Structure of Trust Explored.  The Heritage Lottery Fund grant for the public consultation exercise carried out in the spring also funded a training element for trustees.  Some of these funds were used to map the different areas of work that the trust is currently engaged in.  These sessions were facilitated by Ariane Burgess and produced a mind map and suggestions of different areas of responsibility for trustees and members alike – the results can be seen by following the link to the map and to the associated notes.  This work makes it clearer to all what the trust does and which trustee holds which particular area of responsibility.

New Trustee.  Donna Skelly, a solicitor working with land and estates for Grigor and Young in Elgin and living in Logie, was welcomed onto the board as a new trustee at the last FHT meeting.   She has a passion for land and has been inspired by what the trust is working to achieve.  She saw what was going on at the Woodland Festival in the spring and has taken an interest in what the trust does since then.  She will be taken on in a professional capacity to secure the workings of the green burial site well into the future by sorting out land and security issues.   She has also taken on the role of trust Secretary as from the beginning of this month.  A big welcome Donna and a huge thank you for being willing to support the work of the charity in this way!  One of the goals of the public consultation was to seek new trustees from the local area and Donna’s involvement also helps to tick that box.

Present Trustee Roles.  As of the September committee meeting, trustees agreed to take on certain areas of responsibility mentioned previously in the roles mind map and to try this way of working for a year before a review.  The idea is to create a long-term sustainable organisation by it being held by many who have clear roles that can be released and picked up as personnel change over time.  Champions are great but in the long run they do not sustain organisations.
As mentioned Donna Skelly is our new trust secretary dealing with the legal side of the trusts work a role previously held for many years by Judith Berry – a big thank you also goes to Judith for her unstinting work and support; she has been a real stalwart for many years.  Judith has agreed to take on the area of events and recreation, a role shared with Marilyn Gamble who is also the NFA rep on the board.  John Willoner is staying on at this time as a trustee but, as he will be away for six months as from the end of September, he will be releasing his role as treasurer and the financial side of the trust’s work which is being taken up by the inspired and competent Jacqueline Buckingham our present Findhorn Foundation rep.  Pat Carroll our Findhorn and Kinloss Community Council rep and dedicated community bridge builder has offered to take on overseeing the IT work of the trust including the website and trustee electronic filing system and part of the communications remit. Didier Lecuyer, as a previous French national park manager, will be looking at covering the large area of land management.  Jonathan Caddy stays on as Chair and at present will cover those areas not previously mentioned; education, projects and fundraising the latter if necessary with the professional help of the organisation Get2Grips with Grants.

Community Woodland Association (CWA) Annual Conference.  The FHT belongs to the CWA, which is an umbrella organisation supporting over 200 community groups throughout Scotland.  Its annual conference was held at Dunoon last year and was attended by Kajedo Wanderer as FHT Land Manager and Jonathan Caddy as Chair.  This year it is being held in Forres with 80 to 100 delegates arriving on Friday the 30th of September with the main days being Saturday and Sunday the 1st and 2nd of October.  A couple of trustees will be attending the full conference and there will be the opportunity to join in the fun and meet delegates at the Saturday night ceilidh which will be held in the Mosset Tavern, Forres from 8.00pm until late.  A site visit to see the work of the FHT is also scheduled for Saturday from 2.00pm to 4.00pm.  If you would like to get involved, get in touch.

New Tools and Looking after what we have.  Our Land Manager Kajedo Wanderer will soon have a new high spec brush cutter to help clear those paths and keep the gorse back and the trust’s tractor is finally going to get a well deserved paint job with Derek Simpson taking on the coordination of this task.  All these jobs take time and effort but are essential to the smooth working of the trust.  Another maintenance task carried out this month and worth mentioning is the new roof on the small tool shed – thanks Kajedo and George Paul.  A great job and it’s also great to have dry tools and no drips down the back of our necks!