Slattadale FLS land transfer set to benefit Wester Ross pupils in Gairloch High School patch as outdoor education bid comes off
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WESTER Ross school pupils will benefit from a community asset transfer that will allow an off-campus outdoor education facility to be set up.
Forestry and Land Scotland says it has successfully concluded a community asset transfer with Slattadale SCIO that will benefit young people across the area.
The Slattadale group had applied through FLS’s Community Asset Transfer Scheme to purchase 0.58 hectares of land at Slattadale to develop a sustainable off-campus outdoor education facility.
This will benefit the Gairloch High School associated school group’s 3-18 community, which covers the areas from Shieldaig in the South to Laide and Dundonnell in the north.
Slattadale spokesperson, Fiona Mackenzie, said: “This is fantastic news for all young people in the area who over the next few years will see a brilliant community asset take shape.
“We will use this land for various educational activities that will embody and promote our four key themes of education, community, wellbeing, and employability. This will help young people to build their resilience and self-confidence and teach them life-skills that they will be able to draw on for years to come.
“Creating this activity hub – and potentially adding environmentally friendly and sustainable structures to it in years to come will also really consolidate our sense of community. The community buy-in has been great and we would like to say a big thank you to the team at FLS who have supported and encouraged us through the CATS process.”
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The Gairloch High School community had for many years delivered outdoor education at the loch-side at Slattadale, until the leased forestry building that was used as a base fell into disrepair.
However, in 2018 the Gairloch High School Parent Council sought to reinstate the use of the site. This led to the formation of the Slattadale SCIO and the beginning of the discussions with FLS that resulted in today’s formal hand-over of land.
In the lead up to the completion of the sale, the Slattadale group has already run outreach paddle-boarding sessions for its 70 current members and has teamed up with Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland (OWLS) and secured £2K funding for a woodland skills/careers in forestry programme.
To help celebrate becoming custodians of the Meadow at Slattadale, the group is inviting members to a Son et Lumiere show in the forest on Saturday, November 18.
You can find out more online at Slattadale and on Facebook.
