Past Events
What’s been going on?
We're really sorry......
...... but you missed out on these great events!
Here you will find our ‘back calendar’, preserving a unique list of events that we have organised, been involved with, supported or that have been going on in our DG8 area….. because it’s nice to be able to reminisce isn’t it? This is also the place to read any attendee experiences, and see more photos, so you can see what you missed out on!
If you attended any of these events and have anything to add, or share about your experiences, including any photographs, please get in touch with us!
This year…
In early October Mary, George, Lucy, Chris and Elizabeth all helped to bring the joy of Autumn apple pressing and fresh, local apple juice to the children at Kirkinner and Port William Primary Schools.
We welcomed some very creative folks along to the first of our community creative events, and the two judges found it quite hard to choose a winner from all the entries.
We had stone art, sand raking drawings, water features, as well as others using shells, driftwood and seaweed to create a range of images and messages. Here you will find some examples of what was created.
It was a lot of fun, and we are looking forward to showcases some photos of ALL pieces at our second event, coming up in the New Year at Number 12 in Port William.
There will also be notices and calls before this to all communities for individuals to enter pieces which will be displayed for a three-day community art exhibition… so please keep an eye out on here and our Facebook page!
Our winner, John, receiving his prize from Trustee Rebecca!
Kilsture Art/Science/Forest – Investigating Soil on the Forest Floor 14 July, 4-6pm
An inspiration for artwork, a hidden world of mini-beasts and mycorrhizae, a major consideration in woodland management, a vital player in the carbon sequestration and climate change story – soil is fascinating whichever way you look at it.
Last Sunday KFCG held its first event under the banner Kilsture: Art | Science | Forest, bringing together people from different disciplines to explore the forest together. Artist Morag Paterson, ecologist Malcolm Haddow and forester Andy Macqueen co-led a walk through the forest to share their knowledge of and interest in soil on the forest floor. A group of 10 of us visited three sites chosen ahead of time to illustrate different soil characteristics in the forest. Morag handed out notebooks to record our impressions of each site, encouraging us to pick up handfuls of soil, smell them and rub small samples into the pages to create patterns as the soil dries.
Another successful swap. Many satisfied swishers!
Plus over thirty new / lightly worn bras heading off to SMALLS FOR ALL
On the 23rd of June we had this year’s Summer Open Day at The Croft in Whithorn. Here is a short film giving a tiny flavour of the day, made by MAC-CAN member and volunteer Chris. Hope you enjoy it!
On the 4th of June Bee Positive had an Open Garden event at Seymour House, Port William. Here is a short film giving a tiny flavour of the day, made by MAC-CAN member and volunteer Chris. Hope you enjoy it!
On Sunday we had another successful members of MAC-CAN (and friends) beach clean in Garlieston, this time at Rigg Bay, with thanks to Galloway House Gardens for transporting the bags/bulky waste up to be uplifted.
Excellent work this morning filling and planting up the community planters today outside South Machars Community Centre – Whithorn
This second soil specific event, despite the venue changing, still went ahead and had a more personal touch.
Due to the weather farmers were busy cutting grass for silage etc., so the event was relocated to MAC-CAN HQ in Whithorn and had a focus on the link with the Kenyan farmers. There was much discussion and sharing of practices through a very successful video link!
“It really was a lovely way to spend a Sunday morning”
From our side, Gill and other Croft volunteers could show and talk about:
- An area of “no dig” – where the soil is not tilled and the idea is to conserve soil moisture and nutrients
- The compost area – the Croft’s soils are very thin so the composting is especially important for even making soil !
- A small forest garden – for biodiversity
- The polytunnel – growing seasons are short, so this extends the growing season
… and the Kenyan farmers wanted to discuss:
- ‘Given our soils’ low fertility in the Likia area, how can we compare organic and inorganic farming methods to determine the best way to improve soil health?
- In light of the climate change crisis, how can we effectively manage pests and diseases while maintaining organic farming practices?
