Re-igniting young people's passion for rural life

At the beginning of December, over 50 young people living and working in rural areas, from nine different countries including Sweden, Australia and Russia, gathered at Wiston Lodge for a weekend of motivating talks, educational workshops and fun-filled activities – geared to leave delegates with the confidence and conviction to enact change in their rural communities.

MORE THAN 50 young people attended the Rural Youth Project weekend held at Wiston Lodge in South Lanarkshire, between November 29 and December 1 (Photo: Craig Stephen)

Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural festival in Kinross, the quality of guest speakers and the palpable enthusiasm of the delegates throughout the weekend spoke volumes to what was another fantastic event.

The weekend was an opportunity for young people to meet with like-minded folk and discuss some of the major concerns facing their rural communities, identifying similar problems and discussing ways in which they could play a part in tackling issues.

Isolation was highlighted as one of the top concerns for the delegates, with many admitting to feeling shut off from society due to issues such as lack of transport and education opportunities. This also fed into poor mental health and lack of access to services, as well as the issue of lack of anonymity in tight-knit communities. Conversations also focused on the growing disconnect between urban and rural areas and the importance of providing equal opportunities to those living and working in rural areas if depopulation is to be addressed.

Kicking off a weekend of inspiring guest speakers was sibling duo Aimee and Kirsty Budge, who shared their experiences of living and working on the island of Shetland.

They took over the full-time running of their mixed arable and livestock farm following the sudden death of their dad in 2014 and have risen to the challenge, creating their own legacy on the island and embracing opportunities on every turn.

Two stand out messages from the Budge sisters were to focus on building a close network of support and to prioritise your mental health. Aimee commented: “It is so important wherever you are living to get involved with like-minded folk. We set up the Shetland Young Farmers Club this year after it had been shut for over 10 years and it has brought so many young people together on the island. In order for young people to stay in rural areas there needs to be a rural network which makes you want to put down roots.”

Kirsty added: “Mental health is a crushing issue facing a lot of rural areas and suicide rates are getting higher. It is so important to talk about it and surround yourself with positive people. Make time to ask how your friends are doing. It is also important not to get hung up on social media which often doesn’t show the reality of people’s lives. Take a break when you need one, to recharge. Life is too short, so make time for the things you like to do,” she urged.

Following on from the Budge sisters was Chelsea Cameron who won Young Scot ‘Hero of the Year’ in 2017 and runner up ‘Women of the Year’ in 2019. She delivered a pertinent message to the delegates, advising them to determine their own destiny and not to accept the judgment of others.

Chelsea grew up in Dundee with parents who were addicted to drugs and in her last year of school decided to bravely post a blog online, writing them a letter of gratitude. She thanked them for the trials and hardships she had experienced and how it had made her a stronger person, with the ability to make positive choices.

“I’m grateful that my parents taught me that life is unfair,” said Chelsea. “They have taught me to be patient and more understanding and I have learnt to become independent. Your destiny is not determined for you, I want to raise the aspiration of people in Scotland and let them know that they have a choice. I can choose my future even though I can’t choose my parents – choice is a powerful thing,” she continued.

“My advice to you is be active and stand up for what you believe in. People will try and bring you down but look for people in life who can support you – find your silent cheerleaders.”

A fantastic line of speakers on the opening day included Chelsea Cameron and Shetland sisters Kirsty and Aimee Budge (PC:Craig Stephen)

One of the key themes of the weekend focused around ‘People, Passion and Purpose’ and an afternoon session of talks heard from individuals who had overcome different challenges to make a difference in their communities.

One of the speakers included Mukadass Javaid, a talented basketball player who was prevented from reaching the GB team as she wasn’t permitted to wear a hijab on the court. She has been passionately working with young Muslim girls, with the help of ‘Children In Need,’ to raise their profile in sport.

“There are people out there who could be the next Andy Murray or Michael Johnson – but they might not get the opportunity,” she stressed. “It is frustrating that I don’t get treated the same as I am Muslim but if I don’t speak up, then who?

