Stewartry projects nominated for Dumfries and Galloway LEADER Rural Awards

A string of Stewartry projects are in the running for the region’s LEADER Rural Awards.

Everything from eco bothies to alpacas has made the shortlist for the ceremony which will be held at GG’s Yard near Gatehouse in December.

There are 15 finalists from across the region, each of which received cash through the 2014-2020 LEADER fund and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.

Senwick Alpacas in Borgue is in the running for the rural entrepreneurship award with the Loch Ken Eco Bothies’ dome home shortlisted for the natural environment prize.

Nicola Hill, left, and Harriet Williams, right of Loch Ken Eco Bothies with judge Alice Mayne. (Courtesy of Mike Bolam and Allan Devlin.)

And New Galloway’s Connecting in Communities Scheme has been shortlisted in the rural resilience section.

There’s also recognition for Solway Firth Partnership’s Coastwise Project which could land the coastal fisheries and community award.

All four projects were recently visited by the judging panel that included Dr Jessica Sellick, Alice Mayne, Artur Steiner, Iain Maddox and Jim Hume.

LEADER programme manager, Nicola Hill, said: “We are very fortunate to have the support of the judges who willingly gave up their time to be an independent judge for us this year.

“They certainly had the expertise and knowledge to take on this important role and they left with a real appreciation of the challenges facing small rural communities.

“They were impressed by the number, scale and impact of the projects we have funded and admire the dedication of those working in our local communities.

"We are all so proud of the people involved in leading and delivering successful projects in Dumfries and Galloway and we look forward to celebrating their achievements in December at GG’s Yard.”