Greetings to all our friends across the Biosphere and beyond! The astonishing heat of summer has broken into thunderstorms this week - as much as we have revelled in the sunshine, we will be pleased to see our gardens, rivers and field revive.
Between our monthly updates, don't forget you can contact any of our team at info@gsabiosphere.org.uk and find us on social media via the links at the bottom of this page.
The photo below was taken at Wigtown Show on 3rd August when we were pleased to share a tent with our friends Propagate with whom we partner food and farming projects including the D&G Sustainable Food Partnership. Don't forget that Glenkens Food Month is about to begin!
July saw two new recruits join our team: Jake McLaughlan and Malcolm Haddow will be with us for twelve months as Project Support Officers, and are well underway visiting Biosphere businesses, helping host our stand at public events, and working on our communications output. Mary (our Land Use Advice Officer) took Jake and Malcolm out to Cairnsmore of Fleet National Nature Reserve. This is one of the Core Areas of the GSA Biosphere, meaning that its landscapes and wildlife were an essential part of why our UNESCO Biosphere designation was awarded in 2012. We are always interested to hear people's responses to the environments of the Biosphere and that goes for our staff as well! Click the link below to read Jake and Malcolm's thoughts on Cairnsmore of Fleet, which includes details of our 'Connecting Cairnsmore' events in October - your chance to explore with us.
Colmonell became our seventh Biosphere Community this month - the second to be designated in South Ayrshire. All our Biosphere Communities have a dedicated webpage written by local residents themselves (who also share some wonderful photographs), please check it out below if you haven't already. Colmonell has just launched their own community-led website which will be the place to go for local news and events - please do drop in for a look around. Photo below taken by Jenna, our Community & Education lead, at the Colmonell & Ballantrae Agricultural Show on 13th August!
There's lots to look forward to across the Biosphere during September, including an Autumn Wildlife Bonanza which will be taking place at the Muirdrochwood Wildlife Hide near Carsphairn. Booking is open now for these free events - scroll down and click through to the Galloway Glens page on Eventbrite.
Thank you to everyone young and old who has joined our hands-on activities over summer. Bug hunts have been an especially popular pursuit - photos below taken at Ochiltree where our team were part of the community's Guerilla Gardening event! If you're interested in finding out more about wildlife recording - whether bugs or anything else - and how you can get involved, click through the link below to visit SWSEIC - a Proud Supporter organisation that collects, collates, manages and safeguards information about the natural environments of southwest Scotland.
It's an incredible privilege to welcome new Proud Supporters to our Biosphere business network each month and summer has seen a wave of sign-ups - thank you to all! We are including links as usual in our monthly Proud Supporter round-up below but thought you might like to read the page created by Steph at Girvan-based La Di Da Interiors which says more about what the Proud Supporter scheme represents. Don't forget that GSAB has a dedicated business development team who are here to offer support in your sustainable enterprise, whatever its sector or scale. Contact esther@gsabiopshere.org.uk if you would like to schedule a chat, or visit the Get Involved page on our website to find out more about the Proud Supporter scheme (you don't need to be running a business to join!).
Finally...a warm welcome to all the individuals, businesses and community groups that have signed up as Proud Supporters of our UNESCO Biosphere recently. They include music and event venue The Vault Arts Centre at Newton Stewart; forest escape (with alpacas!) Boreland Farm Lodges; bespoke tour provider and trained Biosphere Guide Dumfries Tours; La Di Da Interiors - creating beautiful domestic spaces in South Ayrshire and beyond; Blackstone Clydesdales - where you can meet one of the world's most magnificent equine breeds; commercial photography and design company Every Last Pixel; high welfare, sustainable food producers East Mosside Farm; award-winning small building design and construction team Echo Living; scenic Glenkens retreat Hensol Estate Holidays; and Pipscape Photography, covering weddings, events, portraiture, and providing 'photography for life'. The amount of support for people, nature and Global Goals is amazing and everyone on Team GSAB firmly believes it demonstrates how southwest Scotland can be a model of better living for other regions and communities at home and abroad. Please do check out our Proud Supporters map below to see all the businesses that are members of our Proud Supporters scheme.