- How can we manage and reduce post-harvest losses?
- What value addition processes do you apply to your products after harvest in your farming operations?
- What are your seed selection and breeding processes.
- How are you organized as a community, how do you solve conflicts amongst yourselves and how do you interact with other organic and inorganic farmers?
A very small team of volunteers came together today for a few hours to get the community planters in place at the front of South Machars Community Centre – Whithorn
A great start to a new project aiming to not only brighten up the place, but also support pollinators and provide accessible, free food and herbs.
The volunteers also set up the compost bins and food caddies have been installed inside so the centre can start making its own compost!
Lucy
23 (plus) people enjoyed the swap event today – thanks for coming (and to the few extra people who popped in to have a peek what was going on after the majority of the swapping had been done and folks had gone!)
Lots of happy people and exchanges made and quite a few new faces joined in today which is always lovely!
A very enjoyable, well attended Clothes Swap at Number 12 in Port William on a very cold wet ‘n’ windy day.
Fi
The DG Climate Hub created a Glossary of Reusable Creel Plastics and launched it at their March #LobsterPotLuck event. This is intended to help beach cleaners identify creel parts that detach during storms and get washed up on the beaches. Lobster fishermen can reuse these rather than buying new, reducing plastic waste and production if we can close the circle together.
We’re very grateful to the harbour masters at Kirkcudbright, Whithorn, Port William and Stranraer for volunteering to be drop off/ collection points so that neither beach cleaning groups nor fishermen have to travel far to make this happen.
If you find any of these parts on your beach cleans, please contact the harbour master nearest to you to arrange drop off (see contact details below).
Great haul of litter collected from the woodland and beach along the track to Eggerness in Garlieston this afternoon. This is our second year of efforts here during Keep Scotland Beautiful’s annual campaign that runs in April.
A live link with farmers in Kenya provided an exciting and thought-
and drying up the rivers.
Scotland to tackle challenges of climate change.
because people are eating organic crops.
17th February in Wigtown – MAC-CAN’s mini deep-dive into the earth beneath our feet!
The first of two events this year that MAC-CAN has organised to engage people with soil and soil health. It was a sell-out and was a fascinating day.
Look out for the next one, coming up in May!
Here’s a report about the day, from Trustee Helen
Here are some quotes from some of the Kenyan farmers who joined us through the live link!
“It was very good to meet the people in Scotland, to discuss climate and the weather and show you how we manage our soil. I hope we can share more again and come to Scotland to see how you farm” Joseph
“It was good to be able to show you my farm and my animals. Thank you for listening to my situation. I hope we can meet one day.” Grace
“We are grateful for the chance to meet and ask the Lord to bless our meeting and the chance to meet again. It was interesting how much we have in common. Thank you.” Farmer who ended our meeting with a closing prayer
What do we have in common?
From potato sales MAC-CAN raised over £650 for the Food Train!
Big thanks to all this years’ Tattie Team and the groups/individuals that contributed to such a great day as well as the Food Train volunteers.
The Rhinns Seed Library
Galloway Apple Project
South Machars Crop Swaps
Bee Positive
Machars Abundance
2023
Mary opened our gathering, with a speech including background to MAC-CAN quoting UN Secretary General 2023 – ‘’Our world needs climate action on all fronts.’’ Mary noted all the great work going on in Machars and further on climate action. Mary’s message was to celebrate the work underway and to encourage us to support each other and work in partnership with others.
We then had a few speakers talking to the audience gathered about their projects, as well as having information on them on the stalls around the room.
Speakers were:
Lynn from ONUS
Mandy from Kilsture Forest Community Group
Chris & Nicola speaking about The MAC-CAN Croft
Clothes Swaps Report by Trustee Fiona, read by Jenna.
Gill telling everyone about a new project called Bee Positive (was B-Lines at the time)
Followed by some group activities related to energy and the new D&G Climate Hub, before the AGM was held.
