Through the Communities and Cultural Heritage Fund, the Cairngorms Trust has awarded grants of between £2,500 and £10,000 to ten projects across the National Park that celebrate local heritage, crafts, art and music.

Among those granted funding are: 

• Digitisation of archive material for Braemar Local History Group
• A project to recruit new members to the Duff Highlanders and provide uniforms
• A project supporting pupils from Kingussie High School to design, build and launch traditional boats, including a canoe, kayak and Spey coracle
• An exhibition about the textile industry in Strathspey, including the area’s weaving heritage

A further £5,000 grant will be announced at a later date.

A partnership between the Cairngorms Trust and Park Authority, the Communities and Cultural Heritage Fund was launched last autumn, with a £50,000 pot. Due to a huge response from communities across the National Park, the Park Authority subsequently provided an extra £15,000, boosting the total to £65,000.

The scheme attracted a total of 28 applications asking for £170,000.

The board of the Cairngorms Trust met recently to discuss the applications. Cairngorms Trust chair Karen Derrick said that the board was impressed with the ideas put forward: "The Cairngorms Trust is devoted to community-led development and it is wonderful to see our communities suggesting such a diverse range of proposals. These projects will enable Cairngorms residents to not only preserve and celebrate their culture but spread knowledge of it to wider audiences.

“We are looking forward to watching these projects take shape over the next year.”

Eilidh Todd, Communities and Rural Development Manager at the Cairngorms National Park Authority, said: “It is inspiring to see such a wonderful range of projects coming forward from communities. From preserving and digitising precious archival material to supporting young people in learning traditional boatbuilding skills, these initiatives reflect the depth of creativity and commitment that exists to celebrate, preserve and share the rich cultural heritage of the Cairngorms National Park. We were particularly excited to be able to award an additional amount of money as the quality and variety of applications was so high.”

All the projects are expected to be completed by February 2027.

Fiona Hunter, chair of Braemar Local History Group, said: “We are a very active group of volunteers but felt our website would benefit from some extra time spent on downloading some of the large amount of historic photos we have already digitised.  Our website has been live for less than a year but we want to give as many people as possible a chance to look at the range of material we have available.  This funding will be invaluable to us.”

Hannah Mitchell, of IRL Education, said: “We're absolutely delighted to receive this support. The funding will enable a group of young people from Kingussie High School to work alongside Badenoch Men's Shed to build traditional boats, connect with the heritage of the River Spey, develop confidence and practical skills and have lots of fun while strengthening their connection to their local environment."