Castlemilk & Corrie Estates

Thank you to IndiNature for coming out to one of our property renovations to discuss the installation of their hemp insulation. After members of our team attended a fantastic factory tour organised by Scottish Land & Estates in the autumn, we are excited to test its use in one of our estate properties for the first time. Watch this space for updates! #castlemilkestate

Thank you to South of Scotland Enterprise for inviting us to attend your Heat and Decarbonisation Brokerage Workshop at The Crichton Trust’s fantastic Easterbrook Hall. With representatives from a host of different organisations and businesses, it was an interesting and thought-provoking day. As a private landlord it was heartening to hear from the Scottish Government that they view collaboration as being of the upmost importance in achieving decarbonisation and climate change targets. Unfortunately this congenial language from government is not what we have become used to over the past few years. It was worrying however, that there is no further clarity on the Heat and Decarbonisation Bill, new EPC methodology and software or acknowledgement of the difficulties of retrofitting older rural housing, especially with sitting tenants, will have on the sector’s ability to move quickly. We look forward to government delivering the collaboration they promise and working with us to make sure we all drive the energy efficiency of private sector housing forward. The Scottish Government, Dumfries and Galloway Council, South of Scotland Community Housing, Davidson & Robertson, ThermaFY Group, novoville, IndiNature, Sunamp, Kensa Group, Anna Gardiner, George Moore. #castlemilkestate

Thank you to D&G Good Food for inviting us to speak at the Annan Good Food Gathering last week. Our Farm Manager Andy spoke alongside a panel made of up excellent representatives from DG Community Food Network, NHS D&G Public Health and Kate's Kitchen. There was some excellent discussion and debate about how to make our food system more sustainable, and therein improve it for people and planet. As we canter toward the first anniversary of our inhand farming operation, we are keen to build food quality and animal welfare into our business model at every stage. Thank you to D&G Good Food and Propagate for all your hard work facilitating the event. #castlemilkestate #goodfood #welbeingeconomy https://lnkd.in/efEQncMU

We had a fantastic time hosting forestry students from SRUC on Tuesday afternoon. With the visit themed around H&S, we visited our forestry yard, bandsaw and a recently felled site. The students have been tasked to create a hypothetical risk assessment for activities at one of the sites to help them apply their knowledge in a real life environment. Thank you to the wonderful Sam Howard from SRUC for asking us to host the day and to our Forestry Foreman Andy for leading the session! Getting boots on the ground and seeing real life examples of classroom scenarios is vital to successfully teaching rural skills, so we’re really proud to have been able to support this visit. #castlemilkestate #wellbeingeconomy

Well done to the Annan District Salmon Fishery Board, RH Youth Organisation and all the fantastic volunteers for their amazing efforts in today’s litter pick. With the River Annan Sea to Source Litter Picking Project over half way, the team have collected an unbelievable 360kg of litter so far. What a fantastic effort! This great initiate is sponsored by Marine Fund Scotland. We are proud to have supported today’s litter pick by donating the use of our tractor and trailer to move the rubbish away from the river bank. Thank you to our wonderful Forestry Foreman Andy for coordinating this. You can watch ITV Border’s news report on here - https://lnkd.in/e2NKdU5v #castlemilkestate #wellbeingeconomy

Our first farm visit! A big day for our farming team Andy and Jack this week as we hosted students from SRUC to Cowburn Farm. We discussed all things grass and cows, explaining our plans to use land and herd management to farm #regeneratively and the positive impacts this will have on the animals, land and income potential across the farm. We’re ao pleased to be given a platform to discuss regenerative farming to the students who are the future of the industry. A huge thank you to Andy and Jack for organising and running such a great session! #castlemilkestate #wellbeingeconomy #regenerativeagriculture

How exciting to see the story of our very own Castlemilk Moorits featured in October’s Rare Breed Survival Trust magazine. We are beyond proud to have this fantastic and rare breed back on the estate. We have big plans in the future to support other endangered breeds in our farming operations, so watch this space. Thank you to everyone at the Castlemilk Moorit Sheep Society for their enthusiasm and support and welcoming us into your community. In true #familybusiness style the fantastic photos featured in the magazine were taken by a family member - a huge thank you to Lorna! #castlemilkestate

It’s been a busy few weeks for our fantastic farming team Andy and Jack! In late September they attended Tardoes Farm at Muirkirk, where the excellent David and Cora Cooper talked through their sheep farming model which emphasises rotational grazing to promote grass productivity and animal health. With our farms still very much in their infancy, it was fantastic to get some pointers from people who have been there and done it. A big thank you to David and Cora and Pasture for Life for organising the event! The farming team then joined up with our Forestry Foreman (another Andy of course) to visit Crofthead Forest and chat through different forestry management strategies with their fantastic manager Andrew Macqueen. With ideas about the introduction of agroforestry projects on the farm in the pipeline, it was fantastic to pick Andrew’s brains about his ground preparation methods and trials of early thinning. As always everyone has been tremendously generous with their time and expertise, thank you so much to everyone involved! We cannot wait to turn some of the ideas we’ve gained into action in the coming months and years! #watchthisspace #castlemilkestate

As members of Scottish Land & Estates, this morning we attended a meeting hosted by Dumfries and Galloway Council focused on how to combat the housing emergency declared by the council in June. Among many of the points discussed was the damaging effect The Scottish Government’s policy on and attitudes towards private sector landlords has had on the sector. Thank you to all participants, I look forward to seeing the final Action Plan and engagement from government to help fix the crisis. Anna Gardiner, George Moore #castlemilkestate

I had the honour of being voted the Honourary President of the Lockerbie Wildlife Trust (LWT) on Wednesday evening. LWT manages Eskrigg Nature Reserve, based on Castlemilk & Corrie Estates just outside Lockerbie town. While the reserve’s location within a commercial forest has posed some difficulties in the past, the fantastic management committee’s support while mandated felling activities have taken place has been a great help. Eskrigg provides a fantastic community space for the Lockerbie residents due to its proximity and pedestrian access, with a real focus on nature and local wildlife. We are proud to be able to provide land for the reserve and the diverse range of educational activities that take place there every year, drive by the fantastic Jim Rae and his team. #castlemilkestate #wellbeingeconomy