“My main message to you all is whenever you have an issue, don’t stop fighting for it because someone else disagrees. If you have something to say, say it,” she urged. “Nothing will change if you keep waiting for someone else.”

Mukadass Javaid shared her tales of pushing for inclusivity and equality for muslim women in sport (PC: Craig Stephen)

There was a strong representation from the Netherlands at the festival and one individual who has turned his country’s conventional pig farming model on its head is Josse Haarhuis, who shared his inspiring story about his business PigMe.

In the Netherlands there are issues with lack of access to land and pigs are often packed into small areas as a necessity to make money, but this raises issues over animal welfare. Josse wanted to challenge this way of pig farming and through his own farming model, he works closely with support from local businesses to rear his pigs in an extensive way, at various sites across the country, feeding them exclusively on food waste.

“We have a fantastic volunteer network at PigMe which allows me to graze my pigs at different locations where they can assist with the likes of rooting and waste disposal, to support local communities. Geese cause massive problems in the Netherlands, so my pigs are used to eat their eggs and cull numbers.

“We feel this way of allowing our pigs to roam free and express their natural behaviour is better for the environment and by working closely with local businesses and butchers we know who we are selling to and develop a stronger relationship with our consumers.”

One of the stand-out talks over the weekend came from Amy Dunnachie, who lives on the Island of Jura and has overcome a plethora of rural challenges whilst still maintaining her love and passion for rural life.

Juggling three jobs at any one time, she shared a story of how transport issues on the island once left her travelling 9 hours a week for 16 hours of work. She has been deeply involved with community-based roles which she explained are fantastic for developing rural areas but are often of a short life span. Despite issues such as lack of affordable housing, which led to her decision to live in a caravan, she stressed that she loves living on Jura and there a lots of ways you can embrace rural life to the full.

“Isolation is something many of us feel,” said Amy, “and one way to tackle this is to get involved in your local community – start volunteering. For me, I began helping with my old school’s panto and helping with beach waste clearings.

“Go outdoors - it seems obvious when you are living rurally but really take the time to go out in the wind and rain, it’s good for your soul,” she continued.

“Stay curious, replace judgment with curiosity! Judgement breeds negativity, whereas curiosity fuels your fire.”

Amy Dunnachie inspired the delegates with her stories of living and working on the island of Jura (PC: Craig Stephen)

After hearing from lots of interesting and diverse speakers on the challenges facing rural communities and young people, the delegates were given the opportunity to learn how they could take action to tackle issues facing their own areas.

A presentation on advocacy was led by Ffion Storer-Jones who educated the delegates on different ways in which they could make their voice heard on rural issues that matter to them: “Advocacy is about people and how we can respectfully advocate for change. There are now many ways in which you can reach out to and influence policy makers – social media is powerful and can be a gateway to directly message politicians and organisations.

“Don’t be scared of picking up the phone or emailing your MSP, they are elected to support their constituents. Speak to the press, particularly local press who want to hear stories from people in their community and can be a great way of raising the profile of an important cause or issue,” she explained.

“Make your movements public, people tend to follow followers, not the initial leader and always be authentic – people will always identify with personal stories.”

She rounded off her presentation by telling the delegates to ‘be kind to themselves’, stating that change takes time, but to persevere, and not be afraid of taking the first step.

The festival weekend fell appropriately on St Andrews day which gave the international delegates an opportunity to experience Scottish cuisine and traditions at their finest. Quality Meat Scotland donated delicious lamb for a roast and after dinner the delegates were treated to an evening of ceilidh dancing with a live band.

A true St Andrews Day celebration complete with delicious roast lamb donated by Quality Meat Scotland and followed by an energetic ceilidh (PC: Craig Stephen)

Wiston Lodge proved a fantastic venue for the festival-goers to relax in a beautiful rural setting with an array of outdoor activities to turn their hand to. Both mornings the delegates were encouraged to go for a morning hike up the striking Conic Hill to see the sunrise and for those favouring a longer time in bed, there were opportunities to take part in bush craft, archery, high ropes and a brand new drums workshop.