One of our Trustees Rebecca is renovating a building in Port William so it can be used as a community space. This Apple Day was the first event to be held there, in its current form, and was a great opportunity for people to share their ideas for what the space can be used for!
What a fantastic opportunity for the community and surrounding area.
Rebecca
Fun time on Sunday 15th October celebrating Apple Day at MAC-CAN Croft in Whithorn. Lots of apples juiced, Crops swapped thanks to South Machars Crop Swaps, tools serviced at our popular tools maintenance station and good blether. As always, lovely to see people old and new and a big thanks to our fabulous team of volunteers for making it all happen.
Gill
6/7th October – new sustainable food festival for The Machars is a huge success!
This year’s MaD Festival taking place in Whithorn at the South Machars Community Centre had a ‘Make Do and Mend’ theme, and MAC-CAN were involved in a few events, for example a clothes swap, fast fashion film screening and discussion.
Apple pressing – the first outing of the year for the MAC-CAN kit – happened at the Doors Open Day celebrations at Challoch Church, just outside of Newton Stewart on 2-3 September
“What a good idea” – everyone kept saying at this morning’s stall at the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Unesco Biosphere Green Fayre in Newton Stewart. Thanks to everyone who brought along plants and produce.
South Machars Crop Swaps
A combined Crop and Clothes Swap at a monthly community coffee morning
Showers don’t stop the swappers!
Despite the dismal and damp weather, the July Crop Swap welcomed 15 people back to Whithorn, including three new people coming along to swap and see what it’s all about, which is wonderful!
Swapping Success!
The new clothes swap initiative is already on it’s third swap of the year, and have successfully held a swap each month since it began….. and plans on holding more monthly swaps as much as possible.
If you would like to get involved to help set up these swaps in your area please get in touch with us:
in**@ma*****.org
Please get in touch also if you would like to be involved by showcasing, demonstrating or skill sharing any type of activity that others can do to either, for example:
extend the life of clothing
repurpose scrap material
creative patchwork
simple hemming, button sewing on etc.
Climate Action Hub for D&G!
I am sure many people across the area are looking forward to seeing the outcome and progress of these initial conversations.
MAC-CAN Member Lucy attended the first of these sessions and can report that everyone in that session was in favour of the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere taking on the development of such a Hub.
Fun fundraiser!
MAC-CAN Trustee Fi opened up her developing permaculture garden to fundraise for her Clothes Swap initiative, supported by MAC-CAN.
It was a great success!
‘Thank you everyone for coming to our first ever Open Garden. We raised £56 to help pay for hall hire etc so we don’t need to charge for entry to Clothes Swaps.’
Fi
30th June – Visit to Community Project (D&G Community Food Network Gathering)
MAC-CAN Croft members and the South Machars Community Centre (SMCC) team where invited to the D&G Community Food Network Gathering, along with other community groups in the area. Hosted by the KPT DT Community project based in Penpont and Propagate the D&G Community Food network Team. This is just a short slice of the day’s events. Make sure you check out their Facebook and websites for more information.
The Facebook page for the KPT DT is – https://www.facebook.com/KPTDevTrust/…
Propagate website is – http://www.propagate.org.uk/
The SMCC Facebook page is – https://www.facebook.com/SMCCWhithorn/
MAC-CAN website is – https://mac-can.org/
Thanks to Chris, our MAC-CAN member and Croft volunteer’s video creation skills!
18th June – MAC-CAN Croft Open Day
Including Crop and Clothes Swap events
We had a great time opening the MAC-CAN Croft to everyone this afternoon and loved showing off what we’ve been doing, talking no-dig, forest gardening, swapping clothes (), crops ( South Machars Crop Swaps) and general blether.
Thank you to everyone who came along – and especially to all the wonderful volunteers who worked hard to make it such a special event as they do to always make it a special place to be!
