network which will coordinate the production of a Land Use Map of the Glenkens. It also discusses the implications of these recommendations for other organisations. 3 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens §2: Land use and community engagement: the current situation What is the vision for land use in Glenkens? Overall, the Vision is quite a radical document, setting out a vision for sustainable rural development founded in a balance between different land uses and stakeholder interests, and contrasting these sharply with the present situation and direction of travel. It places this in the context of an active and well-organised community (see text box) which is seeing very rapid land use change, driven by forces rooted outside the area and which is largely extractive in economic terms. The Vision’s goals are well-aligned with current progressive thinking across the economic, environmental, social and A note on ‘community’ democratic dimensions of Although it was developed through an inclusive stakeholder sustainability, as reflected to a process, the Vision’s position on what sustainable rural great extent in current Scottish development should be is not shared by everyone living and working in the Glenkens, and who might therefore count as ‘the Government policy. local community’. There are differences in viewpoints, interests The Vision sets out goals at and understandings of matters of fact. This is absolutely normal local, regional and national in democratic policy processes, and means that generalisations scales, including changes in land about ‘the community’ have to be treated carefully. In this use and land use decision section ‘community’ is used to reflect the Vision’s own language; elsewhere ‘communities’ is used to gently draw attention to the making, broader outcomes complexity of the situation. Further discussion is beyond the (dependent on land use) around scope of this study, but language does matter: it is important in economy and community practice to neither reinforce an unhelpful distinction between wellbeing, and changes in policy ‘the community’ and ‘others’, nor annoy people by ignoring their and governance which would differences. While there is value in seeing the people of the Glenkens positively as ‘a community’, it is also vital to recognise enable these, including stronger that – as with any community - there are significant differences enforcement of existing policies within it. and plans. It also has goals which diverge from broad national policies – in particular around the need for forestry expansion – where these are seen to be implemented in ways which work against other policy goals, such as those promoting sustainable rural economies and biodiversity conservation. This reflects the regional situation, where there is a good level of congruence between local people’s perceptions of the key land use changes required and the national policy objectives. However, there are also clear differences. There was a strong preference from stakeholders for a higher proportion of native woodland and for the extent and design of commercial forestry to be more sensitive to local concerns. Both renewable energy and afforestation had potential to generate more local benefits which were currently being missed. The need to better integrate farming and forestry was voiced by many, as was the need to seek increased gains for nature and carbon adaptation and sequestration from future developments. (Draft RLUF p. 33) 4 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens The creation of the Vision was initiated through a discussion programme run by external facilitators (the Social Enterprise Academy11) on behalf of the Scottish Government in support of the Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) pilot projects. The Glenkens Community & Arts Trust (GCAT, effectively the Glenkens’ development trust and main community anchor organisation) then steered the writing of a draft. This was discussed with external stakeholders (several of whom were interviewed for this study) and redrafted for a final round of public consultation. The final version was adopted formally as an appendix to the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (CAP) in late 2023. Within the Glenkens the CAP, and therefore the Vision, is the principal guiding document for investment of community benefit funds from local wind farms12 along with other funding. In policy terms, the CAP links the Vision to ‘community planning’ (deriving from the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act (2015)) alongside its link to regional land use planning (through the RLUF). In principle it can therefore be expected to play a role in shaping local government and other service provision. What the Vision says about a “Land Use Forum” One of the ‘local actions’ proposed in the Vision is to establish “a local Land Use Forum that is inclusive of all stakeholders and designed to narrow the gap between sectors” (Vision, §3 local b) with roles including: advocacy; support for local projects and organisations being consulted on land use proposals; networking; awareness raising over issues and consultations; creating ‘positive actions’ with landowners; and researching and learning (including about successful actions in other places). The Vision also sees a national (and implicitly regional) role for a Forum as a vehicle for enhancing community engagement in policy making beyond consultation. It envisages this role as a “strategic partner for representing Glenkens and district issues” through which to “effect change through robust channels that all communities can access” (Vision, §3 national c). This is a bold vision with a broad set of goals, and while all of these are important and mutually supportive, it is possible that different structures and processes might be better at achieving some than others. The Vision does not spell out in any detail what a ‘Forum’ would look like, and it may be that a single organisation is not the best approach to addressing all of these goals effectively and simultaneously. Facilitating genuine dialogue seems essential, given the problems of a lack of communication as equals between communities and other stakeholders, and of non-coordination between different land use policies and actions. However, an inclusive, all-the-stakeholders-round-the-table approach may not be the best way to achieve this. Although inclusive partnership working has become the go-to approach for addressing complex governance issues in the past 25-30 years, it is not always appropriate. Interviewees were generally ambivalent about a single Forum, recognising the need to bring people together, but also the risk of creating an ineffective and wasteful ‘talking shop’. See 11https://socialenterprise.academy/ 12 In early 2024 this funding amounted to over £300,000 each year, with distribution decided by the Glenkens and District Trust (GDT; https://www.glenkenstrust.org.uk ). 5 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Consequently, reflecting the community’s aspirations as set out in the Vision, this study set out from the following observations: • • • • the status quo is not sustainable. Even if in the short term it works for some stakeholders, in the medium and longer term there are physical and policy and market changes happening which need some kind of strategic and collective response; whatever is established, it must enable action: it must not be simply a ‘talking shop’ or, worse, exacerbate existing tensions and conflicts over land use; the range of functions set out in Vision may not be most effectively delivered by a single body; and the process of achieving the Vision’s potential will take time and require a developmental approach – not everything can or should be attempted at once. What is driving land use change in the Glenkens? The significant land use changes in the Glenkens have been well described elsewhere, including in the Vision and the draft RLUF. While the impacts, inevitability and desirability of these are all contested within and outside the communities of the Glenkens, they are (in brief and simplified): • • • expanding areas of commercial coniferous forestry (dominated by Sitka spruce) at the expense of farmland and peatland intensification of agriculture increasing numbers of wind farms13. The interviewees broadly recognised that land use change is inevitable and constant – none of them expressed the view that the landscape should stay exactly as it is. (Some did attribute this view to other Glenkens residents, negatively associating it with a lack of realism, particularly on the part of incomers who neither make a living from the land, nor understand how rural economies and societies function.) What concerns many people is the rapidity of the changes, and the emotional sense of loss of valued places and landscapes, linked to broader, more objective concerns about socio-economic change and the climate and biodiversity emergencies14. These are heightened by the sense that much (though not all) of the change is driven by external forces which the communities are unable to influence, and currently seem unstoppable. 13 This was less often mentioned by interviewees, other than in connection with the impacts and management of the community benefit funds. It is clear from other sources, though, that there is both significant resistance to and support for the construction of more wind farms within the Glenkens. 14 Note that there is absolutely no judgment implied by the use of ‘emotional’ and ‘objective’. The author does not subscribe to the views that policy making is or can be entirely rational, that emotional responses are unhelpful, or that expert science has a higher value than laypeople’s responses. All policy making and governance inescapably involves a mix of subjective and objective factors, as well as both expert and lay knowledge. 6 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens The drivers of these changes come from policy and market forces, as set out in Table 1 below. Table 1: drivers of land use change in the Glenkens Sector Policy drivers Forestry National policy targets for tree planting as a response to the climate emergency and the UK’s dependence on timber imports, and the identification of Dumfries & Galloway as a suitable region for forestry expansion. Market drivers A buoyant domestic timber market. The emergence of a carbon market creating additional income for forestry. Appreciating land value. Agriculture Agricultural subsidies which currently still prioritise food production over other ecosystem services. The generally poor economic returns from farming, pushing intensification in the search for higher productivity, and conversion to forestry. Energy National policy supporting onshore wind generation as a response to the climate emergency and the drive to ‘net zero’. The increasing profitability of wind generation, driven in part by technological development including the increasing size of turbines. These drivers operate in the broader context of a set of factors which challenge effective community engagement in land use decision making: a very centralised state, opaque and unequal land holding, the autonomy of land managers, and limited opportunities for community involvement in land use decision making (see below). At the same time, alternative land use changes are widely discussed which address the negative impacts, while in principle achieving the same policy goals: • • • more diverse and better located woodland creation, supported by investment in local job creation etc. regenerative farming practices sustaining hill farms through economic diversification. Some of these alternative approaches are influenced and supported by another set of external drivers, acting alongside and in potential conflict with those in Table 1: • • • • changes to forest policy to encourage more diverse, better located planting increasing salience of the biodiversity emergency in policy making and public awareness the developing market for carbon credits for peat restoration emerging markets for biodiversity tokens and other ecosystem benefits15 15These are currently not very significant in their overall scale and impact. Note, however, that there is already an emerging market for ‘nature-positive carbon’ i.e. higher value carbon credits associated with biodiversity gains. 7 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • • substantial governmental support for private investment in natural capital which delivers integrated land use, multiple environmental outcomes, and public, private and community benefit16 increasing investor and landowner sentiment in support of non-marketised community and biodiversity benefits i.e. recognising sustainability goals as having intrinsic value. The broader Scottish political and policy context also contains much that is positive, in the form of a suite of inter-related national policies which emphasise democratic and economic ‘community empowerment’, alongside an economic agenda rooted in a commitment to a broad conception of sustainable development17: • • planning reform, in favour of a more inclusive and collaborative planning system land reform involving greater community say in land transactions, changes in land use, and land management • a place-based approach to planning and service provision • an emphasis on community wealth building and • a just transition to net zero. All of these could encourage more local influence (if not control) over land use, and the creation of the kinds of community and landscape envisaged in the CAP and the Vision. Evidence of the impact of this policy direction is limited at the moment, but these ideas – and the policy and legal documents in which they are set out - provide political resources for communities and other stakeholders to draw on. They may develop more traction over time, particularly if they are increasingly used and so become part of mainstream policy making and implementation, but this is far from certain. A second policy development which may work in favour of more local input into land use planning is the push to regionalisation, apparent in the planning reform agenda. The explicit context for this study is the interest within the South of Scotland RLUF pilot in developing more detailed land use frameworks at a sub-regional scale. Regional Spatial Strategies (RSSs) and Regional Land Use Frameworks both offer some opportunities for community input, and in turn make links between land use planning and the Regional Economic Strategies (RES) through which the national economic transformation strategy is given a regional focus. Notably the South of Scotland RES 18 commits to supporting sustainable rural development and the resilience of villages, including through community wealth building. 