On the final day, delegates gathered for a series of workshops, one of which looked again at advocacy and how to create a grassroots campaign, led by the RYP’s project and communication’s officer Alana Black. She urged them to get to know an issue inside out before acting and to research what the opposition are saying. She posed the question, ‘does it pass the pub test?’ explaining that political parties often use focus groups to see if an idea or cause holds weight.

Fellow RYP team member and director Rebecca Dawes delivered an informative communications workshop, guiding the delegates on how best to get their message out to the wider public and to use tools such as social media to make the maximum impact.

Guest speaker Sheena Horner impressed the group by sharing her story of growing chillies in Scotland and how she has developed her business over the past seven years. Drawing from her own experience she urged everyone to believe that there is no such thing as a bad idea and that with the right passion, enthusiasm and research, exciting new prospects could unfold.

She went on to explain how Crowdfunding had helped her business to raise vital funds for a van, and to explain the premise behind it, Brenda Roddy who works as an advisor for Crowdfunder gave a presentation on how it can help new and existing businesses to reach goals which require additional financial support.

An action packed three-days left the delegates with a renewed optimism for the future of rural life and armed with a new set of tools to be able to tackle many of the challenges facing their own communities.

Young farmer Ian Cullens from Dollar admitted to leaving the event with a renewed vigour for his business and the future of rural Scotland: “From my experience, rural people tend to become siloed in their work and the Ideas Festival provided a fantastic opportunity to reflect on my personal circumstances, while gaining perspective from other young people and the challenges they face living remotely.

“I’m really pleased I signed up to join the event and will be encouraging young people in my area to attend next year.”

Fellow festival-goer Treasa Cadogan attended the weekend having come all the way from Cape Clear Island, off the most southerly coast of Ireland. The 20-year-old, who is currently studying international development at University College Cork, would like to return and live on the island in the future, but with a population of just 130 people, she explained that it is vulnerable to losing its school, employment options and services.

A design thinking workshop, run by Rosemary Scrimgeour from The Building Workshop, explored potential ideas to create a viable future for young people on Cape Clear.

Treasa commented: “I was one of six islanders – the rest from Scotland – at the Ideas Festival. We share identical and unique challenges. The design thinking workshop was brilliant and the idea we came up with was to develop a pop-up food event on Cape Clear to encourage tourists over to the island.”

Commenting on her overall experience, she added: "I signed up to the RYP festival because I wanted see how other rural communities were supporting young people to live and work in their rural areas.

“The RYP has been so welcoming, and I’ll be taking home with me a network of supportive, like-minded people who I can call on when trying to create change back home,” said Treasa.

Rural Youth Project founder and director Rebecca Dawes (PC: Craig Stephen) 

RYP is funded as a cooperation project by five LEADER Local Action Groups – Angus, Lanarkshire, Outer Hebrides, Rural Perth and Kinross and the Scottish Borders – who are supporting the project in the next phase of a longer-term programme to reach out to all areas of Scotland and enable all young people to participate and become the next generation of rural leaders. The RYP is supported by the LEADER Programme 2014-2020: The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development: Europe investing in rural areas.

Lanarkshire LEADER’s Kenny Lean was pleased to welcome delegates to the event: “The enthusiasm of the delegates in the room was infectious. This LEADER cooperation project will help young people take a greater role in shaping rural Scotland and I look forward to watching what these inspirational young people achieve through the practical skills gained at the Ideas Festival.”

RYP director Rebecca Dawes was one of the founders behind the project and has channelled her passion for young people and rural places to create a platform which equips individuals with the tools to lead real change in their local communities. Reflecting on the weekend she said: “One of the main aims of the project, is to champion the rich and diverse stories of rural young people to bring attention to the unique issues they face and providing an environment for them to connect over shared experiences.

“Our work is designed to specifically help young people stand up for their needs in rural places and to think differently about resolving rural challenges, while providing important skills to help them create change,” she concluded.

The delegates had the opportunity to engage in a range of activities during the weekend incuding a new addition to Wiston Lodge - a group drum workshop