Community Action for the Natural Heritage
SNH are dedicated to creating Attractive Places to Live under the policy
Enriching
People’s Lives(1.8MB)
.
SNH work on a variety of natural heritage projects which directly involve
and impact on the communities of Scotland. In order for SNH to spread its
outreach to communities we work on a range projects with local individuals
and groups to land mangers and local authorities.
Also of interest to communities is the Scottish Outdoor Access Code.
Towns and Cities
Around
80% of Scotland’s population live in towns and cities. SNH want to
create attractive places to work and live. To achieve this in Scotland's
urban areas, we work in partnership with others, in particular local
authorities and local communities.
SNH is helping your community to improve its quality of life through working with partners on projects with an urban or urban-fringe focus, such as Paths for All, Greenspace for Communities and Plant for Wildlife.
Our vision for the future of our towns & cities for the next 25 years is identified in the Natural Heritage Futures Programme.
Rural Development
There
are over 2,000 rural settlements in Scotland. SNH recognises that communities
in the rural environment face different issues to those in towns and cities
though there are often inter-relationships and common themes.
SNH fund and support a variety of projects to help rural communities promote good management of the environment so they protect yet enjoy and access the natural heritage more fully and bring economic benefits through tourism.
In these projects, we work in partnership especially with local authorities and land mangers
The SNH publication 'Working with Communities' provides further details and project examples. Please order your copy from Publications on 01738 444177.
Community Planning
The new Community Planning process is of major significance in respect of SNH’s future working relations with local councils. Community Plans identify a joint positive vision for the future of an area by the local authority and its partner agencies and are jointly published by the agencies involved.
We will continue to work in partnership with local authorities and other agencies to develop Community Plans for each local authority area and in the preparation of Rural Development Plans.
Our aim is to integrate natural heritage objectives alongside social and economic objectives in Community Plans, achieve consensus support for our vision for the future of the natural heritage and incorporate natural heritage objectives in a wide spectrum of programmes. We will endeavour to ensure that the natural heritage elements of Community Plans are integrated with other ongoing initiatives such as LA21, Local Biodiversity Action Plans and our own work on Natural Heritage Zones.
For more information on Community Planning and The Community Planning Task Force a web-site has been developed and is available here.
Project
A number of imaginative and innovative projects have been undertaken with communities. Looking at specific rural and urban case studies, some of the key benefits, challenges and lessons learned can be found.
What all these case studies have in common, and what will hopefully make them all far more sustainable, is the involvement in various ways of local people - all of whom have a stake in the natural heritage and its future.
Volunteering
In 2005/06 over 26,000 people volunteered on environmental projects, giving time worth over £14 million to Scotland’s natural heritage. We want more people in Scotland to take positive action for the natural heritage, and through this enjoy benefits to their quality of life and well-being.
SNH funds volunteering projects, large and small, through our Involving people and Attractive places to live grant schemes. We are also working with a range of other organisations through the Forum for Environmental Volunteering Activity (FEVA) to develop new volunteering opportunities and create a vibrant culture of environmental volunteering in Scotland.