Fife’s first biodiversity village launches with open weekend of events

It will feature a free family movie night, snowdrop planting, a community lunch, treasure hunt and a performance by the Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre, and a guided walk with Gaelic woodland folklore.

A biodiversity village safeguards the area’s biodiversity by getting rid of non-native plants and planting native ones, creating better habitats for wildlife and learning together how to make the village more biodiverse.

The group has been busy developing partnerships with Climate Action Fife, Fife Council, Fife Coast and Countryside Trust (FCCT), Nature Scot and Inspiring Scotland in order to turn the tide on the decline of native species in the area.

It has also set some ambitious goals which will see it work alongside landowners and farmers to repair and reconnect fragmented wildlife corridors on the outskirts of the village to extend the habitats and food sources for birds, bats and red squirrels.

Within the village the plans are no less bold, with aspirations for edible food trails, bumblebee meadows and the eradication of invasive species such as Himalayan Balsam from the banks of the River Eden. The plant can leave river banks bare of vegetation and liable to erosion.

Patrick Higgins, who chairs SCC, said: “For Strathmiglo to be formally recognised as Fife’s first Biodiversity Village is a great achievement and says so much about the commitment and belief that the people here have already shown.

“Not only does it serve as a platform for every resident to become meaningfully involved in taking care of their own environment, but there’s also the very real opportunity for us to lead the way as further biodiversity villages and towns are created across the region.”

The work has been welcomed by Catherine Lloyd of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership who recently helped Blairgowrie become Scotland’s first biodiversity town.She said, “At this level we find the most enthusiasm and commitment – we are, after all, being given the opportunity to look after our own backyard and share it the best we can with the wildlife which is also part of that space.”

To celebrate the launch of the initiative, the village is hosting a number of wildlife themed events and stalls during February, the highlight of which will be a mass snowdrop planting adjacent to the newly prepared Toddlers Bumblebee Meadow.

Stallholders will include RSPB Scotland, Butterfly Conservation Society, Scottish Wildlife

Trust, British Hedgehog Preservation Society and Red Squirrel Society Scotland.

Strathmiglo Conservation Community is a volunteer community group created to promote and manage conservation activities within the village.

Formed in July 2022, the community group has begun caring for the environment within and around Strathmiglo through practical conservation tasks.

As well as becoming a biodiversity village, it aims to raise awareness of, and promote good biodiversity practices; manage the community woodland for the benefit of all; undertake conservation tasks around the village including the River Eden, and identify areas which could enhance wildlife habitats in public or private open space.