Also in the news / Funding awards and more…
THE SHETLAND Canoe Club has received funding from the Viking Community Fund to support the training and development of its volunteer coaches and leaders.
The group said the “vital” funding will help it meet the growing demand for kayaking in Shetland by increasing the number of qualified coaches and enhancing the skills of our existing volunteers.
Thanks to this grant, the club will also be welcoming top sea kayak coach Doug Cooper to Shetland at the end of April, who will deliver seven training courses.
Alongside formal courses, Cooper will lead specialised training sessions, focusing on key techniques such as rolling and surf kayaking, as well as running training open to all club members.
Shetland Canoe Club will also be offering beginners’ training in April, with bookings opening in March. Details will be available on the group’s Facebook page.
The canoe club will also be running sessions in collaboration with Ability Shetland across the summer, starting with sessions at the Parafestival on 26 April, which will take place at the Clickimin.
A LOCAL music duo has received funding from Creative Scotland to host a multi-media concert at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival in Edinburgh in October.
Claire White and Robbie Leask have been awarded more than £600 for the show Da She in Shetland.
White explained: “Audience members’ll be taen on a journey fae da ninth century tae da present day, explorin island femininity trowe sangs at touches apo da themes o exploration, witchcraft, midderhood, freendship, creativity, courage an survival.”
It will feature live Shetland fiddle, traditional and original songs, films craft work, dance and spoken word.
HAAR Sauna has picked up a prize at the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) supported Scottish Edge awards.
The team said they will be “using the award to turn up the heat across Shetland and the HIE region some more”.
They added on their website: “This wouldn’t have been possible without our incredible team and you – our Haar community.”
HIGH school pupils in Shetland and Orkney are being given an opportunity to work alongside salmon farmers in a work experience programme first trialled in Argyll.
The scheme, tailored by Scottish Sea Farms for youngsters considering a career in the sector, has been approved by councils in the Northern Isles and will recruit its first cohort this summer.
Pupils from S5 and S6 will be able to tour shore bases and go aboard work boats at the company’s farming locations in Orkney and Shetland as part of the work experience.
Scottish Sea Farms’ talent development business partner Irene Pozo said: “This will be an introduction to salmon farming and to the variety of different roles in the company.
“These young people could be our future workforce and it’s good for us to be able to raise awareness of the opportunities early on.”
TRANSPORT Scotland says it will publish recommendations on the national speed limit later this year.
The government agency recently consulted on a proposal to reduce the national speed limit on single carriageway roads – effectively meaning all Shetland roads currently at 60mph would drop to 50.
It is fair to say this idea was not greeted with much enthusiasm locally on social media when Shetland News reported on the consultation in January.
Consultation on proposal which could see speed limits reduced to 50mph
Transport Scotland said a record 19,000-plus responses were received in the consultation.
Cabinet secretary for transport Fiona Hyslop said: “Over the coming months, Transport Scotland will carefully assess all feedback before the findings and next steps are published later this year.”
SHETLAND Islands Council’s impending ten per cent council tax increase may be a tough pill to swallow to for some, but neighbours Orkney has gone further.
The council there has imposed a 15 per cent increase – the second largest in Scotland for 2025/26 by a narrow margin, with Falkirk going for 15.6 percent.
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