Gill
28-30th April – Wigtown Booksellers’ Spring Festival
People started turning up with arms full of gorgeous clothes to swap. And swap they did! Business was brisk and banter was lively. The atmosphere was lovely and friendly and there was lots of talk about ‘Fast Fashion’ and today’s ‘throwaway society’ and what a great idea a regular clothes swap would be so people could plan ahead for the next one (hopefully July or August 2023).
After searching the clothes rails and filling their bags, swappers were able to sit and enjoy the music and chat with a cup of tea or coffee and delicious cakes baked by Fiona Prior and Sue Hearn for a small donation towards future hire of the hall. It was a great community venture as people pulled together to get it off the ground and came to swap their garments.
Feedback was very positive with people saying they looked forward to this being a regular fixture in the Creetown calendar. Sarah Fetherstonhaugh who had travelled in from Newton Stewart said, “The clothes swap is a fantastic idea, especially for this area, in the current financial climate! It’s lovely to pass items on for a new lease of life. I’m really looking forward to the next one.”
MAC-CAN plans other clothes swaps around the DG8 area. Please get in touch if you would like to be involved in making this happen or to find out information of Clothes Swaps near you
MAC-CAN members contributes to art exhibit
Two of our members (and regular crofters), Dru and Miles participated in the exhibition that opened Sat 25th March at Kirkcudbright Galleries.
“Climate Crisis Issues Facing Kenya: Concerns, Opportunities and Local Responses”
Saturday 28th January – Annual Potato Day event in Wigtown
So this year we were joined by members of:
South Machars Crop Swaps who have been organising cash-free monthly swaps of produce, plants, seeds and more. At their first swap of 2023 organisers Lucy Smithies and Sam Winter joined us to share seeds, plants and gardening books. Some visitors, unfamiliar with the crop swap ethos, took seeds in return for a small cash donation to Food Train. We hope to see them again for real swaps which are much more fun.
Lucy and Sam were also recruiting volunteers for their latest community project – Machars Abundance. The aim of this project is to connect those with fruit trees/big harvests with others who can use the fruit, thus reducing food waste.
Also in attendance was Cat Muir who organises the Galloway Apple Project along with Maggie Kellie. Their team works in Wigtown to take cuttings from old heritage apple trees around the town and graft them onto new rootstocks. They hope to use these old varieties to preserve them for the future and to create new local orchards.
We were also pleased to include Tina Ruiz from the Rhins Seed Library. The aim of this project is to encourage growers to save seeds of open-pollinated, home-grown vegetables, flowers and herbs and to swap and share within the group. This is a great way to find out which varieties thrive in our local soils and climate and to share resilient seeds and plants.
All the groups involved in this year’s event had a successful day raising their profiles, sharing stories and attracting new members. If you would like to find out more about and their activities you will find them on Facebook or contact MAC-CAN at in**@ma*****.scot and we will connect you.
This year Food Train Regional Co-ordinator, Jim Brodie, helped organise the day. Both teams were very busy with sales and lunches and had a great time. The final total is still to be tallied but, between us, we raised well over £1000 for Food Train and are looking forward to doing it all over again next year.
Mary & George Pattison
On Saturday 28th January we held our sixth annual Potato Day to raise funds for the local Food Train charity. Jamieson Brothers of Annan give us a generous discount on seed potatoes and we sell for the average local retail price. Every penny of profit from sales goes to the Food Train.
The Food Train offers a shopping service and befriending for local people who are housebound or less mobile. On Potato Day their volunteers serve delicous home-cooked lunches with donations of soup and baking from Food Train friends.
During the last two years of Covid we took pre-orders from customers and provided doorstep deliveries. Our customer base has grown over the years. Initially they were mainly concentrated in the Machars area but have since extended into the Rhins and Stewartry.
The MAC-CAN Croft – a sustainable growing space in Whithorn – holds a volunteer meet every Wednesday. All volunteers are members of MAC-CAN and the Croft activities overlap with those of other local food/growing groups. This year we decided to provide a space at Potato Day to showcase their activities and attract new members and volunteers.
