Learning and skills

Village halls and community hubs are often the heart of rural and island communities. They are places for people to gather, learn, access services and have fun. Making sure they are well run and maintained is an important but not always easy role, often fulfilled by committed volunteers and workers.

The Scottish Rural and Islands Parliament (SRIP) is an important opportunity for voice of rural and island communities to help reinforce the importance of local democracy and to help shape the emerging Rural Delivery Plan. The theme of this year’s SRIP was Village Halls and Community Spaces.

 Scottish agricultural charity RSABI is working with Dyslexia Scotland to raise awareness of the challenges many people involved in farming face with dyslexia. 

With National Mentoring Day on the 27th of October, enterprise support organisation GrowBiz is asking those in the rural business community to consider whether they can give something back by volunteering as a mentor.

Crofting is at the heart of many rural communities and has been for generations, throughout the Highlands and Islands. The Commission has responsibility for both regulating and promoting crofting as a viable and beneficial way of managing land and supporting communities.

Managed by NatureScot, the Helping Nature fund is an element of the Scottish Government’s flagship £65 million Nature Restoration Fund.

The fund supports practical nature restoration projects with grants of £25,000 to £250,000. In this latest round of awards, 27 projects have been offered grants totalling £4.1 million.

Projects offered Helping Nature funding include: