Inspiring Innellan

Inspiring Innellan aims to continue tidying the village and to create areas of colour and interest for all ages to enjoy. Running regular events such as work parties, quizzes and coffee mornings helps to gel the community and encourages a sense of pride in the village. Highlighting the amazing natural and social heritage will benefit all ages and hopefully be of interest to visitors. Innellan is a great place in which to live and the group wants everyone to be aware of that!

In 2019, the group won the Community Involvement Discretionary Award: The community of Innellan has risen to the Beautiful Scotland ‘challenge’ for the second year. Plants, planters and compost have been donated and the ‘Sponsor a Planter for £10’ campaign enthusiastically supported. Villagers have ‘adopted’ planters for watering whilst others showed off their beautiful gardens at the Open Garden weekend. Council spending cuts have been counteracted by the input of several volunteers who have spent hours cutting and strimming grass verges. Close to 3,000 volunteering hours have been chalked up. Work parties have averaged 16 people every Sunday and volunteers also work individually on tasks such as fixing steps, clearing leaves, litter picking and even painting landscapes to sell for funds. Special family events have fostered good relations with younger community members. Sunday work parties have helped to integrate many newcomers into the area.  Volunteer ages range from seven to eighty-four. Following each work party, a lunch is organised by volunteers with food donated by villagers on a rota basis. A regular feature of the lunches is the appearance of several older/less mobile members of the community who come along on a social basis. Support for fund raising events such as quizzes and coffee mornings has been excellent and volunteers helped with the annual Remembrance Day and Christmas Lights too. Donations in kind have been a feature, this year with Inspiring Innellan being offered everything from a box of chocolates to a caravan! A yard to work in, a shed, concrete slabs, tables, picnic benches, hand and petrol driven tools, boats and much, much more have all been donated by villagers. Innellan is definitely a community with a heart and at its heart is its community.