A dedicated team of volunteers hope to put Strathmiglo on the map as Fife’s first biodiversity village.
Members of Strathmiglo Conservation Community have organised a day of nature-inspired activities for all the family to rally support for the campaign.
“We want to move away from being just a conservation group to being a biodiversity village,” says group chair Patrick Higgins.
“That really means everyone in the village taking responsibility for their environment.
“We think there’s a great potential for everybody in the village to get involved.”
Movie night kicks off packed programme
Patrick and his colleagues on Strathmiglo Conservation Community have put together a program of events for budding biodiversity champions of all ages.
It starts with a free family movie night at the village’s Public Hall on Saturday February 18.
On Sunday, events kick off with woodland planting at 10am, followed by a treasure hunt for eight to 15-year-olds and a guided woodland walk.
In the afternoon, there’s snowdrop planting, an owl display and a puppet show.
Patrick adds: “It’s really just to let the whole village know about us.”
There are around 20 or so members of the conservation group and they are hoping that number will swell after the weekend.
It all started when Patrick noticed the local woodland could do with a bit of care and attention.
He decided to start pulling out rogue Himalayan balsam – a rapidly spreading invasive species.
As he got speaking to people, a couple more joined him and before long the group had formed a constitution.
“We’ve got regular meetings in the pub – what could be better?
“There are maybe 22 people involved in it. We’re hoping to double that and get a lot of families involved as well.”
Busy summer ahead
One of the key aims of the group is to join up habitats to help species including the local red squirrels.
“One of the tasks we’re going to be doing this summer and the following summers is repairing the fragmented wildlife corridors.
“We do have a number of wildlife corridors in mind, which we’re going to plant from scratch.”
The group has already secured funding for projects, including resurfacing the paths through the woodland.
This will make the woods more accessible for cyclists, people with buggies and those with mobility problems.
“It’s just great fun. We’re out all the time. There are plenty of tasks to do,” says Patrick.
Further details about the event are on the group’s Facebook page.
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