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Well connected
The acclaimed Sulwath Connections Project draws to a close this year, leaving behind a fine legacy of imaginative projects and volunteering experiences, as well as an impressive example of partnership working.
Sulwath Connections is a landscape partnership project covering the coastlands and river valleys of the Scottish Solway between Langholm and Stranraer. In 2007 it was awarded grants totalling £3.9 million from Heritage Lottery Fund, SNH, Dumfries & Galloway Council (through its Quality of Life Fund), the National Trust for Scotland and RSPB. Led by Dumfries & Galloway Council, the project has
been a hugely successful group effort that has inspired communities and achieved many significant results that will benefit the region for years to come. Among the 23 projects progressed under the ‘Sulwath Connections’ umbrella have been:
– the popular AnnandaleWay, a new long-distance walk from the Solway coast along the River Annan to the Devil’s Beef Tub in the Southern Uplands;
– the development of a former farmhouse into a centre for fieldwork teachers and home for residential volunteers at the Mersehead Nature Reserve near Castle Douglas;
– fishing platforms for wheelchair users on the River Nith; – the Robert the Bruce’s Trail, which encourages people to explore right across the region;
– ‘In my View’, a year-long digital photography competition that has prompted over 600 people to get out into the countryside with their cameras.
“Our team has worked with communities, conservation groups and businesses across Dumfries & Galloway,” explained Ed Forrest, the project manager. “Certainly, a big part of delivering on most of the projects was involving communities from the outset. “This community approach was a powerful way to
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The Annandale Way is the new 88 km long-distance walking route following the River Annan from source to sea.
www.snh.gov.uk
encourage a deeper sense of ownership of the projects and to develop natural and cultural heritage skills among members of the community.”
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