The funding packacge will also help the organisation to continue its programme of community and sustainable business development, which includes the Biosphere Certification Mark and Biosphere Communities schemes, Carbon Literacy training, and youth education on climate change.
In addition to SOSE’s support the GSAB Partnership receives core funding from Dumfries & Galloway, South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire Councils and as a registered Scottish charity also raises funds from grants, donations and legacies. A previous funding award from SOSE in 2020 enabled the GSAB Partnership to raise the area’s profile through initiatives such as the Heart of the Biosphere documentary film and Merrick Scottish Blackface Knitwear, the social enterprise which has appeared on BBC’s The One Show and featured in VisitScotland’s most recent winter marketing campaign.
Among the projects moving forward will be the GSAB Partnership’s project to help farmers to assess the natural capital on their farms, a significant element of the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal which aims to attract new investment in the south of Scotland. The funding package will also boost efforts to restore nature at a landscape scale, including through the Solway Coast & Marine Project (SCAMP) and Nith catchment ‘Summit to Sea’ initiative.
Among the GSAB Partnership’s new biodiversity projects launching this year will be red squirrel conservation in Ayrshire, and the charity will continue to host the D&G Climate Hub, one of Scottish Government’s network of regional hubs supporting community-led action on climate change.
With the wider geographical boundary approved by UNESCO as part of its ten-yearly review in 2023, Galloway and Southern Ayrshire is the largest of the UK’s seven UNESCO Biospheres and the SOSE funding award recognises the value of this designation in facilitating national and international networking and research. The new award aims for the UNESCO Biosphere to be an “incubator” of high impact projects that have collective benefits region-wide, raising the profile of the south of Scotland through modelling strategic partnerships and long-term resilience.
More information on Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere
