Welcome to the KDP Bulletin.
The K&M Growing Network is an initiative aiming to encourage communication between community growing and gardening groups throughout Kincardine and Mearns. Facilitated by Kincardineshire Development Partnership (KDP) the network promotes the sharing of ideas and resources and provides learning opportunities.
At the start of the year a community fruit growing and orchard maintenance workshop was held at the Mill of Benholm and attended by a dozen growing groups from throughout the area. There have also been visits to The Caim in Luthermuir, Milltown Community in Arbuthnott and Sillyflatt Farm. More visits and workshops will be held in the spring and there is a Facebook group for members.
The network has already resulted in a trial project being undertaken by a number of growing groups in the south of K&M. The “Grow Mearns” project saw groups work together with help and support from the Milltown Community, to grow plants for community displays, to replace the bedding plants normally provided by Aberdeenshire Council. More than 4000 plug plants were raised and distributed for use in community planters in Inverbervie, Gourdon, Johnshaven, Drumlithie, Fettercairn and Edzell Woods. This project has recently been acknowledged with a runner-up award in the RHS Scotland Community Awards “Gardening for Health and Wellbeing” category.
If you are involved in community growing and would like more information about joining the network, please contact mairi@kdp.scot
The Corra Foundation Boost Fund is for small community-led organisations across Scotland supporting local people affected by poverty or disadvantage. Groups can apply if their activities will support their communities and the people who live there. Grants are flexible and groups can apply for many different costs.
The Fund will provide grants of £500-£3,000 to constituted groups and charities with an annual income of £50,000 or less. Unconstituted groups can apply for grants of between £250-£1,500. There is £750,000 available to distribute until March 2026.
Please note that The Boost Fund continues to support groups working with children and families, but now also supports wider community activity. The Boost Fund will remain open for applications until all funds are spent.
Find out more on the Corra website.
The Aberdeenshire Health and Social Partnership (AHSCP) are developing a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan, and they want to hear from people living in our communities about what is important to them.
This phase of the feedback is aimed towards:
- People who have used mental health services and / or supports
- Family members / Carers
- Staff who provide mental health and wellbeing support
- Any other relevant stakeholders
The feedback window is open until 23rd November.
Take part here.
The Naturesave Trust are inviting applications from charities, community groups, and organisations boosting biodiversity via:
🌸 Pollinator plans
🌱 Habitat restoration
🌿 Hedgerow management
🏡 Wildlife gardens
🚫🧴 Pesticide alternatives
🙋 Conservation volunteering
📚 Education
🏛️ Influencing local councils
🔬 Citizen science
🦉 Community wildlife surveys
Also, if you have a completely new approach to encouraging nature connection, they want to hear from you
Applications are accepted up to £5000, and the next closing date is 12 noon on 27th November.
Find out more here.
As we move towards the winter months, Ready Scotland have lots of advice and resources for your community.
Visit the Ready Scot website to access seasonal advice for severe weather as well as stakeholder toolkits to support community social media campaigns. The campaign aims to promote safe and responsible behaviour during cold weather and highlight practical resources for communities across Scotland.
Volunteering Matters Action Earth offer grants to help urban communities to respond to our nature and climate crises.
Funded by the National Lottery Community Fund and NatureScot, these nature grants support volunteers of all ages, backgrounds and abilities in practical outdoor activities in Scotland’s cities, towns and villages.
Any group of volunteers in urban areas are able to apply for Volunteering Matters Action Earth nature grants up to £250 to run environmental activities in green spaces in built-up areas and centres of population. They welcome applications that make major environmental impacts and/or involve mass participation.
This could include creating or improving community gardens, shared spaces, wildflower meadows, ponds, community woodlands and creating other wildlife habitats. Please note that they cannot support applications which are primarily about food growing.
Projects must complete and submit feedback by February 28 2026.
More here.
This summer, Foodlink NE launched an online marketplace, connecting local producers and customers across Aberdeenshire from Hatton of Fintray down to Laurencekirk using a truly short supply chain.
After a successful 10-week pilot, they recently opened their Newtonhill Hub, hosted weekly at The Newton Arms.
Looking ahead, the team is planning for next year’s growing season and exploring new Hubs to make local, nature-friendly food even more accessible year-round.
Find out more and get in touch via Foodlink NE’s website.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People Catalyst Awards are designed to support community-led research. Funding will be provided to support new and existing research projects that promote the health of individuals through fostering healthy environments and communities, and enabling access to healthy foods.
The Williamson Trust and RSE are looking to award demonstrator pilot-scale projects led by community-based individuals or organisations, who would each receive an award amount of up to £5,000 to conduct a research project for up to 12 months.
The deadline is 12 noon on 4th December.
Learn more here.
Aberdeen International Airport is on the lookout for charities, community groups and organisations to benefit from the ABZ Propeller Fund.
The Fund is open to groups, charities, and organisations with links to education, sustainability, and economic regeneration.
Members of the ABZ Propeller Fund include airport staff, as well as representatives from the local authorities and government.
It meets four times a year with the applications open throughout the year.
Organisations looking for funding have until Friday, 31st of October to apply for a grant up to £3,000.
Apply here.
Cookney Hall has replaced their stage, and would like to offer the original stage out for free loan to community groups within the Kincardine & Mearns area.
The only condition would be that the sections of staging would have to be uplifted from their current storage area.
The Committee would rather see them getting used, rather than sitting going to waste.
If you are interested, please send any queries to Bob McKinney at bob8930@sky.com.
The Wolfson Foundation’s main grants programme, Funding for Places, are grants for capital initiatives, i.e. buildings (new build or refurbishment) and equipment.
They fund a broad range of organisations working across the fields of education, science & medicine, health & disability, heritage, humanities & the arts.
Each category has its own specific funding criteria, more detail on which can be found on the Foundation’s website.
State primary schools in the UK can apply for the Happy By Nature Fund.
Ten pilot schools will receive a grant of £10,000 each, plus expert guidance from Learning through Landscapes (LtL), empowering them to develop nature-rich school grounds with input from specialist designers.
Further LtL staff training will support pupils to enjoy more nature-based play in their improved spaces — whether that’s in a greener playground, a newly created nature zone, or an enhanced outdoor learning area.
Applications for the Happy By Nature Fund are open until 9 November.
Follow this link to the application form, along with a copy of the questions, grant criteria, and project guide to support your application.