16 See the Scottish Government’s 2022 Interim Principles for Responsible Investment in Natural Capital at https://www.gov.scot/publications/interim-principles-for-responsible-investment-in-natural-capital/ 17 The core document here is Delivering Economic Prosperity, the Scottish Government’s national strategy for economic transformation (March 2023). 18 See https://sosrep.dumgal.gov.uk/article/21953/Regional-Economic-Strategy 8 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens However, the future of regionalisation is unclear. The RLUFs are currently only at pilot stage, and although ‘indicative’ RSSs now exist, their fuller development does not seem to have an official timetable. If the approach does endure, RLUFs’ role with respect to the planning system and land use more generally is also unclear, particularly because by covering land use in general the RLUFs extend beyond the remit of the statutory planning system, which is not involved directly in the principal rural land uses. They could become significant, with the RLUF informing policy and decision-making across planning and economic development, as illustrated in this diagram from the draft RLUF (p. 44)19: A final policy development which potentially has significant implications for governance and rural development policy in the Glenkens is the possible creation of a Galloway National Park. At the time of writing the details and implications of this are completely unclear: all that can be said is that if a Park is created it will affect overarching policy goals and governance processes, and may well have unintended consequences, particularly in terms of housing affordability. While arguably a Park oriented towards sustainable rural development should be aligned with much of what is in the Vision, local opinion is sharply divided, and the proposals may create and amplify cleavages within and between communities and other stakeholders. Equally unforeseeable is how the planning and regulatory processes within a Park would engage with the other current, evolving processes – the RLUFs, the Local Place Plans, and the CAP/Vision. Overall the current policy and market landscape is extremely dynamic and unpredictable. Several key pieces of legislation are due to go through the Scottish Parliament in 2024/5, any of which could radically change the policy and market drivers of land use change20. All of these are relevant to future land use, and to community involvement in decision making. 19 https://sosrep.dumgal.gov.uk/media/28720/RLUF-Consultation-Draft/pdf/RLUF-Consultation-Draft.pdf 20 Some of these could have enormous impacts. For example, a significant shift in the agricultural subsidy regime to prioritise ‘public money for public goods’, as has happened in England, could see both major shifts in practices towards more biodiversity-friendly farming, and innovative landscape scale collaborations involving 9 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Consequently, any process established in the Glenkens should: • • • not assume that any positive policy change will happen, and therefore be designed to create as much useful change as possible within the current constraints be flexible enough to take advantage of any positive shifts in policy and the market try to influence these drivers by the power of example, and advocacy based on experience. What are the current opportunities for community input? Most decisions on land use outside urban areas are made by landowners and managers, and not through the state-run planning system. This means a) that there are no formal, statutory levers of community control over local land use decisions, either directly or through elected representatives and b) that their input is confined to weak contributions through consultation and ‘informal influence’. As the RLUF puts it, informal influence comes principally through “incentives, collaboration, partnership development and applying tools to understand the potential benefits that certain decisions could generate for land managers, the environment, wider community and the economy” (draft RLUF p. 34). The next subsections set out briefly what opportunities currently exist. The planning system Within the planning system, statutory input is limited to the right to comment on drafts of the Local Development Plan (LDP), Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) related to the Plan and on planning applications. Good practice would give the public more involvement during the development of the LDP and SPG (e.g. through more participative processes than the minimum consultation), although the extent and influence of this is entirely within the control of the relevant local planning authority (LPA)21. Public consultation on planning applications is just one ‘material consideration’ amongst many, can only be taken into account at all if it applies to a defined range of issues, and will be disregarded if it runs counter to national planning (or other) policy. Effective opposition to applications usually rests on showing conflicts between the proposed development and existing policies, not simply expressing opposition. In relation to the principal land use changes in the Glenkens, the planning system is only really relevant to wind farms and related works (such as roads and transmission lines). Some agricultural and forestry operations fall under the planning system (e.g. new access roads, some buildings). Public input into planning decisions may have marginal effects but is unlikely to fundamentally change land uses22. landowners and managers along the lines of DEFRA’s Landscape Recovery programme (see https://defrafarming.blog.gov.uk/2024/02/12/landscape-recovery-building-long-term-agreements). 21The Glenkens’ LPA is currently Dumfries & Galloway Council. If a national park were created the new Park Authority would take over planning responsibilities. 22A Galloway National Park would almost certainly impose tighter restrictions on some forms of development, and potentially give the public more levers over development through the planning system. 10 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Local Place Plans (LPPs)23 Sitting within the formal planning system, the development of LPPs probably provides the greatest current opportunity for public involvement in land use planning, at least in principle. LPPs offer the possibility of a genuinely community-based plan, with a spatial basis allowing the identification of key assets, places to be protected or developed, and so on. In a largely rural area such as the Glenkens, this could cover a great deal of farm and forestry land, and allow the community to indicate land use preferences going beyond the remit of the planning system. Dumfries & Galloway Council (DGC) have said that they are taking the LPPs seriously, giving them high-level officer and political support, partly connected to the development of ‘place-based’ service planning (i.e. integrated service provision by the local authority and others, rather than land use planning in the strict sense.) However, their potential for effective community input is threatened by the following: 1. LPPs may only be registered by the local planning authority if they conform to ‘higher level’ (i.e. national and LPA) planning policy. Thus, for example, LPPs which oppose renewable electricity generation and transmission developments, or the expansion of commercial woodland, are likely to fall foul of the Scottish Government’s National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) and Climate Change Plan. DGC’s forthcoming, revised, Forestry and Woodland Strategy will be significant, as this will be a formal part of local planning policy, with the status of Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG). Although the existing Strategy is ten years old, no date exists for the publication of the updated version. 2. Even if LPPs are registered, their role within decision making is unclear. The relevant legislation and guidance24 merely say that they must be “taken account of” in the drawing up of LDPs, without specifying what this means. Like other ‘material considerations’ in planning, this means they will have to be considered but do not need to actually influence outcomes25. 3. There seems to be a tendency for LPPs to be led by Community Councils (CCs) and to be developed for their settlement areas, rather than entire areas covered by the CCs. Both of these push their scope away from dealing with strategic, multi-settlement and landscape-scale issues, such as natural flood management, water quality, habitat restoration and maintenance and so on. The last of these could be circumvented. There is nothing stopping a LPP from extending across the entire community council area, including farm and forestry land. Further, the legislation allows LPPs to be drawn up by “community bodies” which are not Community Councils, as long as they show genuine community support. This raises the possibility of a Glenkens-scale LPP, drawn up by a body and process which demonstrates community support. DGC have not explored this idea, but have not ruled it out. Even in the situation 23The nature and role of LPPs are set out in the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019, the Town and Country Planning (Local Place Plans) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, and Planning Circular 1/2022: Local Place Plans. 24 See previous footnote. 25 The English experience with Neighbourhood Plans, which have a clearer statutory role as part of the LDP, is not encouraging in terms of genuine community influence. 11 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens where 1 and 2 mitigate against an LPP having much influence in planning in a strict sense, the existence of such a Plan might well have an informal role – see below. Regional Land Use Frameworks The RLUF process so far has offered some opportunity for community input, through a fairly substantial consultation process. As noted above, the process is important in that it drove and frames the Vision and the current study, reflecting the proposals in the consultation draft RLUF to: develop sub-catchment plans for land use that link to local place-plans [i.e. LPPs], to inform opportunities for land use change and emerging Just Transition Plans for land (draft RLUF (summary) p. 8) which would provide a robust platform to help guide land use change to build resilience to climate change and lead to nature recovery e.g. through nature networks, help facilitate better dialogue between stakeholders and, help inform communities of natural assets in their locality and involve them in discussions around land use (draft RLUF p. 45). In principle this would provide government support and a direct linkage into a higher (regional) level policy making for a Glenkens-level Land Use/Local Place Plan. There are hopes that the South of Scotland RLUF will have a role within the delivery plan for the Regional Economic Strategy, regardless of whether the RLUFs themselves are rolled out nationally. This in turn would create a link to the developing field of private sector natural capital investment. A Glenkens Land Use Plan might thus have a role in giving the communities input to important emerging policy fields which may shape significant inward economic investment to the area in the next few years. As a current resource, the draft RLUF contains, or is a gateway to, a wealth of biophysical and socio-economic data, much of it in map format. While the resolution of these is probably too coarse to support site-specific land use planning, it is certainly a useful starting point for creating an indicative map of resources and constraints in the Glenkens. The Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) process also has lessons for setting up a Forum, which could be seen as a RLUP in miniature. Reflecting on the first phase of stakeholder engagement (to June 2022), academics closely involved in the development of the RLUP pilots reported that the pilots’ effectiveness was limited by: their unclear purpose, importance and linkage to other policy fields; their perceived irrelevance to decision making at the level of actual land use decisions, leading to a reluctance of land managers to get involved; and the perceived association of ‘land use planning’ with the land reform agenda, which also caused reluctance among the same group26. Care must be taken not to replicate these weaknesses at local level. 26Peskett, L., M. J. Metzger and K. Blackstock (2023). ‘Regional scale integrated land use planning to meet multiple objectives: Good in theory but challenging in practice.’ Environmental Science & Policy 147: 292-304. 