April community trust newsletter

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Chair’s Notes for Newsletter

Dear CCT Members, Supporters and Friends,

We have our indoor market this Saturday, 19th April in Findon Hall from 10am to noon. Please come along and enjoy a cuppa, bacon roll/cake and a chat in the market café. This is your last chance to buy high-quality local foods, crafts and plants for Easter! Pro Fish and Seafield Game will be there with their outside stalls.

We held a successful Community Viewing of the new toilets and potting shed on April 4th – which you can read about in this newsletter and which has already made it onto the “Tomorrow’s History” section of our History website!

Do you love the outdoors? Want to make a real difference to our community? Then why not join the Culbokie Green Team? The Green Team is now enjoying the benefits of having a purpose-built potting shed with tool storage, hot water on tap (literally) and a workbench.

A reminder to please make a note of the following events. There will be an Easter Egg Hunt on Culbokie Green this week on Friday, 18th April from noon until 2pm and our third Black Isle Food and Drink Festival will be on Saturday, 6th September in Findon Hall. If you’re entering our Black Isle Calendar 2026 Photo Competition, please remember the closing date is 6pm on Monday, 30th June. The competition is now open and entry is Free!

Have you heard about our Friends of CCT Scheme? You can read about it in this newsletter and, hopefully, may choose to become a Friend.

If you have any feedback on the topics in the newsletter, please feel free to get in touch at chair@culbokiect.org.

Paul Wadge

CCT Chair

Easter on the green
Lots of fun to be had no matter the weather

Come and join us for an easter themed treasure hunt
Friday April 18th 12pm-2pm

Easter egg prize once you find the easter clues

Bring a boiled egg along to decorate it at the craft table

Culbokie Community Market & Café

Easter Saturday 19th April 2025

Findon Hall 1000-1200

High quality local foods & crafts and plants

Last chance to buy your Easter treats

Pro Fish/Seafield Game(outside)

Enjoy a coffee/bacon roll/home baking and a chat

Next Market

Saturday 17th May 2025 1000-1200

Culbokie Sharing Shed

Open Every Day, beside Church

Thanks to Culbokie Primary School for the donations this month and with the goods that come from FareShare the shed has been well stocked.

Sadly we have had to deal with some vandalism at our lovely little shed and winter hours are still in place. Hopefully, with the great support received from Culbokie Primary and Fortrose Academy, the problem has been resolved and summer hours will start soon.

If you are a gardener, please consider donating any excess plants, all varieties, and if you have any unwanted small garden equipment then please pop items in the garden bin to help recycle.

Please continue to support our lovely little shed with whatever suitable items you have to spare. Books, toys, outside toys and small household items are always welcome.

If there are specific needs within the community then please let us know. All monetary donations help provide additional food items. Please donate if you can when you borrow or take an item from the shed.

(Donations can be popped into the bins at the back but please ensure items are complete, in date, clean and no clothes/shoes/material etc)

Thanks to all for your continued support.

Keep up to date on Culbokie Sharing Shed Facebook page.

History report for April 2025

A busy month.
“Tomorrow's History” is currently being made in and around the Village and this image of Willie Macdonald and Rosie Fowler in the 1950's is a bit of a give-away.
To view the story from the 1950's visit the “Village Centre” page and to view the 2025 update to the water supply click here.

Andrew Newton, team leader of the archaeologists looking after the Teanagairn Henge, has carried out his Spring tidy-up, the results of which can be found here.

The Group had a table at the Open Day held in Findon Hall and displayed artifacts and showed a looping presentation of their images of the Findon Hall. This served as useful preparation for a Roadshow that Dingwall Museum are planning to exhibit artifacts relevant to Culbokie. We were kept very busy and therefore neglected to capture many views of the various events.

Images taken at the Public Viewing and Photo Shoot at the Potting Shed and Toilet block are available here.

Following changes to the way Culbokie Church is governed we asked Rev. Mike Rattenbury to bring us up to date.

As always we welcome your material and suggestions for adding to the history of Culbokie. Contact can be made through history@culbokiect.org

Community Viewing of Toilets, Potting Shed and Future Plans for Community Hub

Maybe attending an event at a public toilet isn't the most appealing thing - which is why we were so delighted to welcome around 30 people to our community viewing and photo shoot at the new toilets and potting shed on Culbokie Green on 4th April. Everyone was able to have a good look round, see the plans for the multi-purpose building and cafe, have a sociable cuppa as well as share thoughts and ask questions.

