Successful projects The outputs for the project are impressive and include:
– over £1.85 million of work for local contractors and businesses; – nine full-time and three part-time staff employed for three years; – over 4,000 volunteer days worth over £300,000; – over 900 pupils engaged in over 400 school activities.
Some of the most successful projects have been the local community-led biodiversity initiatives. Thirteen communities have been involved in developing local green spaces. Large numbers of primary school children and adults from as far apart asWhithorn in the west to Langholm in the east have actively taken part in planting and arts-based projects for their schools or local green spaces. Through these projects, they’ve learned about their immediate natural environment and how to support local plants and animals, as well as creating spaces for the whole community to use and enjoy. For instance, theWhithorn Evergreens, together with local primary school
children, parents, local businesses and members of the community, have worked to transform Castle Hill Park into a vibrant and beautiful place that’s busy with wildlife. This public space is now enjoyed by both the community and visitors alike.
Meanwhile, Creetown residents and the local school got together to realise an
ambitious project in BallochWood. They have created a new granite stone circle called ‘Creehenge’, which is one of a series of Sulwath Connections-funded projects led by the BallochWood Community Project. It aims to increase access to this beautiful, unspoilt and ancient woodland on the edge of the town. The stone circle is inscribed with ‘haiku’ poems written by pupils of Creetown Primary School. These now offer walkers a special insight into the plants and animals of the area.
2
What’s in a name?
The name ‘Sulwath’ is the ancient name for the Solway Estuary. It’s thought to date back to a settlement to the east of Annan and was therefore a name specific to the Scottish side of the Solway Firth. Sol is a term that was common to Anglo-Saxon and to the Norse languages, meaning mud. The Anglo- Saxon word woeth – which is also a frequent suffix in Icelandic local names – is a word for ford. So ‘Sulwath’ translates as ‘muddy ford’.
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The Nature of Scotland
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