Rural champions shine as Helping It Happen Awards celebrate Scotland’s unsung heroes
Press ReleaseEleven outstanding businesses, innovative partnerships, and visionary individuals from across rural Scotland have been honoured at the national Helping it Happen 2024 awards.
The glittering ceremony, held in Edinburgh on Wednesday (October 2) evening and organised by Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), recognised exceptional contributions to the rural economy, employment, inspiring education, precious wildlife conservation, community wellbeing and critical environmental stewardship.
Among the key winners, the pioneering Angus Growers, a soft fruit producing partnership of sixteen growers mainly from Angus, Perthshire and Fife, received the coveted Innovation in Farming Award recognising its outstanding work in sustainability, production, packing and responsible farming which has led to a substantial fall in the carbon footprint of its members.
The enterprising Claxton’s Whisky clinched the prestigious Rural Business Award, honouring their operation on the Dalswinton Estate which has seen several major redevelopments since 2018 including revitalising redundant farm buildings and constructing a new bonded warehouse.
The forward-thinking IndiNature secured the esteemed Iver Salvesen Award for Combatting Climate Change, having established a mill in the Scottish Borders to manufacture biobased materials, namely hemp, which is grown at local farms and turned into natural fibre insulation for old and new construction.
Wallace Currie scooped the Rural Rising Star Award, recognising his terrific work as a lecturer in agriculture at Scotland’s Rural College and the role he has played in the creation, delivery and refinement of a new model of teaching, conducting assessments in a more holistic manner with work placements incorporated into the teaching structure.
The recipient of the distinguished Award for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Scotland was announced as Drew McFarlane-Slack MBE, whose contribution to the Highlands and rural Scotland has been immense across a huge variety of roles including as a Highland councillor, as a regional manager for SLE and as a key leader in bodies such as Lochaber Enterprise, the Highland Housing Alliance, Lochaber Citizen's Advice Bureau, the Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service, the Monadhliath Deer Management Group and the Applecross Forum.
Now in its eighth year, the Helping It Happen Awards are the leading accolades celebrating the contributions of so many people, groups and businesses to Scotland’s rural life. Organised by Scottish Land & Estates and generously sponsored by NatureScot, these prestigious awards are open to anyone, not just SLE members, and showcase innovative approaches to rural development, environmental conservation and community projects.
Sarah-Jane Laing, Chief Executive of Scottish Land & Estates, commented: "The inspiring Helping It Happen awards publicly recognise the often unsung heroes in rural Scotland. They beautifully showcase real-life examples of impactful climate action, engaging outdoor education, innovation in business and farming and commendable efforts to promote affordable rural housing.
“These dedicated individuals and organisations play a crucial role in sustaining our thriving rural communities and inspiring others to follow their lead. The awards ceremony was a great night of celebration and we congratulate all the winners and nominees for their much deserved recognition.”
Claudia Rowse, Deputy Director of the Green Economy at NatureScot, added: “I look forward to judging the Helping It Happen Awards each year, the high standard of entries makes me feel positive about the future of rural Scotland . The inventive approaches we see taken by the finalists in the areas of conservation, farming, land management and tackling climate change are so encouraging. These projects show that by valuing and restoring nature you are both building resilience to climate change while protecting and enhancing the rural economy and businesses.”
The 2024 winners are as follows. Full case studies can be accessed by clicking on the hyperlinks. Photos of each award winner are also linked below.
The Award for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Scotland
Drew McFarlane-Slack MBE has been a pivotal figure in rural Scotland, especially the Highlands, where his leadership in land management, deer management, and sustainable development has left a lasting impact. His collaborative approach and dedication to diverse voices have shaped local communities and academic initiatives. Drew's involvement in organisations such as Monadhliath Deer Management Group, Applecross Forum and the Cairngorms Trust, alongside his passion for housing and community projects, highlights his commitment to Scotland’s rural future. His warmth and humour continue to inspire many.
The Conservation Award sponsored by Anderson Strathern
Grosvenor Reay Forest Estate Project Laxford is a landscape-scale, ecosystem-wide, conservation project, working in partnership with The Atlantic Salmon Trust across the River Laxford catchment, with the goal of restoring wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout populations.
The Education Award sponsored by Hampden & Co
Estates that Educate Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups provide outdoor education to showcase the wealth of wildlife thriving on Scottish estates and to help young people learn about rural careers.
The Enhancing Our Environment through Land Management Award sponsored by NatureScot
Glenfalloch Estate has embarked on a transformational landscape-scale recovery project emanating from the environmental masterplan written in 2021, focussed on restoring peatland, increasing woodland cover using seed sourced and grown on the estate, and plans to restore meadow and wetland habitat whilst also reducing herbivore impact.
The Innovation in Farming Award sponsored by EQ Chartered Accountants
Angus Growers is a soft fruit producing partnership of sixteen growers mainly from Angus, Perthshire and Fife, which through innovation in sustainability, production, packing and responsible farming has led to a substantial fall in the carbon footprint of its members.
The Iver Salvesen Award for Combatting Climate Change sponsored by Murray Beith Murray
IndiNature has established a mill in the Scottish Borders to manufacture biobased materials for construction and other markets, namely hemp, which is grown at local farms and turned into natural fibre insulation for old and new construction.
The Rural Business Award sponsored by Shepherd + Wedderburn
Claxton’s Whisky has operated from the Dalswinton Estate since 2018 and, in that time, several major redevelopments on the estate have taken place, including revitalising redundant farm buildings and constructing a new bonded warehouse.
The Rural Property Award sponsored by Bidwells
Glengorm Farming Partnership led by Tom Nelson, with support from the Mull and Iona Community Trust (MICT), has seen the delivery of much needed new affordable homes on the Isle of Mull.
The Rural Rising Star Award sponsored by Scottish Woodlands
Wallace Currie lectures in Agriculture at SRUC and has played an integral role in the creation, delivery and refinement of a new model of teaching, conducting assessments in a more holistic manner with work placements incorporated into the teaching structure.
The Tourism & Visitor Management Award sponsored by GLM
David Hope-Jones has unleashed new energy, ambition and optimism in the South of Scotland’s visitor economy by co-developing a Responsible Tourism Strategy with unprecedented ambition for the region, which is proving to be enormously successful.
The Working with Communities Award sponsored by Media House
Ballantrae Rural Initiative Care in the Community (BRICC) is a community run charity staffed by volunteers, currently raising funds to build a care home for local elderly members of the community wishing to live near their families and remain in the village.
Judges’ Commendations
Josh Donaldson aka ‘The Litter Picker’. Josh Donaldson’s commitment to collecting rubbish has become a full-time job as he chooses to not only dispose of rubbish appropriately, but also recycles 60-80% of what he finds. He has rented a yard to sort rubbish and his plan is to create a business model where rubbish can be sorted, recycled and used to create saleable items to fund the operation. Josh has amassed more than 1.6million followers and almost 16million likes on TikTok (@earthdr0p) and Instagram (@earthdr0p).
Sustainable Kirriemuir is a voluntary organisation set up to take positive climate action and transform Kirriemuir into a sustainable, net-zero community. Since 2019 a number of projects and initiatives have been driven forward to combat climate change.
Propagate is a small social enterprise working with schools and colleges, communities, farmers, public and private sector across South and West Scotland delivering projects that develop skills and knowledge and facilitate education and learning for sustainable food and farming.