12 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Community councils (CCs) and the representative democratic system Community councils are in principle the most responsive level of local government, acting at a scale where they can pay attention to the details of site-specific land use changes. Yet their statutory role is very weak, being to “help to make public bodies aware of the opinions and needs of the communities they represent”27. They have only consultative status with respect to planning applications and the forestry approval system (see below) and almost no other powers. Further, while some are well-organised and active in their communities, others struggle to perform their functions, especially given their extremely limited resources and voluntary nature. It is possible that the Local Governance Review28 will empower them, but this seems unlikely. Councils (local authorities) have more powers, but influencing their actions - especially with respect to specific land use decisions – is difficult for citizens. Direct contact with ward councillors may have some effect, particularly if an issue is politically salient. This is unpredictable (in part because councillor involvement is always affected by political considerations) and in any case unlikely to be effective, especially if an issue falls outwith the scope of council policy. Advocacy to change local authority policy is likely to be more fruitful, particularly if policies are given weight in the planning system as supplementary planning guidance (SPG). Both DGC’s Forestry and Woodland Strategy and Wind Farm Landscape Capacity Study are SPG for the Local Development Plan. However, this avenue has been severely impacted by financial austerity - DGC currently has no Woodland or Biodiversity Officers, hampering work on both the Forestry and Woodland Strategy (2014) and the significantly outdated Local Biodiversity Action Plan (2009). Other areas of policy may also be important for land use decisions, in ways which appear to be at the discretion of individual local authorities. (For instance, South Ayrshire Council requires all forestry applications on which it is consulted to have their implications for private water supplies assessed. This is not the case for Dumfries & Galloway Council.) National politics offers little opportunity for engagement over local issues. This generalisation is heightened in the Glenkens since the main land use changes are backed by national government policy. As with local authorities, policy advocacy is more likely to be possible than engagement over individual cases, and this is where the tensions between different government policies (in particular that between rhetorical commitments to ‘community empowerment’ and ‘community wealth building’ and the centrally-set forest creation and renewable energy targets) may have leverage with respect to shifting the incentive and regulatory structures around land use. The Glenkens and District Community Action Plan (CAP) The Community Action Plan process gave communities genuine influence over a document with the potential to shape some aspects of development in the Glenkens. Its linkage to 27https://www.communitycouncils.scot/what-is-a-community-council/model-scheme-documents-2023 28See https://www.gov.scot/policies/improving-public-services/local-governance-review/ 13 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens wind farm community benefit spending makes this an unusual example of direct influence on implementation, unmediated by the discretion of the local authority or other state bodies. Going forward, further rounds of engagement to update the CAP will again give the community opportunities for influence over strategy, and they have continual influence over funding decisions through Community Council representation on the Glenkens & District Trust (GDT), which administers these funds. With respect to government policy and governance structures the CAP’s position is unclear. Community Action Plans are in principle linked to place-based, integrated service provision rather than spatial/development planning and the planning system, and so would appear to have a slightly different role from the LPPs29. The situation is clearly not resolved at a policy level, and is being worked out in different ways across Scotland 30. In the Glenkens, the CAP was researched and published in 2019/2020, before the concept of LPPs was rolled out. However, DGC seems to be giving LPPs a lead role in both spatial and service planning, so it is unclear what the official status of the CAP is and how it is intended to relate to the LPPs which are only now under development. Since the Land Use Vision is part of the CAP, this ambiguity may present a valuable opportunity for the community to pro-actively integrate the two strands, and demonstrate how this might be done in ways which are useful to other communities and local authorities. Regardless of the formal position, the CAP has informal status as a well-consulted-on community-based plan, which will presumably be taken more account of by external stakeholders than less well-articulated and consolidated views of the community and individuals. Opportunities for influence with respect to the main land use changes Forestry While opportunities do exist for community input with respect to forestry, the process is complex and clearly not widely understood in its details. Confusion arises because although the relevant legal framework is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)31, full EIA is extremely unusual for forestry project. Much of the opportunity for public involvement comes before a proposal for forest creation or management is even formally submitted to Scottish Forestry (SF) and is thus governed more by SF policy than by regulation. SF’s position is that the proposal development stage provides the best opportunity for communities to influence forestry decisions directly: consultation by a forestry scheme proposer is required by SF as part of their screening process to determine whether or not an EIA is needed at all, and they have provided extensive guidance on what is expected of developers at this stage32. 29 See Planning Aid Scotland’s useful comparison of the two strands of “community-led plans” at https://www.pas.org.uk/what-we-do/community-led-plans/. 30 So, for instance, some communities see the LPPs as replacements for Community Action Plans (see e.g. https://www.blscommunitytrust.org.uk/what-we-do/bls-community-place-plan). 31 The Forestry (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2017/113/contents/made. 32 Scottish Forestry’s Forestry Engagement and Consultation Processes at https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/1496-forestry-engagement-and-consultation-processes. 14 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens This is not statutory consultation (in contrast to the way that consultation for a planning application has its roots in law) but it is recommended by the UK Forest Standard, and will therefore be assessed for every forestry proposal above certain size thresholds (both planting and felling), regardless of whether these are to be supported by state grants. The language of community engagement is clear in the policy and guidance, rhetorically aligning forestry with other government policy agendas. So, for instance, Scottish Forestry’s Forestry Engagement and Consultation Processes33 states that: Involving local communities and stakeholders in decisions about forestry creates opportunities not only to improve plans and proposals and thereby increase support for them, but also to support a just transition to net zero, enhance community wellbeing and improve social justice (p. 3). In theory this involvement provides the opportunity for communities to affect planting design, access, species mix and so on, and to propose additional benefits such as path creation and economic opportunities. A more formal opportunity for public input exists later in the process, when submitted applications are put on the ‘public register’ for four weeks. However, both the published guidance and interviewee comments show that by this stage SF expects any significant public concerns to have been addressed. However, the nature of the community engagement - or the weight to be given to it in decision making - is nowhere spelled out, which clearly leaves its effectiveness and relevance at the discretion of Scottish Forestry. Interviewees’ assessments of this process were quite polarised34. With some qualification, forestry professionals mainly considered that these processes were adequate, and also that they had been improving over the years in line with changes to the UK Forestry Standard. Foresters’ opinions differed over the most appropriate forms of consultation, with some in favour of town hall meetings – to get away from the perceived unrepresentative nature of some Community Councils – while others saw such meetings as promoting conflict and poor representation, and preferred less public techniques such as drop-in sessions. Some significant successes were reported (by NGOs, rather than communities) in changing proposed schemes, but in general community and NGO interviewees’ views were negative, seeing the consultation processes as ‘tick box exercises’. They were particularly critical of the agreement35 by which the national environmental regulatory bodies, NatureScot, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and Historic Environment Scotland, will not object to forestry proposals which conform to the UK Forest Standard (except within a narrow set of specific circumstances), thus closing off a route for a stronger environmental and heritage case to be made within forestry development. Interviewees recognised that different forestry companies and landowners 33 Scottish Forestry’s Forestry Engagement and Consultation Processes at https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/1496-forestry-engagement-and-consultation-processes. 34 These responses mirror very closely those from a review of stakeholder engagement in a major forestry initiative in the Scottish Borders – see https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/817-stakeholder-engagement-toinform-development-of-a-regional-woodland-creation-framework-scottish-borders-pilot-areas-1-2/download. 35https://forestry.gov.scot/support-regulations/public-registers/scottish-forestry-and-statutory-consulteesjoint-working-agreement. 15 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens had very different approaches to community consultation, with some much more genuinely engaged and responsive, and others uninterested in communities’ views. Communities are also consulted by forestry managers for five- and ten-year reviews of block management plans. The level of consultation is discretionary – depending on the perceived relevance of a block to local communities – and is confined spatially to issues about the blocks themselves. A minority position within the forestry interviewees was that this should be extended to a more holistic consultation about a block’s relationship with neighbouring non-forested areas. There are also two structural weaknesses here, in that consultation is on a case by case basis, rather than strategic (e.g. at landscape scale) and is also unable to deal adequately with cumulative impact in its obvious sense. There is a requirement for cumulative impact to be assessed, but this has a specific, technical meaning relating to new and existing woodland in adjacent areas36 which differs from EIA under Town & Country Planning (Scotland) 1997 as amended which consider the overall impact of existing or approved developments on landscape, biodiversity, infrastructure etc. Overall the situation with respect to direct public engagement in forestry planning is problematic, whether one takes the view that existing consultation over forestry is often inadequate (the general community and NGO view) or simply because the division over the issue complicates discussions of how (or even whether) to improve the approach to community involvement. It should be said that the situation has improved over time, and at the point of writing there were several recent and emerging initiatives involving the state, community and private sectors to further develop community engagement37. However, the structural factors which favour developer interests remain. This matters greatly, given that forestry creates what are often the most contentious land use decisions in the Glenkens. There is, however, an important alterative but indirect route for input into the regulation of forest planning via the planning system. Although forest development mainly lies outwith that system, local authorities are consultees on forest proposals, and their policies are taken into account in Scottish Forestry’s decision making 38. Supplementary Planning Guidance was described by SF as setting a ‘high bar’ for development proposals, which would have to 36 This is spelled out in more detail in Scottish Forestry’s EIA Staff Procedures - https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/foi-eir-release/2023/12/commercialconifer-proposals-for-forestry-grant-scheme-eir-release/documents/eia-staff-procedures-guidance-march2023/eia-staff-procedures-guidance-march2023/govscot%3Adocument/EIA%2BStaff%2BProcedures%2BGuidance%2BMarch%2B2023.pdf 37 See e.g. https://forestry.gov.scot/forests-people/communities/local-stakeholder-and-communityengagement-and-consultation, https://communitiesfordiverseforestry.org/ and https://www.confor.org.uk/resources/events/stakeholder-engagement-training-scotland/. 38 See e.g. the UK Forest Standard: “Woodland creation and forest management activities are not defined as ‘development’ and so do not come within the scope of the Town and Country Planning Acts”, however, “planning authorities have responsibility for landscape issues. They have the power to define areas of high landscape importance and to provide for their conservation and enhancement through policies in their local plans and supplementary guidance. Local planning authorities are consulted on forestry proposals, with landscape and visual impacts frequently considered as important issues.” UKFS p. 64. 16 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens make a very strong case for breaching a local authority’s policy. The review of the DGC Forest and Woodland Strategy thus offers the communities an opportunity to shape an important input into future forest development – and heightens the urgency of the revision, despite the constraints noted above. (Other similar opportunities may exist in other policy areas , in ways similar to the example given above of South Ayrshire Council’s policy on forestry and private water supplies. These were not, however, explored in this study.) There are a few instances of innovative arrangements which give communities a significant level of control over forestry. Outright ownership, as at Carsphairn Community Woodland39, gives communities complete control. More limited, but possibly with greater potential for replication, is the recent (September 2023) 20-year lease of unplanted land owned by a forestry investment company to a community-based trust in the Upper Urr valley40. This gives the community the right to manage the site for amenity and environmental purposes, and is a model which might be pursued elsewhere with similarly innovative landowners. Agricultural land use Opportunities for community input into most agricultural decision making are virtually nil, except for the marginal cases where planning permission is needed. Changes in farming practice and many agricultural buildings are thus beyond formal influence. In some cases informal influence may be exerted through community networks –this is perhaps most likely where landowners are local and are concerned about their reputation within the community of which they are part41. This is obviously a very individual matter. There was evidence that farmers feel misunderstood and are defensive about being told how to farm, in particular with respect to more ‘nature-friendly’ approaches, by people (often characterised as ‘outsiders’, whether Glenkens residents or more distant politicians and policy makers) who do not appreciate how difficult and marginal farming is. This view was shared both by farmers who were conservative in their overall approach and by those who wished to diversify and innovate but were constrained financially. Those who are adopting a very different approach, adopting ‘regenerative farming’ approaches or similar, were unsurprisingly more aligned with views which were opposed to traditional and intensifying farming. However, they, too, recognised the tensions caused by non-farmers attempting to tell farmers what to do on their land, and non-farmers also ascribed to farmers a strong anti-interference culture. The Land Reform Bill42 currently passing through Parliament contains provisions for the introduction of Compulsory Land Management Plans for blocks of land of more than 1000 hectares, with a community engagement requirement. This would, for a few large estates in the Glenkens, bring in a new route for community involvement, with unpredictable effectiveness or prospects in the future. 