A pretty impossible task to count everyone who came along, but we reckon that about 250 people came along to buy potatoes, have lunch and support all the different organisations and projects attending.
This was a great turn out for an initial meeting of like-minds; lots of interesting people to talk to and share their individual skills and talents.
Lots of different creative scope from performance, large-scale public art installations, screen-writing, photography, painting, writers and more.
Looking forwards to the second gathering and to see how the group develops and what actions can be achieved in the area and maybe further afield, marrying creativity and climate action!
Lucy
2022
Sunday 26th November
Willow Structure at The Croft
On Sunday 26th November we met at the Croft to weave a living willow dome, using our own willow (see behind – it wouldn’t have been any more local!).
George and Mick taught four budding blacksmiths how to make fire pokers from scrap steel rods using a coke fed forge, which can reach a heat of 1600oC turning the steel almost molten, allowing it to be manipulated, wrought and shaped. As always it is important to wear PPE, even I as a distant photographer had to wear safety goggles as occasionally the hot coke would splutter and stray fragments would shoot out like bullets!
Over an action packed two hours the pokers were continually heated, shaped and hammered until a poker was wrought. It was particularly satisfying to see the steel bend like butter, its infamous durability temporarily stolen by the heat of the forge, soon to return after a couple minutes. In the end our four apprentice blacksmiths walked away with their very own fire pokers. It was impressive how quickly our trainees learned what to do and how well their reward came out. Well done to all on the day.
Wednesday 17th November
Bladesmiths and Blacksmiths
Machars and Cree Valley Climate Action Network hosted two events for the Making and Doing (MaD) Festival at The Croft: a blacksmithing workshop making fire pokers led by George and supported by Mick and an interactive demonstration on how to make recycled knives by Bladnoch based bladesmith Tim Westley.
The events were held in the Croft’s repurposed smithy which was once used by Ben the Pole aka. Bernard Philip Wilmaa infamous local blacksmith who once fought in WW11.
Our second event was an interactive demonstration by local based bladesmith Tim Westley on how he makes recycled but high-quality knives. Commendably, Tim Westely’s business Clement Knives recycles nitrous oxide cannisters, used recreationally as the drug known as laughing gas and utilises the steel in the cannisters to make his knives. Unbelievably, on one trip to London Tim once collected around 10,000 cannisters off the streets and around the Thames!
Unfortunately, the cannisters aren’t typically recycled as the risk of gas being left in the cannisters threatens current steel recycling methods. Essentially the cannisters are like a small bomb! There isn’t much steel in these cannisters however, so it takes several to make a blade and it’s not of the highest spec, so Tim does buy some high-quality recycled steel for the core of the blade.
Tim also makes his own bespoke handles and sheaths. The handles are made from recycled beach plastic like fish trays and the sheathes made of recycled bale wraps, a truly innovative and resourceful use of our ever-increasing plastic waste.
Tim takes us through his process step by step which I can assure you is as much a labour of willpower and strength as it is of love. He may spend several days finishing a batch of knives, but his efforts have been well received, and his business now supplies knives all over the world, as far afield as Japan.
Malcom,
Project Support Officer
Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere
Find out more here: Programme of Events | Mad Festival (madfestivalscotland.com)
Saturday, 5th November, MAC-CAN’s first big public event as a SCIO
D&G Local Food Gatherings
Friday, 14th October, Glenluce Primary School’s Apple Adventure!
Mary & George
South Machars Crop Swaps group’s monthly swap
Saturday, 20th August 2022 in Wigtown
Helen
Please remember no money is involved in our swaps, and they take place every month from about February until November.
If you’re not already in the Facebook swap group and are local to the Machars please join @southmacharscropswaps
Sunday, 14th August, Visit to Cree Valley Community Woodlands Trust
The team at Cree Valley Community Woodlands Trust kindly invited MAC-CAN to visit the nursery at Barcyle Farm to see what they are working on this year.
