Sluggans Woodland Park

Focus

Sluggans Woodland Park Group is an environmental and cultural charity which has been working over the past four years to regenerate an area of wasteland adjacent to the Portree Landfill site one mile north of the town centre.

The Group's objectives are to conserve, preserve and improve the natural and built environment in the area known as Sluggans and Monadh Mhor, including all necessary provisions of rights of public access, and to secure the preservation, protection, development and improvement of features of historic and educational value, for the benefit of the public.

Achievements

Under the Group's project management, volunteers from community groups and school pupils worked together with environmentalists, artists and craftspeople, Highland Council Countryside Rangers and other local initiatives to establish the first park for the local community, including usage by the ambulant disabled, young families and educational and environmental workshops.
 
They began by fencing 5.45 hectares of heathland and planting over 5,000 native woodland trees. Three linked and waymarked footpaths and a small wooden bridge were established, and to these were added seating, an interpretation viewpoint, a pedestrian gateway, and a carpark with a dry-stone walled entrance.

Natural and local materials have been used: waymarkers are in the form of standing stones decorated with mosaics to represent the points of the compass, wooden seats have been sculpted using chainsaws and there is also a living willow armchair and willow sculptures. A key focal point was the conversion of the historical Ice Dam, once used to make ice for the local Salmon industry, into a wildlife pond.

In May 2002 the group held a week-long opening with displays of local crafts, such as willow weaving, woodcarving, Touchwood re-cycled wood-crafts, pole-lathe turning, chainsaw carved benches, dry stone walling, pottery, fire sculptures, charcoal burning, felt making, stone carving and archaeology. Other events included corracle sailing and racing and a Play-in-a-day workshop dramatising the salmons' journey from Skye to London.

The opening event was attended by David Banks who remembered helping his father to work at the Ice Dam during the early 1940s.  David celebrated his 65th birthday on the last day of the opening week in the marquee with champagne, strawberries and cake and met many old friends from his salmon and ice packing days.

The group's successes in funding applications were mainly helped by the local Council Development Manager, Woodland Grants and Management,  Footpaths Officer, Design Consultant, An Tuireann, Portree Environmental Development Group and Portree Regeneration Partnership (PRP) - a voluntary group that supports regeneration projects throughout Portree.

Plans and Projects

The existing park has been well used by the community and additional art and seating have been identified by the users as the main priority for further development.

The Group has applied for funding to develop a water fountain and sculpture in a burn within an area comprising mosaic paving, and timber and concrete seating. This is intended to improve the amenity visually and to provide an area for the encouragement of wildlife and biodiversity as well as a tranquil focus for the local community and visitors.

It is also planned to hold community and school based workshops to develop an innovative, creative awareness and sense of ownership within a diverse community, promote healthy and safe outdoor activities and highlight the biodiversity available in the park.

We hope that the theme of the sculpture can be applied to other parts of Portree, e.g. Somerled Square, which is about to be upgraded, and also Quay Brae, previously improved through the Portree Environmental Development Group. 

Tips and Advice

Communicate with those who are closest to the project site as soon as possible - we went from door to door in Sluggans and talked to everyone with our own questionnaire wish-list for what we could do with the area.

Get a committee with half of the members from the locality (some of our committee members grew up playing on the waste site) and keep the group no bigger than eight.

Keep meetings to an hour.

Achieve instant goals. e.g. we fenced and had one path within our first year.

Have co-opted 'experts' to help fill in forms, map paths, apply for Woodland Grants and design and landscape your ideas.

Have fun at all times and never let your imagination wilt.

Discuss your plans and ideas with local authorities.

Equal Opportunities: We don't have a formal written statement, but all funding and appointments are via organisations that have equal opportunity policies. Contracts are inclusive using local contractors and artists and local materials.

Evidence of need: We referred to the Skye and Lochalsh Local Plan which recommends the landscaping of vacant or derelict ground, the development of amenity area and picnic facilities in the village, and highlights the lack of public artworks in this area.

Project management: if funding is successful we will employ a project manager to be responsible for fundraising and liaising with project consultants, designers, the local authority, contractors, and to manage the work. All decisions and fundraising activities are approved by the SWPG committee which is made up of local residents, representatives from Highland Council, the Community Council, PRP, Woodland Funding, the Footpaths Officer and co-opted advisors and consultants when necessary.

Involve as many local groups as possible with an interest in the project. Through the involvement of all the following local individuals and groups we have increased the capacity of local people to value, manage and improve the quality of their local environment: 

Portree High School and Primary Schools throughout the Skye and Lochalsh Local Authority Area
Training and Guidance workshops
An Tuireann Art Centre
Skye and Lochalsh Countryside Rangers
Tigh na Drochaid Resource Centre, Elderly and Learning Difficulty Groups
New Deal and Careers Scotland Trainees
Touchwood recycling workshops