39 See http://carsphairn.org/CCWL. 40 See https://glenkens.scot/glenkens-news/upper-urr-environmental-trust-signs-milestone-agreement-with- foresight-sustainable-forest-company. 41 Interviewees speculated about this, but robust evidence from landowners of such influence (or its absence) would be useful. 42https://www.gov.scot/news/land-reform-bill. 17 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Wind farms The public have much greater potential input to wind farm development than to forestry or farming, since they are subject to formal approval through the statutory planning system. See above, however – the extent of effective public involvement through this process is likely to be very limited, though it is useful that (in contrast to forestry and farming) the assessment of cumulative landscape impact is part of the wind farm permitting process. As with those other land uses, however, interviewees did note that there is considerable variation within the sector, with some companies going well beyond statutory requirements and others appearing uninterested in engagement. Summary Overall, opportunities for formal community input into land use decision making are: • • • limited to consultation, whether through statutory planning or the forestry EIA processes, and therefore discretionary and historically weak often in opposition to interlocking structural factors, where policy and market forces combine to drive land use change, and are difficult to challenge very poor at considering the cumulative and landscape scale impact of individual changes, even where these are consulted on and • viewed very differently by those in control of the processes and those desiring more influence. There is a fundamental divide here between those who see engagement as a way of collectively deciding what use to make of the land (for whom the status quo is inadequate), and those who control current land uses and see engagement as a way of getting constructive input into proposals (and so view the current situation as basically acceptable). Improvements to individual proposals are possible through existing routes, but not structural change which would change the effects of the policy and market drivers at landscape scale. Currently local informal mechanisms are also weak, with the exception of the Glenkens CAP/Vision process and the direct route this gives to influencing (relatively small) spending from the community benefit funds. However, unless the structural and statutory constraints change – which is possible, but unpredictable and in the short term unlikely – strengthening the informal routes to influence seems likely to be the most effective approach in attempting to bridge the divide. The next section explores what this might look like. §3: Achieving change Mechanisms for change Informal influence by communities can happen either through: 18 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • • agreement between community and decision- or policy-making stakeholders, with explicit commitment to abide by this (whether among a large, inclusive group or as ‘bilateral’ agreements with single landholders); or articulation of a community position (at any scale from single site to landscape) based in sufficient community involvement and credible expertise to be recognised by other stakeholders as authoritative and legitimate. This can then be deployed in community-led campaigning and planning, consultative/planning processes initiated by other stakeholders, and lobbying for policy change. These informal mechanisms work through social pressure on the stakeholders to recognise a legitimate community voice and to abide by public commitments. Always vulnerable to being overridden by other pressures (from regulation, policy, and markets) they will be most effective where: • • • (local) reputation matters; or where resistance to the community input would be more expensive (in time or other resources) than reaching agreement; or where mutual advantage (‘win-wins’) can be achieved at low or no additional cost. Examples of win-wins might be ‘progressive’ procurement of local goods and services, riverside planting, community input to protect biodiversity-rich sites, path creation in forest areas and so on. Stakeholder agreements can achieve ‘force’ in official contexts, even if without statutory status. This can be cumulative, in the sense that once an agreement has been recognised by one state body (particularly if it is written into policy) it is more likely to be adopted in further policy making. This appears to be how some policy makers see the government’s approach to LPPs as set out in NPF4 (and perhaps also CAPs), but the idea is admittedly “nebulous”, as one interviewee put it. The potential for either agreement or campaigning to work is very context-dependent, which means that learning from other places has to be done carefully. NatureScot’s innovative and successful work with local stakeholders on land use planning in the Carse of Stirling43, for instance, appears to have been able to generate consensus in a context where conflicts and competition over land use were not very great. In contrast, the Glenkens Vision is positioned in opposition to current patterns of land use change and the forces driving them. These are not simply impersonal, external forces but are embodied locally in real people, who are making decisions on the ground – this is a context where stakeholders have visibly different interests. This reduces the likelihood of achieving a consensus summarised in a single Plan, to which all stakeholders will sign up 44. 43https://www.nature.scot/sites/default/files/2017-07/Publication%202014%20- %20SNH%20Commissioned%20Report%20676%20-%20Carse%20of%20Stirling%20%20an%20ecosystems%20approach%20demonstration%20project%20Technical%20Report.pdf. 44 This is not to detract from the achievement of wide stakeholder agreement to the Vision itself. However, some interviewees made it clear that although they were involved in the process, the final document does not 19 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens To Plan or not to Plan? Whether or not to work towards a Glenkens Land Use Plan is therefore an important strategic choice, which defines different options for achieving the Vision. The Vision proposes ‘whole catchment planning’, and it is hard to see how this could be done without having spatial representation in the form of a Plan i.e. a map (or series of maps) setting out both the current situation and options for the future, underpinned by the principles articulated in the Vision. The arguments for such a Plan are: • • • it would provide a vehicle for integrating different development objectives in a coherent way, and in particular for envisaging and planning a balance between different land uses it would be an enduring, readily usable, and symbolically important statement of the community’s aspirations, which could be used to influence decision making processes both within and outwith the Glenkens it could play a useful role in streamlining proposals for land use change (e.g. in the forestry consenting process) by allowing communities to present a ‘ready-made’ authoritative position. It would also nest neatly into the regional land use planning processes, providing an exemplar of the kind of localised, sub-catchment plan set out in the draft RLUF. Such a Plan could be developed with varying levels of assertiveness around desired outcomes. The most forceful would present quantified cumulative targets and limits on specific land uses, as well as locations for different land uses, and (maximally) would aspire to giving communities a right to veto proposals which did not conform to the Plan. Weaker versions would be more indicative, presenting opportunities and choices for acceptable and desirable development and change in different areas, and recognising that the role of the Plan would be to guide development rather than stopping it. (The Carse of Stirling work provides an excellent example of this kind of indicative planning.) As a minimum, any Plan would be underpinned by a map which would bring together as much information as possible, incorporating both expert and lay, objective and subjective, knowledge of the landscape. Interviewees were explicitly asked for their responses to the idea of such a Glenkens Land Use Plan. These ranged from extremely supportive through to equally strong opposition. The arguments against a Plan were mainly made by current controllers of land and land use decision making. These arguments are principally that: • • if a Plan did achieve any kind of statutory or officially recognised force, it would bind land managers in ways which would be unreasonable and not based on an accurate understanding of the land’s potential, as well as breaching their rights to manage and profit from the land within current structures a Plan could not have statutory weight, and therefore its creation would mislead communities by raising unrealistic expectations of influence or control reflect their position. The general, non-spatial nature of the Vision also makes it easier to agree to than a more specific, spatial representation which might impact on actual land use decisions. 20 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • • constraints on managers might drive away investment: the point was made that investors are more likely to respond to positive incentives than quasi-regulatory constraints. A final argument, made from a community perspective, was that exactly because a Plan could never have statutory force, creating one would be a waste of the communities’ scarce resources - in particular of time better spent on more effective activities. Some of the interviewees who were opposed on the first two grounds suggested that they would nevertheless contribute to such a planning process in order to have their expertise reflected in the end product, which would need to be ‘balanced’ and ‘not too prescriptive.’ (A ‘community right of veto’ was seen as completely unacceptable.) The importance of values, beliefs and attitudes These sets of arguments both have their own internal logic, reflecting genuine conflicts between the private interests of landowners and the public/collective interest in the ecosystem and social services provided by the land. These are linked to (and to some extent reinforced by) other differences rooted in values, attitudes and beliefs of all those involved. Unsurprisingly, conflicting values and views emerged through the interviews on who has rights of different kinds over land, and ultimately what (and who) the land is for i.e. the same issues being played out in the national debates over land reform. Other evident divisions were more about perceptions and feelings, such as land managers’ very widely shared sense of being misunderstood and criticised by people they characterised as misinformed and unreasonable, exacerbated in particular by the low economic returns from farming. Farmers and foresters also seemed somewhat antagonistic, with views polarised between farmer narratives that ‘forestry has ruined the valley’ and foresters’ position that ‘farming is an uneconomic use of land which is better suited to tree growing’. Conflicting beliefs about ecological processes (i.e. about matters of scientific fact) were also expressed, including climate change denial and - more commonly - alternative understandings of the processes leading to species decline and other ecological damage. (These broadly divided between those who see land use change as a fundamental cause of biodiversity loss, and those who blame other factors, including ill-advised policy changes.) None of these positions – or the divisions they cause - are unique to the Glenkens, and this is certainly not a case of communities so divided that they cannot engage meaningfully as partners with external stakeholders or speak with an authoritative voice. It is a case of the normal context for and content of environmental and sustainability policy making. Divergent and conflicting beliefs, attitudes, goals and interests are a potential constraint to any effective stakeholder process and must be acknowledged – ignoring them is naïve and will lead to unrealistic expectations of consensus. Some of these differences can be overcome, or reduced, by dialogue; others are going to result in loss for some individuals and groups, and for these the goal must be to reach compromises rather than have changes imposed. The approach taken thus needs to be flexible and developmental. With the long term goal of realising the Vision, or as much of it as possible, it has to be recognised that this is not something that can be done all at once. It requires people to learn more about each other, and about the issues, and adapt to this and to external changes. Mutual respect and 21 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens dialogue, careful choice of stakeholders and well-designed and managed interactions are key