Greener Kemnay Open Day: At the Community Garden on the 10th May, this is the opening event of Kemfest and starts at 9.30am with a bird call walk setting off from the Community Garden.  From 10am  there will be a talk/Demonstration on fermenting food by Suzanne Brownrigg, Bubble Show with Richard Lamplugh and Ruth Wardle (from Castle Fraser) giving a talk on care of garden tools.  The Bee group, Community Council, Energy group, Paths Group, and Alison Sutherland with her pond life will all have stalls; throughout the event Strumble Ukulele Group will be playing; and you can try your hand in pétanque. Come along for a cuppa, a chat and enjoy the garden.

Duck Dander: Is a treasure hunt, where you first have to register (registration opens on 1^st May, text Lorna on 07824548411) or come to Birley Bush Greener Kemnay May Open Day on 10th May to pick up a number.  Once registered, then produce a duck exhibit, display it in front of your house (so it can be seen from the pavement) between 25th May and 7th June. To do the trail they first have to pick up a trail sheet (after registration is closed on 18^th), these can be obtained from the Library and local shops or Lorna and then they can try to track your display down.

I’ve attached both posters if you would like to share them.

Paths

New members on the Path Group committee: The paths group is looking for new members for the committee, if you have interest in the use of our path network around the village and would like to come and help us. Please get in touch with me (Richard 07967439109).

Steens information boards: There are two new Steens information boards, at Fetternear Car Park and the other at Bogbeth Park. These boards have a map of where the Steens are, information on each Steens and there is a QR code that takes you to an online guide.

Work party: We have set two dates (25th April and 27th May start at 10.30) to tackle the Dalmadilly pond path (widen it to it’s original size) and also to fill in the puddle that has formed close to the entrance of the ponds (by the Kemnay Community Bee Group compound). It would be good to see as many people as possible turning out, as it is said many hands make light work. Please bring spades and shovels.

Community Garden

Activity Day: This is next Saturday the 12th April from 10 until around 2, please give us as much of your time you can spare. We would like to: take off the tumbler composter from the broken pallet and remove the sifter frame from the ditch. Sort out which compost bins are being used and try and get the nettles out so they don’t infest other parts of the site and also remove and relocate unwanted tree saplings and suckers from the garden beds.

Energy

Lending Library: The group wants to create a Lending Library, to allow you to borrow their heat loss analysis equipment and this will mean that you will be able to check your home for heat leakage and potentially save money. If you are interested, please email and Sue will pass you onto Gabby.

AGM: We had the Greener Kemnay AGM last month, it was a small affair as we had to cancel Ruth, our speaker for the event due to the wintery weather. We did sign off the year accounts and also assessed the year activities.

End of year celebrations: Greener Kemnay are having an end of year celebration, this is open to all who have helped us throughout the year and will be held at the Burnett Arms on Wednesday 18^th December at 6.30. If you are not on the list and would like to come, please contact Richard 07967439109.

Community Garden

Activity Day: This will be on Saturday 7^th December, from 10am to 2pm. Clear the area for the oaks to be planted, sort out the fence, clear the brush away from under the willows and have a look at a way to replace the pallets from under the two IBC. It would be great to have your help and please come along. We need to replace the pallets at the cabin door as well.

We had a delivery of woodchip yesterday to finish off the second section of pallet collars

Steens

New Signs: There has been no sighting of the signs, we are patiently waiting, let’s hope they are installed in the new year.  We know they were made and have paid for them!

AGM: Our AGM is on Tuesday 19th November at 7.30 at the Village Hall Friendship Room. The short AGM will be followed by a talk on preparing your garden for winter by Ruth Wardle the head gardener of Castle Fraser. All are welcome to attend for a social evening.

The Annual Report and financial statement are available and questions can be asked by email or in person.

Website: Here is a link to our website greenerkemnay.org.uk, it would be great to hear your view on what you think of it, both good and bad and we will try to put them into action with our limited budget. 

Community Garden: Activities Day: This is on Saturday 9th November from 10 – 2pm. Here are some of the tasks we like to complete, prune the willows, explore a site for the jubilee oak, repair the fence around the garden, remove the strimmings from along the fence and under the willows and prepare more of the raised beds for the winter. Please come and help us, for as long as you can and we look forward to getting the helping hand.

