Skelmorlie Environment Trust has recently applied the North Ayrshire 2030 Woodland Grant Fund to plant fruit trees in the village. We’re expecting word on the application by 8th December 2023.
The back story
Skelmorlie Environment Trust was tagged in a post on a Skelmorlie Village Facebook page about a grant available to buy trees in North Ayrshire back in Autumn. We decided to look into it further and engage with our community to see if it was wanted and appropriate for us to take on this project.
In the few weeks leading up to the application, we were in discussion with various departments in North Ayrshire Council to determine who owns the land that we propose to plant the trees, any potential restrictions, and to discuss our proposal for the application.
Working with the village
We would aim to work in partnership with Skelmorlie Primary School, Skelmorlie Youth Club and 71st Ayrshire Scouts to plant the 80 trees and engage the local community in the project which would take place before 31st March 2024. There would be a variety of different trees planted close to each other. The types of trees planted would be dependent on expert advice given to us after a site survey, but we would likely plant apple, pear and plum as a minimum.
Engaging with the community
The community engagement has already begun through attendance at the Skelmorlie Community Centre Open Day, where we got lots of positive inputs and ideas.
Skelmorlie Fruit Trees Survey Results
A survey was issued on Facebook, where there were lots of individuals interested in being involved.
We were stunned and delighted at the results of the survey we put out to the community which were unanimous!
We were delighted to discover that so many people want to be involved with all aspects of the project.
Engaging with the Skelmorlie Primary School Eco Committee
There was also a visit to the Skelmorlie Primary School Eco Committee where we discussed the project and got some fantastic and creative suggestions about what we could do.
Skelmorlie Youth Club
Skelmorlie Youth Club would love to help us get this project off the ground and assist with the planting and care of these community trees.
The proposed planting area for the trees is outlined below.
Initial ideas for tree locations were required for our application. This is our third draft of possible locations – nothing is confirmed until we first of all find out if we get the grant. The next step would be to consult specifically with those people living closest to the proposed areas.
Fingers crossed that we get the funding to move forward. Watch this space!
