NFU Scotland’s Centenary Trust has awarded a final cheque of £1,050 to mark its closing.

The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) received the donation as the trustees met for the final time recently to close the books.

The Trust was set up to mark the Union’s Centenary in 2013 with £217,000 distributed to charities and community organisations with an interest in agriculture since then with 73 projects benefiting from donations.

Of the £217,000 awarded in total by the Trust, £145,000 was given to educational activities, with £43,000 for rural training and £29,000 to health and safety projects.

The funds were raised from donations by NFU Scotland members, as well as a highly successful Banff Centenary Whisky and a Centenary Book to mark the occasion.

During its time, the Trust delivered on its key objectives of encouraging as many children as possible to learn more about where their food and drink comes from and to visit a farm; to educate farmers, their employees and their children on health and safety in the countryside, with a special emphasis on children’s safety; and to assist in bringing forward a meaningful apprenticeship programme for the farm sector.

The largest award was given to Royal Northern Countryside Initiative of £17,500 to build a new classroom on wheels with RHET Borders being given £5,000 to refurbish its country classroom on wheels.

Ringlink’s land-based internship programme and the Queensberry Initiative – a charity community project in Dumfries and Galloway - received £15,516 and £15,000, respectively, to fund their educational projects. 

The Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs received a further £10,000 for health and safety projects across the country.

As a comparison, the smallest award of £180 was given to Borestone Primary School in Stirling enabling a contingent of young children to attend the Royal Highland Show.

In addition to this, there were three fibreglass “milkable” cows, as well as other life size farm animals, funded and many other projects, mainly through RHET, which centred around making farms more accessible, educational and safer for visiting schoolchildren by providing classroom equipment, display boards, washing facilities and wet weather gear.

Other projects enabled primary schools to grow their own vegetables either in small polytunnels or raised beds, with one using their donation to create a small egg incubator.

Trustee, George Lawrie, a farmer in Fife, commented: “Over the last four years, the fund has helped many projects educate a huge range of people – from farmers and their employees to school children and teachers, as well as the general public.

“What has been achieved has been fantastic in a short time frame and we thank all those who have been involved in raising money, giving donations, or submitting applications since the inception of the Trust.

“We are bringing the Trust to a close but it will be great to see projects that have benefited from funding continue to educate and inform in the coming years. That is a fitting legacy to mark the centenary of the Union in 2013.”

Notes to Editors

• A photograph of the trustees presenting a cheque to Katrina Barclay of RHET is available by emailing media@nfus.org.uk.