A small group of MAC-CAN humans plus one MAC-CAN beagle headed up on a super sunny August afternoon – what a place!
First of all, one is blown away by the location. While it’s just a few miles outside Newtown Stewart it feels a million miles from anywhere, like a little yoke surrounded by a totally wild space.
The nursery is stunning, tirelessly cared for by the handful of dedicated volunteers who tend it. Rows and rows of perfect, healthy, beautiful tiny little baby trees, that will outlive all of us in time.
The nursery started around 12 years ago and collects locally sourced seed to produces native trees that are grown specially for specific projects around the South of Scotland and further.
We saw many different types of trees and heard about the wildlife that frequents the site. We were even able to help out a tiny bit by doing some weeding.
So if trees are your bag and you have a couple of hours a week to spare, this would be a wonderful project to get involved in.
The group meet on Wednesdays from around 10am-3pm followed by a coffee at the Belted Galloway.
No experience needed.
Get in touch: in**@ma*****.scot
Jenna
Saturday, 9th July Visit to Balkail Glen
Balkail Glen is a hidden gem of woodland with some beautiful examples of massive mature trees including horse chestnut, beech and elm, with a stream running through and red squirrels leaping between the trunks.
Friends of Balkail Glen are a small but tireless group who have worked like trojans to clear laurel and rhododendron from the absolutely gorgeous Balkail Glen in Glen Luce. This work has opened up the woodland floor and dramatically changed the conditions within the woodland, allowing sunlight to flood down to the ground. Absolutely immediately (like actually while they were still chopping), small woodland birds moved into the cleared space to feed on the new available ground space.
A small group of MAC-CANNERS were treated to a guided walk and update of the work going on. Improving biodiversity locally is going to be one of our strongest tools in the mitigating the local impacts of climate change, so this kind of project is exactlyre we would like to show support.
So if you have a spare two hours a week and would like to get involved with Friends of Balkail Glen, Glen Luce, please get in touch! in**@ma*****.scot
Jenna
Sunday, 26th June, 10am – noon
South Machars Crop Swaps group’s monthly swap
If you’re not already in the Facebook swap group and are local to the Machars please join @southmacharscropswaps
Lucy
Sunday, 19th June, 2pm
Our MAC-CAN Croft Open Day!
MAC-CAN held an Open day at the Croft in June, bringing together sunshine, friends and stone-baked pizza! The open day gave a great update on just how much work is going on over at the MAC-CAN Croft. Super well done to everyone involved in the Croft, it looks like a green paradise with budding apples, a vibrant pond and broad beans that were causing all kinds of envy. I did have to remind myself.. thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s broad beans.
If you are interested in getting involved in the Croft, have a hand or two to spare or would like to try your hand at gardening or veg growing, please get in touch! in**@ma*****.scot
2021
5th December Willow Wreaths at The MAC-CAN Croft
A suitably crisp December day for our wreath making session at the MAC-CAN Croft today – some beautiful creations made from natural materials, including willow and holly from the Croft itself and foraged flowers, berries and stems brought by the participants.
Gill
17th October, Apple Day at The MAC-CAN Croft
Some photos of our Apple Day at MAC-CAN Croft in Whithorn on Sunday.
We had a fun day picking, chopping, mincing, pressing and, yes, drinking lots of lovely apples. Thank you to all who came along and made the place ‘hum’ with atmosphere.
George & Mary
We had a good afternoon meeting people and sharing thoughts and news at the Shindy in Wigtown.
Thank you to everyone who helped including Chris and Elizabeth, Linda Lou and John, Dru, Mary M, Anne and Emily and to everyone who visited the stall and talked with us.
Mary
To remind ourselves how far we have come and for a few more events that have taken place, have a look on the:
Click here to go back to our current
and upcoming Events Calendar!