As part of reaching out and promoting the work of the Trust I took up the offer of member Lorraine Warshaw to give a presentation to the Forres Rotary Club which was a fun thing to do and was very well received. It was good to connect with some old school friends but also other locals I have worked or interacted with over the years. One of these was Tanya McLaren now Tanya Barker who for many years was a reporter for the local paper the Forres Gazette. For fun she wrote a little report on the event which you can have a look at below. Some of the facts are not totally accurate which was always the case with Tanya but her genuine appreciation given during the Q&A session after the presentation of the work of the trust and the long journey it has taken to develop its work was most heart warming.
Jonathan Caddy
FHT Chair
Forres Rotary hosted retired local teacher, Jonathan Caddy, as speaker for one of their August evening meetings, held at the Mosset Tavern.
Mr Caddy spoke to Rotarians about the Findhorn Hinterland Trust which was originally formed in 2015 as the Hinterland Group to manage a large parcel of land which encompasses dunelands and the former Wilkie’s Wood on the edge of Findhorn.
The organisation was originally created to manage the 35 hectares, following a meeting in the James Milne Institute in Findhorn where Mr Caddy explained that although Duneland Ltd had purchased the area that it was a huge area to manage and would be in the interests of the community to jointly manage some of the land outwith the Ecovillage, so working in partnership could begin to protect the fragile dunes area which was included.
Forres Rotarian and former Forres Gazette editor, Tanya Barker was at the meeting and recalled the atmosphere at the JMI (James Milne Institute) was originally suspicious of the offer to jointly manage land, given plans to build homes on the outer edge of the Foundation were taking shape, and there was confusion about what was actually being proposed.
“It was a very long and at times, a very volatile meeting, where a room full of people all wanted to have their say,” she said. “I had to go back to the office and write a story which captured the main essence of what was being proposed without showing bias. Thankfully, things progressed quickly, and the community headed up by a small group embraced the idea of working together to try and protect the fragile dunes area. It is clear to me from speaking to Jonathon recently that obstacles have been overcome and the Hinterland has benefited from community involvement over the years.”
Mr Caddy explained to Rotarians via a powerpoint presentation, that as well as a green burial site which has been created there, existing alongside the eco-village that following a lot of work, the Hinterland Trust has now successfully achieved official recognition of some of the extremely rare lichen and other fauna and flora that exist near Findhorn, which demonstrates the ongoing need to protect the duneland area for future generations.
President Jackie Stephen thanked the speaker for an interesting and informative talk which included information about future plans including the Dune Restoration Project and an offer was made for Rotarians to go along to have a look at the site and work being done there.
The Hinterland group is also holding a Moth Trapping Event on September 1st where moths caught overnight will be viewed before being released. And a walk and talk open to the public is due to take place on November 2nd with more information available on www.findhornhinterland.org
Tanya Barker
Report Article from Forres Rotary Club Presentation – 1st August 2024
As part of reaching out and promoting the work of the Trust I took up the offer of member Lorraine Warshaw to give a presentation to the Forres Rotary Club which was a fun thing to do and was very well received. It was good to connect with some old school friends but also other locals I have worked or interacted with over the years. One of these was Tanya McLaren now Tanya Barker who for many years was a reporter for the local paper the Forres Gazette. For fun she wrote a little report on the event which you can have a look at below. Some of the facts are not totally accurate which was always the case with Tanya but her genuine appreciation given during the Q&A session after the presentation of the work of the trust and the long journey it has taken to develop its work was most heart warming.
Jonathan Caddy
FHT Chair
Forres Rotary hosted retired local teacher, Jonathan Caddy, as speaker for one of their August evening meetings, held at the Mosset Tavern.
Mr Caddy spoke to Rotarians about the Findhorn Hinterland Trust which was originally formed in 2015 as the Hinterland Group to manage a large parcel of land which encompasses dunelands and the former Wilkie’s Wood on the edge of Findhorn.
The organisation was originally created to manage the 35 hectares, following a meeting in the James Milne Institute in Findhorn where Mr Caddy explained that although Duneland Ltd had purchased the area that it was a huge area to manage and would be in the interests of the community to jointly manage some of the land outwith the Ecovillage, so working in partnership could begin to protect the fragile dunes area which was included.
Forres Rotarian and former Forres Gazette editor, Tanya Barker was at the meeting and recalled the atmosphere at the JMI (James Milne Institute) was originally suspicious of the offer to jointly manage land, given plans to build homes on the outer edge of the Foundation were taking shape, and there was confusion about what was actually being proposed.
“It was a very long and at times, a very volatile meeting, where a room full of people all wanted to have their say,” she said. “I had to go back to the office and write a story which captured the main essence of what was being proposed without showing bias. Thankfully, things progressed quickly, and the community headed up by a small group embraced the idea of working together to try and protect the fragile dunes area. It is clear to me from speaking to Jonathon recently that obstacles have been overcome and the Hinterland has benefited from community involvement over the years.”
Mr Caddy explained to Rotarians via a powerpoint presentation, that as well as a green burial site which has been created there, existing alongside the eco-village that following a lot of work, the Hinterland Trust has now successfully achieved official recognition of some of the extremely rare lichen and other fauna and flora that exist near Findhorn, which demonstrates the ongoing need to protect the duneland area for future generations.
President Jackie Stephen thanked the speaker for an interesting and informative talk which included information about future plans including the Dune Restoration Project and an offer was made for Rotarians to go along to have a look at the site and work being done there.
The Hinterland group is also holding a Moth Trapping Event on September 1st where moths caught overnight will be viewed before being released. And a walk and talk open to the public is due to take place on November 2nd with more information available on www.findhornhinterland.org
Tanya Barker