in achieving this, and avoiding further conflict and tensions. Resourcing change Cutting across every other consideration about realising the Vision is the issue of how to resource change. The central problem is the shortage of people with time to engage with land use issues. Clearly within the communities there is much valuable work being done by dedicated volunteers, including the unpaid members of Community Councils. Equally, committed paid staff in the community organisations and third sector bodies have been involved in the CAP and Vision processes, but always in the context of insufficient staff time and stretched resources. This is obviously tied very directly to funding constraints, and in particular the ability of organisations to recruit permanent staff. It also leaves organisations and communities vulnerable to the impact of short-term initiatives and funding, rather than benefitting from sustained, strategically funded and planned programmes. Here the current situation is extremely gloomy, with a further round of cuts in public sector funding imminent. It is important to recognise that larger public sector bodies (such as Scottish Forestry) are also affected by shortages in funds and staff, as are – to a lesser extent – at least some of the private sector organisations involved. Individual staff are often responsible for large areas, encompassing many communities. This raises serious questions about the replicability of sub-catchment level planning, or enhanced processes of community engagement over forestry and wind farm applications. The Glenkens communities have the advantage of being well-organised and pro-active in engaging with external bodies, including those like NatureScot and SOSE who have dedicated some staff time and funding in return for the Glenkens acting as a pilot for new initiatives. This is clearly not replicable across all the communities and catchments of Dumfries and Galloway, let alone rural Scotland. Ways forward will require financial resources (but little time) from external stakeholders, in order to fund time and support for community-led actions. In the present financial climate this is problematic, and there is no obvious solution. In the longer term there are three possibilities for additional funding, potentially at significant scale but all currently very uncertain and unpredictable. • • An increase in community benefit funds flowing from the wind farms, if many of the planned developments on the surrounding hills are built, and the current community benefit regime is sustained. The Glenkens might well benefit enormously from this, though the availability of such funds is obviously very unevenly distributed 45, so support for replication across rural Scotland would be patchy. New sources of community benefit funds from other kinds of development, in particular forestry. This is under discussion but currently very speculative, though there is at least 45 See https://www.southofscotlandenterprise.com/media/v0rpq3n3/baseline-report-on-community-benefits- from-onshore-wind-projects-in-the-south-of-scotland-final-18-10-23.pdf for the current (2023) situation. 22 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • one example in which a percentage of the funds from the sale of carbon credits from forest creation goes to local communities46. A flow of income from private sector investment in natural capital, and potentially other market responses to demand for social returns on investment. This is an emerging area, but governmental guidelines on responsible investment in natural capital already exist47 along with support for experimental projects48. The South of Scotland is playing a key role in this, positioning itself as a “Natural Capital Innovation Zone” 49. 46 Trees for Life’s Dundreggan estate. See https://forestry.gov.scot/publications/1484-national-forestry- stakeholder-group-discussion-paper-delivering-local-community-benefits-and-wealth-building-14-march-2023. 47https://www.gov.scot/publications/interim-principles-for-responsible-investment-in-natural-capital. 48https://www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/firns-facility-investment-ready-nature-scotland. 49https://www.southofscotlandenterprise.com/news/naturalcapitalinvestment. 23 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens §4: Options for taking forward the Vision Four options are set out below, plus the ‘do nothing new’ Option 0. They have been selected to illustrate what might be done with increasing resourcing, and how the issues around creating a Plan in the context of significant divisions might be addressed in different ways. The options are: 0. 1. 2. 3. 4. Do nothing new Supported stakeholder interaction (ad hoc and reactive) Flexible stakeholder group (seeking win-wins) Planning group (developing a Glenkens Land Use Plan) A fully inclusive stakeholder Forum Details of their structure and functions are given in Table 2. To enable comparison, each option is assessed against five criteria, chosen because they collectively contribute to achieving an effective process50. These are: C1: Orientation towards the Vision’s goals. This is self-evidently desirable, but complex. The Vision sets out ambitious substantive goals for sustainable development, and a wide range of roles for any new body or process, comprising advocacy, support for local projects and organisations, networking, awareness raising, creating ‘positive actions’ with landowners, researching and learning, and representing the Glenkens in regional and national level land use decision making. C2: Capacity to act i.e. the ability to make decisions and command resources in order to fulfil any of the goals set out in C1.As noted above, all those involved in the study were clear that any new process or body must not be a(nother) talking shop but must lead to tangible progress. C3: Community support, visible in positive support for initiatives and the absence of opposition and explicit, public dissent. Such support is a core value in itself (closely related to democratic legitimacy), and pragmatically is essential to enable action to take place (e.g. through attracting volunteer workers, participants in planning sessions etc.). C4: External support and credibility, based in how the proposal fits with existing/developing governance structures and principles, as well as external stakeholders’ interests. C5: Resource demand. Resourcing is clearly crucial: progress beyond ‘do nothing new’ cannot be made by relying solely on already over-stretched unpaid workers, or contributions from paid workers already at the limits of what they can achieve in their existing roles. It is assumed that all of Options 1-4 would involve a paid worker: the resource differences are in terms of the additional funding and unpaid work that they would entail. 50 More detail on this framework for assessing effective stakeholder processes can be found in Connelly, S. and T. Richardson (2008) ‘Effective policy-making in the uplands: a case study in the Peak District National Park’, in Bonn, A. et al, Drivers of Change in Upland Environments, London & New York: Routledge, pp. 376-392. 24 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens In principle these criteria are interdependent. Virtuous circles may be created in which the criteria are mutually supportive: for example demonstrated capacity to achieve the Vision goals might lead to greater community support, and so to greater external credibility, leading to more financial resources and so to increased capacity to act. However, experience elsewhere also suggests that criteria may need to be traded off against each other. For example, capacity to act and external support may rest on moderating the goals. Note also that inclusivity is not in itself a good thing, as while it may increase levels of support, it can also reduce capacity to act and force compromise on goals if divergent interests are included. Consequently, inclusivity is not a criterion used to evaluate the options. The evaluation of the options against the criteria is shown in Table 3. 25 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Table 2: Structure, functions and resourcing needs for the 5 options Option Structure Function Resource demand 0: Do nothing new Existing volunteers, working with the Vision as the guiding principle, accessing resources as and when possible. Addressing all the purposes set out in the Vision. 1: Supported stakeholder interaction Small steering group managing a paid worker. Flexible, but focusing on win-wins around locationspecific land use issues by brokering dialogue, levering in (low/no-cost) support, networking/learning. Would potentially address all the anticipated Forum functions, but probably little advocacy or Plan creation (because of resource constraints, and potential conflict between creating a Plan and achieving win-wins.) An explicit win-win finding role, more strategic than Option 1. Would combine ad hoc responses to land use issues and opportunities (as Option 1) with proactively addressing issues thematically and drawing up action plans. (Possible themes: employment, education/learning, tourism, procurement, water, energy etc.) The group would also be able to advocate for policy change on the basis of its work. Low in terms of external resources, high at a personal level for those involved. It might be possible to make some gains by accessing resources from local community benefit funds to increase volunteers for e.g. events, networking, conferences etc. One FTE salary (+on-costs), supporting expenses (IT, travel) + stakeholder expenses for events. This is the baseline cost for the following Options 2-4. 2:Flexible stakeholder group Formalised stakeholder group with paid worker support; as inclusive as possible, with task and finish groups for particular issues. Full meetings infrequent, possibly irregular i.e. ad hoc, according to need. Also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to come together and communicate as equals on neutral ground. This would occur alongside the core win-win activities, but could also be promoted through structured events for participants to learn about different sectors’ issues. 26 Steering group time. Stakeholder time on an ad hoc basis, motivated by immediate interests. Baseline as above (Option 1). Stakeholder time on a more regular basis: would be more demanding and require more commitment from some stakeholders than O1. Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Table 2: Structure, functions and resourcing needs for the 5 options Option Structure Function Resource demand 3: Planning group Small stakeholder group with paid support; created by invitation and expected to grow organically over time; would draw in expertise as and when needed. Developing a Glenkens-scale land use Plan: a set of maps and spatialised objectives, possibly with targets and limits for land uses. Depending on available resource, would also take on the role of promoting and using this Plan in advocacy, representation, networking and support roles. Baseline as above (Option 1). 4: Forum Inclusive stakeholder group with paid support, meeting regularly. Would include task and finish groups, as in O2. Developing a land use Plan and resolving specific land use conflicts as they arise. It would also address all the Forum roles set out in the Vision: this might involve strategic seeking of win-wins through task and finish theme groups, as in O2.As with O2, it would also provide an opportunity for stakeholders to come together and communicate as equals on neutral ground, with the option of structured learning events. Stakeholder time demands would be high on a relatively small group. Would also need technical skills/support to manage data and map production. These skills would ideally be held by the paid worker; production and IT costs additional. Potentially attractive to funders (e.g. SOSE/RLUP or NatureScot) who are supportive of sub-catchment land use planning. Baseline as above, with additional stakeholder event costs. The principal paid role would be more administrative and less creative/guiding the process than in O2 or 3, but would demand data- and maprelated skills, as in O3. Overall demand on stakeholder time would be high, with regular (perhaps quarterly) meetings and interim meetings to address specific issues. Would demand an effective and active Chair, on whom time demand would be high. 27 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Table 3: Evaluation of the options against criteria + principal risks Option Orientation towards Vision goals Capacity to act Community support External support/credibility Principal risks 0: Do nothing new High. No reasons to compromise on orientation. Low. Much is currently being done, but too limited in time to achieve the full potential of the Vision. Individual activists may have considerable credibility, but no collective ‘standing’ or community representative role. Weak in the face of ‘you don’t represent the community’ challenges. Dependent on a few, already stretched, individuals, and so not only limited in expanding the workload but also vulnerable to burnout/key people leaving. 1: Supported stakeholder engagement High. No reasons to compromise on orientation. Middling. This would be a step forward from the volunteer-only Option 0.Capacity to address structural constraints -through policy advocacy and/or creating a Plan – probably limited, except through the power of good examples. Mixed. There are advantages from key activists being local, but this also has disadvantages arising from their history as campaigners, and the divisions around people perceived as ‘outsiders’ making changes meeting their own (perceived/assumed) values. Potentially high. Achievement of quick, visible win-wins could make this a legitimate and locally popular role in the Glenkens. Dependent on a post holder with high networking and facilitating skills, and confidence to work collaboratively with external stakeholders. Some support might be put at risk if the process (and in particular the paid post) is too tightly tied to some existing organisations. Potentially high, but informal. This would have to be earned through visible successes and the personal qualities of the post holder. However, this would not be a process with any kind of authoritative voice, with no route to formal – or even officially endorsed informal – status. Community support External support/credibility Principal risks Communication (and thus learning, increased trust and respect) between stakeholders may well increase their capacity to act. Option Orientation towards Vision goals Capacity to act 28 Insufficient identifiable win-wins to make a significant difference or build momentum. Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens 2:Flexible stakeholder group 3: Planning group Likely to be mixed: inclusivity/consensus building will trade off against the more radical goals. High. No reasons to compromise on orientation. Mixed. High with respect to practical site-specific win-win actions; potentially high with respect to strategic change on non-land use issues (especially actions aimed at achieving the CAP goals around e.g. employment). Likely to be middling on biodiversity and low with respect to strategic land use planning. Overall will tend to actions which achieve amelioration rather than structural change, but would have the resources to develop an advocacy role. As with O1, communication between stakeholders is likely to have spin-offs in creating capacity to act. High with respect to getting a Plan made, and (dependent on skills and stakeholder input) potentially high on other issues. This option would be oriented towards creating a powerful advocacy tool and strategic change - the other Vision functions would be subservient to that goal. High. Could be very high if the farmers and estates could be brought onside, though this would need trading off against achieving some goals, at least at the outset. Quick wins would build legitimacy, and so capacity to act on bigger issues. High, but informal. Without statutory force, so its legitimacy would rest on achievements and stakeholder buy-in - inclusivity would matter a lot. As with O1. The stakes would be higher, with more structured external stakeholder involvement; risks degenerating into a talking shop. Would need to be very agile to avoid this hence task and finish groups – with consequent demands for skilled management. Mixed, and possibly quite polarising. This would have to be avoided through extensive consultation - both to genuinely involve the community, to defuse possible challenges, and to enable registration of the Plan as a Local Place Plan, if desired. Mixed and polarising. External stakeholders are very divided on the whether a Plan is a good idea. It would have some informal external legitimacy/ credibility simply through being a community creation (and so dependent on having demonstrably high levels of community support). Such a Plan would be essential for getting any kind of statutory, or quasistatutory, formal legitimacy either as a sub-section of the RLUF, or as a LPP or both. Resource limitations might detract from capacity to act on issues other than the Plan. Achieving a credible, wellfounded Plan would then greatly support capacity to act, particularly if it gained credibility through statutory recognition, and/or enabling visible changes. 29 The major risk is lack of support, both locally and externally. Opposition is likely from key stakeholders, depending on how the Plan is presented and used, and how assertive it is – the more constraining it is perceived to be the less land managers will engage. Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens As with O1, communication between stakeholders is likely to have spin-offs in creating capacity to act, though to a lesser extent if the group is less inclusive. Option Orientation towards Vision goals Capacity to act Community support External support/credibility Principal risks 4: Forum Likely to be mixed: inclusivity/consensus building will trade off against the more radical goals. In contrast to O2, the focus on producing a Plan will bring conflicts over the Vision goals to the fore. This might be positive, enabling progress on reconciling perceived interests and overcoming some of the attitudinal/belief clashes, or it might be destructive. Very high, if successful in producing a Plan with all stakeholders on board. Potentially very low if consensus cannot be reached. High. Could be very high if the farmers and estates could be brought onside. The Plancreation element makes this unlikely, though – local support is likely to be mixed, and as with 3 may be very polarised. High, but informal. No statutory force, so its legitimacy would rest on inclusivity and success. The link to the regional planning process through the RLUF should help, and many important external stakeholders are likely to be very supportive (e.g. NatureScot, SOSE.) Failure to recruit the widest range of stakeholders would undermine this option completely (and it would lapse into O3.) Capacity to act of smaller subgroups likely to be higher (as with O2), particularly with respect to practical site-specific win-win actions and (possibly) strategic change on non-land-use issues (especially actions aimed at achieving the CAP goals around e.g. employment). Or it may have little support if its claims to represent all interests are weak. See ‘goals’ to the left: achieving wide engagement and interest representation will probably be associated with weakening goals – alternatively pursuing the full Vision goals would lead to low external support. As with O1, communication between stakeholders is likely to have spin-offs in creating capacity to act. 30 If it recruits well, it then risks either failing to reach consensus, and so becoming a talking shop, or failing to make a Plan (and so lapsing into O2) or breaking up, with a potential residue of increased mistrust (and possibly lapsing into O3, but with particularly low support from previous Forum members.) Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Table 4 provides a very brief overall assessment for each option, based on the preceding analysis. Table 4: Summary of assessment of options Option 0. Do nothing new Overall assessment Unsustainable and insufficient to realise the potential of the Vision. 1. Supported stakeholder interaction (ad hoc and reactive) Very feasible, low risk, could achieve some positive change, but insufficient to realise the potential of the Vision. 2. Flexible stakeholder group (seeking win-wins) Feasible, low risk, would partially realise the Vision’s goals and improve stakeholder relations, but would not achieve structural change. 3. Planning group (developing a Glenkens Land Use Plan) Feasible, would provide a solid basis for future advocacy and possibly structural change; high risk of deepening divisions between stakeholders. 4. A fully inclusive stakeholder Forum Difficult to organise and high risk. The optimum outcome is very attractive, but unlikely to be achieved; failure could leave the situation worse than at the outset. Highly demanding of volunteer time and skills. 31 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens §5: Recommendations for action The analysis in the preceding section suggests the following: Unattractive options: • • Option 0: the status quo (“do nothing new”) - is unsustainable Option 4: a fully inclusive stakeholder Forum - has a high risk of damaging failure. Possible but problematic in different ways: • • • Option 1: supported stakeholder interaction - will help achieve some goals, but is quite weak: this could be a stop-gap until greater resourcing is obtained. Option 2: a flexible stakeholder group, seeking win-win actions and strategic programmes - could be very successful in achieving positive actions, but is unlikely to tackle the big structural challenges Option 3: the planning group - could be successful in producing a sub-catchment Plan, but risks being divisive and consequently probably weak in generating positive actions. The challenge is thus to combine Options 2 and 3 in a coherent and productive way. Guiding this is the need for structures and processes which are flexible and evolving rather than static. This is partly pragmatic, given the changing environment – a new body must be agile enough to make links with the most promising governance initiatives and take advantage of shifts in market incentives. (As noted above, however, it must not rely on the possibility of positive policy shifts: the approach must be feasible and productive even without significant change.) More fundamentally, a flexible approach can be designed to be developmental, explicitly supporting the growth of trust, mutual understanding, positive relationships and community development skills. This points to an approach of starting with positive and less contentious issues, and cumulatively building capacity to tackle ‘harder’ topics and tasks in a constructive way. The recommended approach is therefore: a Land Use Network which will – alongside other activities – steer the production of a Land Use and Resource Map of the Glenkens. A Glenkens Land Use Network Structure A flexible network of stakeholders signed up to common broad aims but interacting on an ad hoc basis; this would include task-and-finish groups addressing specific issues. The Network would be steered by a small stakeholder group, and facilitated and managed by paid staff. Functions An explicit win-win finding role, which would combine ad hoc responses to emerging land use issues (including mediation over contentious proposals) and opportunities, with proactively addressing issues thematically and drawing up action plans to direct funding and activity to support positive land-use based change. Possible themes would be employment, education/learning, tourism, procurement, water, energy etc. with clear links made to SOSE 32 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens priorities and the policies and actions set out in the RLUF and RES. The Network would also advocate for policy change on the basis of its work at local, regional and national levels. A central and early function would be the creation of the Land Use and Resource Map – see below. Resource demand Financial: One FTE salary (+on-costs), supporting expenses (IT, travel) + stakeholder expenses for meetings. IT costs would include access to GIS software and GIS-capable hardware. GIS skills would be needed, ideally covered by the single FTE staff costs, either as part of the principal worker’s tasks or a part-time GIS/mapping specialist. The ‘headline’ figure here is £55,000 per year. Time: Stakeholder time on an ad hoc basis, with some being more engaged in the task-andfinish groups. Additional time input to the steering group for 4-6 representatives from different interest groups. Orientation to Vision goals Middling, building to High over time. The aim would be to build capacity through action, starting with aspects of the Vision which are less likely to be divisive, and aiming for quick wins in terms of positive, win-win outcomes. Capacity to act High. An important rationale for a network rather than a regular Forum is the need for agility, and also a reduced need to achieve consensus at each step, with participants coming together on a pragmatic basis designed to avoid conflict and build synergies. In particular, following the experiences of the RLUF and the FORLAND project51, task-oriented smaller groups are more likely to be able to engage with the farming community and land managers than a larger, consensus-or planning-oriented body. Capacity to act, particularly in terms of advocacy, is likely to increase with demonstrable success. This is closely linked to the gaining of recognition and support both at community level and externally. The deliberate weakness in this proposal is in initial capacity to plan future land use. This is a crucial aspect of the approach, which proposes a short term focus on producing a Map, and if the conditions within the network and in the external environment are favourable, move onward to a Plan. Community support High, particularly if the overlapping farming and estate communities could be brought into the network. Demonstrable success at achieving win-wins, and across themes important to the wider community (e.g. local employment, tourism) will generate further support and engagement in a virtuous, developmental cycle. The Map creation process will also be a way of recognising the range of local knowledge and values (including that of farmers), without the contentious implications of arriving at decisions about future land use. 51 See https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/forland-landscape- restoration/andhttps://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/38096/Forland_GSAB_SummaryReport.pdf. 33 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens External support High. External stakeholders expressed support for such a Network – even those opposed to the Forum and Plan ideas. In the wider governance environment the thematic outputs and the Map are likely to have significant informal force, as providing an authoritative local voice on development issues, and their presentation can be tailored for a good ‘fit’ with external stakeholders’ expectations and needs. Contributing to efficient public consultation and providing authoritative inputs into such processes, alongside building a reputation as an honest broker in mediation of land use conflicts, will also build external support. It may prove necessary at some future time to formalise the Network (and reliable it as a Forum, perhaps) in order to be more recognisable in policy circles, but this is unpredictable and should not be planned for at the outset. Principal risks Low. The incremental, developmental, and inclusive approach may alienate some potential supporters of more radical approaches. A Land Use and Resource Map The Map would bring together as much biophysical and socio-economic information about the Glenkens as possible, in a way which is readily usable and can be maintained with limited resources. At present information is scattered across different locations, organisations and communities; more is held tacitly by those who know and use the land; yet more is still not gathered or created 52. A single Map would make this information readily available to all stakeholders. The aim would be a resource to support many different activities around land use in the Glenkens: the format would therefore be easy to use by non-specialists but also be sophisticated enough to enable ‘layering’ of very different kinds of data. The following is an indicative range of immediate uses which emerged from the workshop and interviews. The Map would inform and support: • • • • • local communities (including but not only Community Councils) in drawing up their own plans, and in responding to consultation requests strategic planning of actions under the CAP the local authority in drawing up supplementary planning guidance, in particular the Forestry and Woodland Strategy, and other policies (e.g. a revised LBAP) local authority responses to consultation requests from Scottish Forestry and other bodies forest managers to create better development proposals (i.e. proposals more likely to be acceptable by communities and SF) 52 The importance of this is spelled out clearly in the draft RLUF: “One way of increasing understanding of the potential benefits is to provide better quality data often in the form of maps allowing these benefits to be more easily identified. For example, there are areas of valuable biodiversity across south of Scotland, some designated (and therefore mapped) but many are not and therefore, widely unknown. Knowledge of these is often held locally and care is needed to identify them before land use changes occur” (p. 34). 