CGDTWe’re delighted to announce that we have received approval for our application to the Investing in Ideas programme for developing our plans on the Old Shop in Colintraive. Structural and architectural assessments will be made prior to the trust and the Colintraive Steering Group reporting back to the community on the final shape this project will take.
Well done Rhona for getting this funding in place!
A quick digest on some of the projects which we are working on at the moment:
The Government has launched the Renewable Heat Premium Payment Scheme to help householders across the country with funding towards the cost of installing renewable heating systems. The new £15 million initiative, which is now open to applications, will support up to 25,000 installations. Approximately 4 million householders in the UK – including ColGlen – do not have mains gas and have to rely on more expensive, higher carbon forms of heating such as oil and electricity. The scheme will mainly focus on these households. The following technologies will be available through the scheme –
Grants will be available on a first come first served basis and the scheme will close on 31 March 2012.
Interested? Householders can call 0800 512012 or visit www.energysavingtrust.org/RHPP
On Wednesday this week I donned my rain jacket, took my GPS in hand and intrepidly set off into Stronafian Forest to look for paths and tracks that lead through the woods. I started off from the car park on the main road directly above the Clachan.
You can see a Google map of the route I took with attached photos by clicking here. Most of the points were linked by clearings, deer tracks or fairly open forest, but I did a bit of stumbling over tussocks, fighting through pine trees and getting stuck in bogs too!!
When we get to the point where we can start building tracks and paths it will be easiest to link up these existing trails. I have been on several walks over the last few months and have seen deer, buzzards (thanks Arthur for help with ID!), red squirrels and frogs not to mention at least 20 different types of mushroom. Views of the Clachan Burn are quite pituresque (especially after all this rain!). If you go for walks in this bit of the forest (or anywhere else) please let us know your favourite routes!!
Astronomers have spotted a supernova (an exploding star) in a galaxy a mere 21 million light years away and that should be close enough to see from Earth using a pair of binoculars or small telescope. A white dwarf star in the Pin Wheel Galaxy has sucked in a nearby star causing a massive explosion that will burn as bright as a billion suns.
Although it is very rare for amateurs to be able to see a supernova using binoculars, scientists are warning it will be difficult to spot as it will appear quite dim in the sky. The best bet is to be in a place free of light pollution, look early on in the night and during the next week as the moon light will not be very strong.
We’re wondering if Stronafian Forest can become a place to attract visitors for stargazing. Fortunately, since we have very little in the way of light pollution, we may have a good chance of seeing this once in a lifetime event. The Pin Wheel Galaxy is located close to the handle of ‘the Plough’. It forms an equilateral triangle with the last two stars in the Plough’s handle (above the handle rather than below it). See this diagram for more information. Whether or not we can see this event from ColGlen will be a good indicator of the quality of the area as a stargazing destination (or of the quality of our amateur astronomers!) . So keep your fingers crossed for cloud free nights, dust off your binoculars and getting scanning the skies!
Let us know if you have any success using the feedback form below!