Funding boost for Creating Natural Connections

As you might recall we were on tenterhooks during December, waiting to hear about the funding from Heritage Lottery Fund for our new initiative, Creating Natural Connections. This is a very exciting four-year project that will lead to huge improvements to our green spaces and connect even more people to nature. It has been a tense couple of months and

Investing in young people, today

Word has been going around the campfire about the great work Cumbernauld Living Landscape has been doing with young people of the town. So much so that we were invited to an event called Investing in Young People; Investing in our Environment by the Central Scotland Green Network Trust. I invited the Achieve students from Greenfaulds High School to come along

Get Girls Out

Studies show that women spend less time physically active outdoors than men and that this difference begins when women are teenagers. This difference is down to a variety of reasons from worries about hygiene, societal pressures and gender stereotyping to fear of crime and lack of opportunity. This is a situation that everyone would like to see change. Getting active

Bugworts arrives at St Maurice’s Pond

This Saturday sees the first ever visit from Bugworts Academy of Witches, Warlocks and Wacky Wildlife and we are soooooo excited.  The tickets have been snapped up quicker than you can say Sellius Oootius with additional slots being added due to demand. Potential students and families will begin their visit to Prof. Mini Bugonnagal Hunter’s office for registration before exploring

The chilling bite of Autumn

Had to dig the winter jacket out the cupboard the other night, boy was it chilly! A crisp autumn evening with clear skies and a smattering of stars heralded the need for gloves, a hat and a hot drink when I returned from my walk. It got me thinking of how wildlife copes with such changes of temperature and the

Bugworts comes to St Maurice’s Pond this Hallowe’en

Recently Alba Scoticus, headteacher of Bugworts Academy of Witches, Warlocks and Wacky Wildlife, got in touch and asked if we would like to host an event at North Lanarkshire Council’s St Maurice’s Pond this year as there is a magical connection to the water and woodlands of the site. Well we jumped at the chance! For the past few years

Three cheers for young volunteers

Last week we were back at the Scottish Parliament for an event hosted by the Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf. It was in honour of Police Scotland’s Youth Volunteers, an organisation that has an active presence in Cumbernauld. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was there to hear the testimonies of the young people, their adult instructors and our very own Tracy Lambert,

Wish us luck!

After a lot of conversations, consultations, taster sessions and report writing we have finally hit the button to send the Creating Natural Connections Stage 2 Application to the Heritage Lottery Fund.  The Living Landscape team would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this application.  We really appreciate your opinions, your time and your support for what we think is

Celebrating success through the John Muir Award

We were delighted last week to present several members of our Wild Ways Well Tuesday group with their John Muir Awards. These hard-earned awards recognise people’s commitment to the environment and they fit perfectly with our own programme. To earn their award everyone has committed at least four days effort, and met four challenges: Discover, Explore, Conserve, Share. They’re not

Take a closer look

The spate of heavenly weather we have been having makes getting out for a walk all the more pleasant. Feeling the sun warm on your face and enjoying the tiniest of breezes is pure heaven! On a recent walk I thought I would see how many wildflowers I could spot, to give me a feel for what creating more meadows