34 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • • • the development of funded biodiversity conservation projects thematic planning of e.g. tourism, active travel, employment sites and opportunities and linkages between these any future planning process, whether this is linked to the RLUF, Local Place Planning or other initiatives. At this stage the proposal is deliberately for a Map rather than a Plan, in that it would not contain objectives and targets for specific locations or land uses. Clearly though, looking forward, such a Map would be indispensable as the basis for any future Glenkens-scale land use planning. Part of the Network’s flexibility will be to adapt and develop the Map as such opportunities arise. The Map creation process would be to draw together existing knowledge, starting with data held by members of the Network53, contained in Local Place Plans, and gathered through the current NatureScot/SOSE-supported Participatory Monitoring of Land Use project. While exploration of this was beyond the scope of the current project, it also seems likely that fruitful use could be made of both NatureScot’s landscape-scale natural capital assessment tool54 and the emerging SOSE/DGC Borderlands natural capital data pilot 55. (It became clear during the study that there are many potentially relevant current initiatives: the first step would thus also include identifying and assessing these as a way of making the Map creation process as efficient as possible.) Having identified gaps, and dependent on available resources, new knowledge would be created/commissioned, including through community processes and citizen science where appropriate. An initial, indicative and far from exhaustive list of map layers is: • • • • • • • landscapes, places and routes identified as highly valued by communities dominant land uses; habitats; landscape characteristics; important (protected) species protected areas; planning and other designations archaeological and other heritage sites and landscapes transport and travel routes (especially including active travel) built environment designations (housing permissions, designated light industrial sites) land ownership and management. 53 While much data is in the public domain in digital form, there is also a great deal which is not. For example, Scottish Forestry holds a great deal of the detailed environmental information from the studies which form part of forestry proposals. These are accessible public documents, but the data is not collated in any way which enables further use beyond the site-specific proposal. A Map would be a way of doing this and enabling much rich and important information to be readily used. 54 https://www.nature.scot/professional-advice/social-and-economic-benefits-nature/natural-capital/farmingnature/developing-landscape-scale-natural-capital-tool-scotland . 55 https://info.dumgal.gov.uk/pressreleases/Home/Details/22648 . 35 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens A comprehensive and internationally recognised checklist and guide for drawing up these layers would be the European Environment Agency’s Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services56. Linking the Network into local governance To be effective, the Network will need to be tightly connected to existing organisations and initiatives, and to be continuously mindful to avoid duplication of effort and inefficient use of resources. These connections will also be needed to give the Network legitimacy both within the local communities and with external stakeholders. It will need some ‘anchoring’ in the formal, representative democratic process, probably best achieved by CC membership of the network. (They will, for instance, be contributors of information from their respective LPPs, and also significant beneficiaries of support from the network for engagement with forestry and planning proposals.) However, although some kind of grouping of the CCs would seem in principle to be a good way to give the community a significant role in steering the Network, the CCs are resource-stretched and without a vehicle for a collective voice. It seems unlikely that there would be enthusiasm for establishing a new body to enable this. The strategic, Glenkens scale of the Network and Map, and the status of the Vision as part of the Community Action Plan, suggest that the Network be linked to the CAP and its Steering Group (CAPSG). Again, resourcing is an issue, of both unpaid volunteers and paid GCAT staff. As a starting point it is suggested that the Network be ‘self-governing’, with a steering group of its own members, which liaises closely with the CAPSG, and incorporating representation of the communities, state bodies and land use interests57. It is anticipated that this relationship will develop over time, particularly as both the Network and CAP evolve. This approach is rather weak in terms of democratic anchoring: the CAPSG has some CC representation, but only indirectly as those representatives are on the CAPSG as representatives of the GDT. This seems insurmountable, without creating additional structures and burdens. In the absence of strong formal democratic anchorage, transparent communication with the communities and other stakeholders will have to provide avenues for accountability and feedback. Of the various bodies, GCAT has the necessary legal status and expertise to be the employer. The administration costs of this will have to be included in funding the paid post(s). GCAT also has the relevant technical expertise and infrastructure to host the Map: the Glenkens Hub58 already exists as an online community resource, with considerable stability of funding. Implications for other bodies The successful establishment of a Land Use Network in the Glenkens has implications for other organisations if they wish to support this community-based, collaborative approach to 56https://cices.eu/resources/resource. 57 This tripartite approach follows the Land Use Commission’s Advice to the Scottish Government on the governance of the RLUPs: https://www.landcommission.gov.scot/downloads/5fa129aedca82_20201103%20Advice%20to%20Scottish%2 0Government%20Regional%20Land%20Use%20Partnerships.pdf. 58 https://glenkens.scot/ . 36 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens land use decision making and sustainable rural development. While the detail needs to be worked out through dialogue with the relevant bodies – and so lies beyond this study’s resources – the following notes are indicative of the issues. (This section does not include participation in the Network, but is about issues that go beyond this.) Community level. The Glenkens community organisations already have responsibility for steering (the CAPSG), implementing (GCAT) and part-funding (GDT) the CAP and therefore also the Vision. Making the most of the process of taking the Vision forward will require coordination and readiness to engage with the Network’s outputs, and the issues it explores which may quickly go beyond land use in a strict sense. There is a risk here of the Vision ‘running ahead’ of implementation of the CAP more generally: this may not matter, and it may provide a model for how targeted resources could move CAP priorities forward more quickly. Local Authority level: Dumfries & Galloway Council. Combined with the LPP project, the development of a Land Use Network and Map will demonstrate how the LPP and CAP strands of ‘community-led planning’ can be brought together, and used to support place planning at a larger (sub-catchment) scale. This should be useful to the Council, but may also need positive engagement and support, and willingness to adapt policies. At present, for instance, the Council has not developed a position on LPPs drawn up by bodies other than the Community Councils. More generally, the local authority is in a position to make a big difference to some of the constraints outlined above, most obviously through including in the updated Forestry and Woodland Strategy clear policies on cumulative landscape impact and forest design which maximise biodiversity gain and provide opportunities for community involvement. In the context of financial austerity, DGC could also usefully look at ways to use resources efficiently by decentralising some of its planning and development responsibilities, along with relevant resources, to Community Councils and other community-level bodies. Regional level. SOSE is the key organisation here, partly because it is the parent organisation for RLUP/F process, but also because of the links identified above with the RES, and SOSE’s significant role within the Regional Economic Partnership which ‘owns’ the RES. The development of the Network and the Map should provide useful lessons as a pilot for subregional adaptation of the RLUF. It is also likely that the Network will generate ideas for local, land use-based economic development which it will be unable to take forward itself, but which speak directly to SOSE’s remit in supporting investment in natural capital through the nascent Natural Capital Innovation Zone, as well as other local economic development supporting community wealth building. (Relevant ideas which surfaced through the interviews included supporting facilities for start-up businesses, and finance to de-risk farm diversification.) The Network and Map should thus be both supported and closely observed by SOSE. National level. For NatureScot and HES the Network will continue and extend the work of the ‘Community Engagement in Landscape Change’ projects and the People, Place and Landscape programme more generally. As with the RLUF, the value here will be in demonstrating how community-led processes can address major land use challenges. 37 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens With respect to land managers, the Network may be a useful way for the National Farmers Union, Scotland and the Scottish Tenant Farmers Association to link their work and members into ways of addressing land use issues collectively with a wider range of stakeholders. These organisations were not part of this study, but the salience of farming to land use issues, and the evidence of divisions between farming and non-farming members of the communities, suggest that exploring mutual benefit with the farmers’ representative organisations would be fruitful. Given the changes to Scottish agriculture policy currently under discussion, this initiative in the Glenkens may also be of interest to the government team working on the land use and agriculture ‘just transition’ 59. Finally, Scottish Forestry is committed to improving the ways they work with communities, and it was evident from this study that they are seeking innovative, effective and resource efficient ways to do this. The approach proposed here would provide a useful pilot from which the national body could draw useful lessons for incorporation into future iterations of the Forestry Strategy, Implementation Plan and the guidelines on engagement and consultation processes. 59 See, for example, the June 2023 discussion paper (https://www.gov.scot/publications/transition-land-use- agriculture-discussion-paper/pages/2/) which calls for farmers and communities to ‘co-develop’ the envisaged changes to farming. 38 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens §6: Conclusions This report’s overarching purpose is to provide guidance on how the potential of the Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens can be realised. The following factors place significant constraints on achieving the community engagement and balanced land use set out in the Vision: • • • • the absence of effective statutory routes for formal community engagement in land use planning serious resource constraints on all stakeholders divisions between stakeholders over appropriate and desirable ways forward: in particular over a Plan, but also deep-seated attitudinal and value differences, and antagonistic perceptions of others a dynamic and unpredictably evolving governance/policy environment, with multiple initiatives, conflicting policy trajectories, and major statutory changes scheduled for the next two years which might significantly reshape the drivers of land use change. In response to these, the study sought to develop proposals for pragmatic, feasible, but nevertheless ambitious, next steps on the journey started by the Vision. It set out and evaluated a number of options, to provide a systematic approach to assessing what kind of processes and structures might be effective, have widespread support both within the communities of the Glenkens and with external bodies, be flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances and minimise risks of failure and exacerbating existing tensions. Therefore the following recommendations are made: To establish a Glenkens Land Use Network with a primary aim of finding win-win solutions to land use issues in the sub-catchment. This would combine: • • • ad hoc responses to emerging land use issues (including mediation over contentious proposals) and opportunities; proactively addressing sectoral issues thematically and drawing up action plans to direct funding and activity to support positive land-use based change; advocacy for policy change on the basis of its work at local, regional and national levels; and • as a first activity steering the production of a Land Use and Resource Map of the Glenkens. The Network would be a flexible group of stakeholders signed up to common broad aims, interacting on an ad hoc basis including participating in task-and-finish groups addressing specific issues. The Network would be steered by a small stakeholder group, and facilitated and managed by paid staff. The headline cost for this would be £110,000 over a proposed two year project period. 