As well as local residents and members of the Green Team, we were also delighted to welcome Councillors Lyndsey Johnston and Morven-May MacCallum, James Turner from Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Bruce Morrison from Ferintosh Community Council and Angus Watson, Deputy Lord Lieutenant. We thank all our supporters and funders for helping to deliver this project.

The question everyone is now asking is ‘when will the toilets open to the public’. We expect this to happen very soon – but please bear with us while we organise final details.

Friends of CCT

As we celebrate the completion of the potting shed and the toilets, it seems an appropriate time to draw attention to the Friends of CCT Scheme. Firstly to give huge thanks to those who have signed up as Friends since the launch of the Scheme last year, and secondly to invite others to follow in their footsteps. As we continue to develop activities and facilities for the village a regular source of income through monthly or yearly donation is invaluable. Full details of how to become a Friend - together with an associated video - can be accessed at https://www.culbokiect.org/friends-of-cct
Thankyou in advance!

Friends of CCT - Culbokie Community Trust
We have created the opportunity to become a Friend of Culbokie Community Trust. By making a regular monthly or annual donation by standing order you will support the continuing work of the Trust as it responds to the many and varied needs of the community.
www.culbokiect.org

All are welcome to join us as CCT hosts its 3rd annual Black Isle Food and Drink Festival. Following a successful and well-supported festival last August, plans are already gathering pace for a celebration of seasonal local produce on Saturday, September 6th at Findon Hall. There will be sample tastings at a wide variety of stalls, both inside and outside the hall; a chance to meet local producers, and to watch a wide variety of food and drink demonstrations

Save the date and check out further information as more details are posted through the Spring and Summer on local Facebook Pages and on the CCT website.

Call-out for volunteers: If you are interested in finding out more, or would like to join our team of volunteers, then please email us at bifoodfestival@gmail.com or come over and have a chat with one of the Fundraising Team at the CCT stall at Culbokie Community Market on April 19th.

Get snapping!

For a chance to see one of your own photos of the Black Isle featured in the 2026 Calendar, just submit up to 3 digital photographs of the Black Isle in landscape format and email them to CCTphotoCompetition@gmail.com.

For each photograph, give a title and its location, and suggest the most suitable month for the calendar. A link to a set of guidelines are listed here on the Photo Competition page on the CCT website. You may have already taken some super photos of the Black Isle in the past, and they will be just as acceptable as any images you capture this summer.

Please send your photographs to the email address above by 6pm on Monday, June 30th.

The competition is open NOW. Entry is free and all are welcome to enter.

Culbokie Green Update

Green Team volunteers have been working hard to manage Culbokie Green as a vibrant, biodiverse, playful and attractive place for everyone in the community to enjoy. We’re excited to see the meadow start to grow, the fruit trees in blossom and some early season bumblebees scouting for nest sites.

In recent weeks the Team has been focussing on:

· Improvements to the shelter roof with the addition of more topsoil soil and wildflower seeds designed for use on green roofs. We hope to see it green up a bit more over the next few months

· Preparation of some areas that have been cleared of invasive gorse for more wildflower sowing.

· Eradicating weeds from the meadow and the pollinator bed and starting the annual mowing and strimming regime

· Maintaining a clean and tidy appearance to enhance kerbside appeal and balance aesthetics with biodiversity interest.

Our four volunteer leaders will be meeting to review progress in the second half of May. We’d be delighted to get any suggestions and feedback from CCT members and the wider community in time for that meeting to info@culbokiect.org

Green Team Moves into Potting Shed

Amidst much excitement and jubilation, the Green Team was able to move into the ‘Potting Shed’ in late March! This new space offers:

· Carefully designed racking so that all the tools and equipment can be stored safely and efficiently

· A small kitchenette where the Green Team can have a cuppa and a sociable break out of the elements – with the extra luxury of hot water

· A workbench where volunteers can keep all the tools in tip-top shape and tackle those little DIY projects around the site.

The Green Team continues to look after Culbokie Green at their weekly sessions from 2-4pm on Thursday afternoons. New volunteers are always welcome to help with a range of tasks - contact Penny on info@culbokiect.org .