10am Saturday 29th - 2pm Sunday 30th April 2023
Beltane @ the Shieling Project is a unique one and a half day event on land use, wellbeing and biodiversity at Dumnaglass, Strathfarrar.
We are holding this event to enable young people working in sustainability, land use and other rural jobs to make connections and to foster opportunities for collaboration. The event is also a chance to discuss some of the issues and barriers to living and working rurally today, including depopulation, isolation and limited employment opportunities.
The event aims to bring together young people working in land use and sustainability, the local community and sector stakeholders to learn, make connections and explore solutions that integrate traditional knowledge and new thinking.
Who we are
This event is being held by Rosanna Crawford & Ben Murphy, directors of the Shieling Project, in collaboration with SEDA Land and the Centre for Sustainable Solutions, University of Glasgow.
About the Shieling Project and Beltane
The Shieling Project is an off-grid learning centre in the Highlands of Scotland. The project is all about outdoor living, learning and resilience. The tradition of the shieling where folk lived outdoors all summer herding the cattle, gives us a window onto the past, but also helps us look forward to a sustainable future.
Beltane is the Gaelic May Day festival, celebrated midway between spring equinox and summer solstice. It is a celebration of the return of the fertility of the land, and would have been a time when livestock would have been put out to pasture. The word ‘Beltane’ roughly translates as ‘bright fire’ and, as such, one of the most important rituals in the Gaelic calendar.
The programme includes a panel discussion on rural depopulation in the global context, with Simone Piras, James Hutton Institute, Wendy Reid, Ulva Development Trust and MSP Ariane Burgess. There are two workshops about deer management, mental health and nature, restoring rural housing and the Smart Clachan and traditional land practices and sustainable farming. There will be a ceilidh on Saturday evening.
Tickets can be obtained following this link: https://beltane-shieling.eventbrite.co.uk