39 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens This collaborative approach, working through an expanding partnership between the Glenkens communities and state, private and third sector organisations, would continue the structured sequence of development planning taking place in the Glenkens over the past few years. Following on from the creation of the Community Action Plan and its associated Land Use Vision, this feasibility study is now recommending the establishment of a flexible body to seek quick wins in solutions to immediate problems, strategic planning of shortand medium-term developmental actions, and a comprehensive resource mapping exercise which will lay the foundations for further land use planning. 40 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Appendix 1: A Vision for Land Use in Glenkens 1) Land Use in the Glenkens – 2023 Context • We are a forested area, a farming area, an energy generation area. We are a watery area, given life by our rivers and lochs. Our natural environment is so special that we are part of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere. Our landscapes attract visitors from all over the world. We are a peaty area and our soil stores some of Scotland’s best carbon. It is our home, where we work, live and play. All of these land uses are intertwined and affected by influences within and outwith our control. • We are an organised and coherent community which has sought and achieved balance in land use over many years through partnership working and effective engagement. However, we are now overwhelmed by the speed and intent of land use change in the area and by the lack of power that we hold to effect change. Coupled with top-down consultations about interrelated policies taking place seemingly in isolation from each other, this has led to disengagement in some and huge frustration in others. The disconnect between national and regional policy intent and what is actually happening in the Glenkens feels absolute. • The true seat of power in the land-use sector is opaque. No one public body holds accountability. Community interests are not safeguarded and best practice guidelines are not always adhered to. Statutory routes to effecting the change that communities want to see don’t exist. Regulatory bodies are not able to keep up with market forces. • Some of the land use developments in our area appear to be purely extractive. Most profits and benefits are realised elsewhere, jobs are created elsewhere. Community Wealth Building principles are not embedded or mandated and so the impact of these developments on our communities is not a catalyst for more jobs, a circular local economy and thriving and sustainable communities. Opportunities are being missed. 2) Our Vision That everyone who takes value from our land returns value to it. That the Glenkens is an exemplar of sustainable land use practice in building resilience for climate, biodiversity & communities, where learning is valued and all voices are listened to and respected. Key to this will be that: • Land use enhances local climate and environmental resilience, biodiversity and thriving communities and supports re-population. Local plans such as the Glenkens and District Community Action Plan ensure this. National and regional policies and drivers are aligned to this end, and compliance with these policies is the norm. A balanced mosaic of land use enables soil and waterway regeneration, and significant biodiversity improvements support climate adaptation and sustainability. Repopulation is supported through sensitive house-building and increased business opportunities. Community Wealth Building is an underpinning priority. • There is a balance of land use, access and ownership, achieved using whole catchment planning. There is more biodiversity, repopulation, nature-friendly farming, multi-functional forestry, business and tourism opportunities, all supporting a strong local and circular economy. Cumulative effect is a key consideration. 41 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens • Every part of the community feels included. We are informed timeously about the issues that are relevant to us and have an influence over regional and national policy to support a Just Transition to Net Zero. We continue to engage with the wider issues because our voices are heard, valued and acted on. Nothing about us without us! • We have strong partnership working. Representatives of all land use stakeholders, including community representatives, participate in new and functional regional and national mechanisms that allow them to effectively advocate for themselves and to influence incentives and land use policy tools. 3) Recommendations for Action. We want to make this vision a reality through positive actions and collaborative working. Locally, we plan to: a) Embody best practice in using land for biodiversity protection, climate mitigation & adaptation and support of a flourishing local economy, sharing learnings with the GSA Biosphere, regionally and nationally and continuing to learn from others. b) Seek funding to resource a local Land Use Forum that is inclusive of all stakeholders and designed to narrow the gap between sectors. The Forum will continue these important discussions and allow us to: • Advocate for our vision of land use in the Glenkens at regional and national level. • Support and network local environmental or land use projects. • Enhance community-level biodiversity and environmental awareness, including briefings on upcoming consultations. • Support key consultees in land use applications (e.g. Community Councils) to submit informed and balanced responses. • Create positive actions that will help landowners reach their targets while mitigating the impact on or enhancing habitats and biodiversity. • Research and drive adoption of learning from other areas that would make a difference to biodiversity in the Glenkens. c) Use our local Action Plans to encourage enhanced biodiversity in every aspect of Glenkens land use change. Acknowledge through these plans the links between biodiversity and climate resilience. d) Seek funding to collate existing Glenkens mapping data and fill in the gaps to create baseline land use mapping. Create a publicly accessible and maintained database of environmental data for the Glenkens and district. Regionally, we need: a) A Regional Land Use Framework and a Local Development Plan that take into account hyperlocal issues of cumulative impact and / or high environmental sensitivity. There must be mechanisms in place to systematically identify and then address issues across the South of Scotland, not just action driven by high-capacity communities. A Communities Rep on the SoS RLUF Advisory Group with a clear mandate to engage, represent and advocate is an important first step. b) Adequate local authority or regional resources within D&G Council, the GSA Biosphere and Scottish Forestry, based on catchment or geographic areas, to support local compliance with regional policies, guidance and strategies such as the Forestry and Woodland Strategy, Local 42 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Biodiversity Action Plan, Local Development Plan and Place Planning. This resourcing would enable: • Immediate action on the D&G Forestry and Woodland Strategy (2014) and Local Biodiversity Action Plan (2009) reviews. • Incorporation of catchment-level planning and community benefits, by ensuring that community representatives are included in review processes as strategic partners rather than consultees. • Having Community Wealth Building, respect for local knowledge and sense of place enshrined in all scheme reviews and new policies. • Meaningful community participation in local land use decision making on a case-by-case basis as per Scottish Land Commission guidelines. c) Community Councils to be statutory consultees for land-use decision making by both private and public sector projects and for them to be resourced sufficiently to have a sufficiently representative and technical view . d) To have the rules over compensatory planting changed from replacing like-for-like to like-forbetter environmental gain. To have biodiversity offsetting for developments within the Glenkens and district done within the Glenkens and district , not elsewhere in the region. Nationally, we need: a) National mechanisms and drivers that value and respect the rural voice and by design balance climate, biodiversity, productivity and thriving communities, and enforce compliance with best practice. Community Wealth Building principles embedded across all policies and subsidy schemes related to land use and waterways. • The Land Rights and Responsibilities statement incorporated into subsidy regimes. • Holistic subsidy schemes for agriculture and forestry that acknowledge that Climate + Biodiversity are linked and set conditions accordingly. • Economic and financial systems are adjusted so that they have positive rather than negative effects on sustainability. Specifically, the cost of public harm should be factored into the financial cost of development, b) Clarity on the roles, responsibilities and accountabilities of all public bodies involved in land use decision making. Followed by a gap analysis to reveal why the unintended consequences that we see are taking place, followed by actions to fix them. c) Not just to be consulted with – we want to be listened to and able to effect change through robust channels that all communities can access. For example: • A clear statutory route for community stakeholders to influence decision making on priorities for local land use. • Our Land Use Forum recognised as a strategic partner for representing Glenkens and district issues. • Mandated membership of community representatives on the groups that steward areas that have been designated as important regionally, across Scotland and across the UK. (For example: Rural Stewardship Scheme / Environmentally Sensitive Area Scheme / Woodland Planting Grants / RLUFs) d) Land Reform that creates a mosaic of varied but balanced land ownership and land use across the country. 43 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens 4. Process This document is the output from a land use discussion programme run in the Glenkens by the Social Enterprise Academy on behalf of the South of Scotland Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) Pilot. It received funding from the Scottish Government through the Scottish Rural Network and South of Scotland Enterprise, and it is part of a wider Community Learning Programme being trialled in rural communities from four RLUP pilot areas across Scotland. Two ‘Lighting the Spark’ webinars were held in October 2022, followed by 6 online sessions, where participants heard inspirational regional and national stories on land use best practice, debated the issues that the Glenkens currently faces and discussed the Vision and necessary actions for the area. The Glenkens Community and Arts Trust then convened a Working Group of community representatives to distil that work further into this document. It is aligned with the GSA UNESCO Biosphere’s Mission to ‘promote a balanced relationship between human interaction and the natural environment, through the establishment of effective partnerships, community engagement, innovative projects, research and learning. Ensuring that local communities act collaboratively and responsibly to build thriving sustainable societies in harmony with their natural surroundings.’ It was discussed fully at the final CLP event on the 31st January 2023 with national, regional and local stakeholders. Their comments on the Recommendations were reviewed and the majority suggestions were incorporated into a final-draft version. This was published in the June / July 2023 edition of the Glenkens Gazette and on the Glenkens Hub Glenkens Hub - Land Use in the Glenkens, seeking public review and comment. This final version including feedback from that public review stage was adopted by the CAP Steering Group as an Addendum to the Glenkens & District Community Action Plan in June 2023. Thanks very much to all who contributed to this Vision – your input is greatly appreciated. We hope you will see your views, edits and passion for this area reflected here! Copies will be sent to the SoS RLUP Advisory Group and the SoS Regional Economic Partnership, plus other regional and national stakeholders, and we hope it will help local and regional groups work together more effectively for balanced Land Use in the Glenkens. June 2023 44 Feasibility Study into the creation of a Land Use Forum in the Glenkens Appendix 2: List of interviewees Local community ............................................. 5 Farming ........................................................... 3 Forestry (state) ............................................... 3 Forestry (private)............................................. 3 Energy (private) ............................................... 1 Conservation NGO .......................................... 3 County/regional state organisation ................ 2 National state organisation ............................. 2 Total 22 Note: A number of individuals fell into more than one category. They are grouped here by what was considered most relevant to their contribution. 45  Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource Feasibility Study into Glenkens Land Use Forum, March 2024 Description An account of the resource This feasibility study provides recommendations and guidance on how the potential of the Vision for Land Use in the Glenkens could be realised. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context CAP_20 Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource GCAT Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Dalry Community Council, GCAT Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 2024 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource Glenkens & District Trust CAP Theme 3 land use