Feeding Sutherland

Hub News
Written By Fiona MacDonald

The last of Sutherland’s Climate Festival events was a well-attended local food production convention, held in Ardgay Hall. The aim was to bring together local food producers, landowners, funders, and community members interested in resilient food production. I went along to find out more about some of the current projects in the area, and to hear about the future possibilities for local growing.

The convention was arranged by the Sutherland Community Partnership Food Poverty Group with support from the Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust. The invited speakers included:

· The Hirsel, a mosaic farm in Sutherland with a focus on sustainable farming methods

· The Highland Good Food Partnership, the resilient food network for Highland

· Lochview Rural Training Centre, a local social enterprise which organises and delivers training on rural skills and wellbeing

· Alladale Wilderness Reserve, a Sutherland estate that is focusing on restoring the natural habitat of a previous shooting estate

The passion and engagement in the room was inspiring, with lots of discussion around the challenges of producing and distributing food in the area, and how this food could be more accessible to the local community. The conversation varied from the need for local farmers to have better access to abattoirs and butcheries, to the possibilities around farm cooperatives. There were also discussions around community orchards and food storage facilities, community market gardens and the infrastructure needed for successful local selling.

There were representatives in the room from many sectors and several actions were produced for follow up. There is also the intention to produce a document for Sutherland, similar to that produced in Moray by the Moray Climate Action Network (Can Moray Feed Moray General 1 — Moray Climate Action Network) . Funding will be sought to begin the research stage.

If you are interested in any of the discussions or possibilities raised at the convention, please get in touch - Fiona.Macdonald@hiclimatehub.co.uk

Photography by RKJ Adams

Fiona MacDonald

Fiona is our Development Officer for Caithness and Sutherland.  She has lived all over Scotland but has made her home in the north, raising two daughters in Sutherland.

Her career started in Early Years Education, and after qualifying as a Primary Teacher, teaching in several local schools.  Before joining the Climate Hub Fiona has been working in the local Third Sector, supporting individuals and families experiencing poverty and hardship. 

Fiona is passionate about supporting people in the Highlands to recognise the difference one person can make in the development of sustainable and resilient communities.

Fiona sits as a Trustee on the board of Caithness and Sutherland Women's Aid, and on the board of the Sutherland Adventure Company. She is also a member of the UHI Foundation. 

In her free time Fiona also enjoys learning to grow vegetables on her allotment and long dog walks. 

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