Shetland LEADER take part in walking and food events

In this article, Shetland LEADER tell us about a couple of their recent activities - an event to promote and discuss walking in Shetland, and taking part in the popular Shetland Food Fair.

Walking event

The Shetland LEADER Local Action Group hosted an event on 19 October to promote and discuss walks and walking in Shetland. The event brought together representatives from community groups and agencies from across Shetland, providing an opportunity to discuss walking as a development activity.  

The morning session provided attendees with background information, to set the scene for the day. Kevin Serginson, Shetland Outdoor Access Officer, presented information on the Core Path Plan.  Steve Mathieson, Visit Scotland, provided information on walking from a visitor’s perspective and the different types of walker. John Duffy, Paths for All, provided examples of projects being done by communities across Scotland and Juan Brown, Scottish Natural Heritage, gave a demonstration of a web based map with the potential to bring together different data sources.

In the afternoon Kevin Serginson took the group out to look at a Core Path and Health Walk to stimulate discussion on the good points of the walk and where improvements could be made both to the infrastructure and how the path is promoted. Once back at the hall John Duffy, Paths for All, facilitated a workshop to discuss projects ideas and focus on how these could be taken forward.  

The main outcome from the day was providing community groups and agencies with the opportunity to network and discuss ideas.  Many of the ideas discussed on Saturday focussed on information sharing and avoiding duplication. Further meetings are to be arranged to discuss specific projects.

Shetland Food Fair

The Shetland LEADER team attended the Shetland Food Fair held between 28 and 30 October with a stand to promote the Shetland LEADER programme. The Shetland Food Fair is an annual event organised by the Shetland Food and Drink association to promote and raise awareness of the wide range and quality of food and drink produced in Shetland. More than 3,000 people visited the Food Fair by Sunday afternoon, more than doubling last year’s numbers.  

The event opened on Friday evening with a reception in the main hall followed by a cooking demonstration from George McIvor and Bill Bryce. The annual event provides an excellent opportunity for producers to showcase their products and speak to customers. The demonstration kitchens provided visitors with examples of what can be done and an opportunity to taste the recipes. New features this year included a heritage kitchen with storytelling and demonstrations of traditional recipes and the first Shetland cooking challenge.  

Food is a priority area within the Shetland Local Development Strategy and the Food Fair provides an excellent opportunity for the Shetland LEADER team to speak to producers, potential producers, shops and community groups about opportunities for the future. We hope to see a number of potential projects apply for funding over the course of the programme. 

Find out more

Visit the Shetland LEADER website for more information on the programme.

You can find out more about LEADER across Scotland in our LEADER section. If you have an idea for a project, you can also submit an Expression of Interest form.