Dornoch Firth Group

The Dornoch Firth Group is a project that aims to support and develop activities that bring people together around the Dornoch Firth, not just those residents involved in the local churches, but everybody of all ages.

Projects already underway, or in development include:

Intergenerational Work

Intergenerational activities have become a main feature of the Project. The success of introducing adult volunteers in the local Dornoch Academy, to assist in developing crafts with the S2 classes as part of their enterprise work, has increased the school curriculum to include photography with the help of one volunteer. Also a new after school activity has been introduced which enables pupils, mainly boys, to build and fly model aeroplanes in the school grounds.

Youth Caf_

On Friday evenings, during term time, a Youth Caf_ has been established in Dornoch. It has been devised for young people of secondary school age. The Dornoch Youth Caf_ is organised through an "Ideas Group", which is made up of adults and young people who coordinate the development of the caf_.

Youth Employment

The project has made some progress in developing an idea to create jobs for young people in the forestry industry. This idea has been passed on to the Ardgay Community Council who have the time and resources to pursue it further. The aim is to complete a feasibility study on the idea of employing two foresters to train six apprentices, on sites needing cleared after the logging companies remove timber, but leave up to 25%. This timber can then be processed as woodchips to fuel wood burners.

Common Ground

This is a weekly social activities group for those with learning difficulties 16+, meeting in the Dornoch West Church Hall on Wednesday evenings from 7pm to 9pm. Each week of the month will focus on a different range of activities. The first week will be sports, second performing arts, third crafts, fourth a visiting speaker or trip out.

Escape

It is hoped to start a daytime youth club for those with learning difficulties 12–19. This will be a weekly club operating one afternoon per week based in the Dornoch West Church Hall from 1pm–3pm. It will be an extension of the DIGIT (Dornoch, Invergordon, and Golspie in transition) project operating from Dornoch Academy.

Fertile Ground

This is an initiative which will be established for spring 2012, and will provide training in horticulture for those younger people with learning difficulties in transition between school and work.

Men’s Fellowship

This group meets every other Wednesday afternoon from 2pm to 3.15pm in Royal Dornoch Golf Club to discuss Christian faith issues.

Family Ground

It is planned to establish a group for women to consider issues related to bringing up families, including young parents, single parents and parents of teenagers. For further details on these and other initiatives, please contact John McMurray at the address below.