PETA wants Royal Highland Show to go vegan

ANIMAL rights charity People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has called for the Royal Highland Show to become a vegan event. Dawn Carr, vice president of vegan corporate projects at PETA, wrote an open letter to Jim Warnock, chair of the the Royal Highland & Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS), which organises the…

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Helping it Happen Awards open for 2023

TWO categories have been added to this year’s Helping it Happen Awards. Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), the membership body that organises the competition, said the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Rural Scotland aims to celebrate “those who have spent their lives working in and for Scotland’s countryside”. The Rural Rising Star Award is designed…

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River Tweed salmon catch up 14%

THE number of Atlantic salmon caught with rods in the River Tweed leapt by 14% last year, according to the latest figures. The River Tweed Commission said 6,690 salmon were caught last year, up from 5,862 in 2021, and approaching the five-year average of 6,810. The additional 828 fish were caught despite “extremely-low water levels…

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Scots projects get cash from The Prince’s Countryside Fund

FIVE projects in Scotland have received support from The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF). Berwickshire Swap, Helmsdale & District Development Trust, Kilmory Community Fund, Third Sector Hebrides, and Transition North Ronaldsay will share grants worth more than £100,000. Throughout the UK as a whole, 14 projects will receive a total of £250,000 to support more than…

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Tartan Blanket Company gets thumbs up from B Corp

THE Tartan Blanket Company (TBCo) in Leith has been certified by B Corp, an organisation that measures the social and environmental impact of businesses. The fashion and homeware company donates 2% of its revenues to charity each month, with 1% going to organisations that help people and the other 1% to bodies that help the…

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Glasgow Coffee Festival promises to be ‘biggest ever’

ORGANISERS of this May’s Glasgow Coffee Festival have promised to lay on the “biggest coffee festival Scotland has ever seen”. Dear Green Coffee Roasters is bringing the festival back to The Briggait on 13 and 14 May. Last year, more than 2,400 people attended the festival, which this year will be staged for the eighth…

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Estates’ contribution to ‘wellbeing economy’ measured

A NEW report has examined the contribution that Scotland’s country estates make to our nation’s “wellbeing economy”. The Scottish Government set 11 national outcomes to measure progress towards a “wellbeing economy”, which it defined as “an economic system that places the wellbeing of current and future generations at its core”. A report by Biggar Economics…

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Kalopsia Collective launches ‘textiles bond’

TEXTILES maker Kalopsia Collective, a social enterprise founded in 2012 by artists and weavers, aims to raise £100,000 to expand production. The collective moved from Leith to a factory in Dumferline, where it can produce textiles in small batches. Kalopsia focuses on sustainability and reducing waste in the textiles industry. Scottish Communities Finance, a community…

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Burrell collection brings in £20m for Glasgow

THE Burrell Collection has welcomed half a million visits since reopening in March and has injected £19.9 million into Glasgow’s economy. That’s according to Glasgow Life, the organisation set up by the local council to run arts venues in the city. The economic benefit generated by the museum rises to £21.1m for Scotland as a…

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Foresters donate Scottish Government Christmas tree

THIS year’s Scottish Government Christmas tree has been donated by a Scottish forestry company. Highfield Forestry, which is based in Perth, grew the seven-foot Nordmann Fir at Beauly, near Inverness. David Grieve, head of operations at Highfield Forestry’s Biggar office, said: “We are really proud to have been able to supply the Scottish Government with…

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