There are spare raised beds for next season if you would like one – Muriel holds the list of the beds available. 

Energy Group

We are still waiting for the result of our application to SSEN for comprehensive surveys for retrofit options.  

Steens

The new information boards are not yet up, we are still waiting on Aberdeenshire Council to install them at Bogbeth Park and the Fetternear car park by the Don bridge.

The Trustees don’t hold a meeting in December but of course we can be contacted by email and weather permitting the Birley Bush activity day will be on 14th December.

I hope you enjoy reading our Annual Report and the information on the website.

Keeping the pavements passable: It has been noticed that some of the trees, hedges and bushes growing in people’s gardens are making the pavements difficult to navigate especially where the pavement is narrow. Birds using branches by footpaths will be leaving nests this month so a piece will go in the newsletter asking folks to trim vegetation to allow full width to be used.

September event – we are putting up the gazebos in the community garden on 14th September and inviting people and groups to join us. All suggestions of themes and activities are welcome, preferably before the 30th July.

Website: We are continuing to upgrade the content of our website, this month will be adding the information on the path group and we are looking for photos to go with the info. If you have any that will help us in this task, please contact us and we will see how they fit with the content.

Website Designing: I would like to encourage you to look at our website, we would like any suggestions of what else we could include in it and if you like to see any changes to the present site.

Community Garden

Fruit: the gooseberries and blackcurrants are starting to ripen and the redcurrants will need a few days of warmer weather. We hope to suppress and weaken the grass in future years but at the moment as the rain has fed the weeds so long trousers are needed for warmth and scratch protection!

Activity day coordinator: At the Activity days there will be a person who is nominated to coordinate the work on the day, they will be responsible for assigning the volunteers to the tasks in hand, ensuring health and safety is adhered to and to welcome any new volunteers to the activity day. Murial Brydon has volunteered to do this task, for any reason she is not able to attend that month, then the management committee will assign someone to this role.

Activity Day: This will be on Saturday 13th July, from 10 to 2pm. We would like to replace the wood chipping around the raised beds, the old chipping to be removed and placed around the fruit trees. Please come and help us, for as long or shorter a time you can spare.

Steens

New Signs: We have now got total agreement for the two information boards that we got funding for last year, one of these is to be placed in Bogbeth park and the other in the car park at the entrance to Fetternear Estate. These signs are to inform the public about the Steens, their location and it is now hoped to have them in place by the end of August. When we get a firm date of their installation, we are then hoping to plan a guided walk around the Steens to publicise the boards.

Remember we do need the rain to percolate and fill the bore holes and streams that eventually supply water to our homes and allow the crops to grow.

I hope you had a great festive season and 2024 gives you more opportunity to be involved.

Dates for your diary:

Trustees meetings 

6 February 2024

5 March 2024

The trustees meeting is open to all, these meetings are at the Village Hall in the Wainman Room and April to September meetings are on the first Tuesday of the month at Kemnay Golf Club.

Communications Sub Group:

meetings will be on the following dates:

16 January 2024

13 February 2024

12 March 2024

We are looking for more members of the Communication sub group, if you are interested, please contact me on 07967439109 or lamplugh@btinternet.com.

Energy Group: Meetings are on Tuesday at 7.30 at Village Hall

23 January 2024

20 February 2024

19 March 2024

Community Garden: Meetings are on the last Tuesday of the month, if you would like to attend please contact Richard as above.

Community Garden

Activity Day: 13^th Jan from 10 to 2, we want to clear behind the cabin, also build a plinth for the water butts by the poly tunnel and start to move the soil by the red container. Please come along for as long or as little time as you can give us, the weather looks like it will be dry but cold.  The work will keep you warm and the outcome will be satisfying and a long-lasting contribution to the garden. 

Kemnay Steens

Information board: Kemnay Steens group has been part of Greener Kemnay since the project conception, now the Steens have been in place for 4 years, the group has been awarded funds to erect two information boards. There will be one at the Fetternear Car park on the back of the sign that is already there and the second will be placed at one of the entrances of Bogbeth Park (still to be decided).

Boules – the piste has been draining well though overhead conditions have not been conducive to play and steel balls are chilly to handle at 0 degrees!  The date for Monymusk Boules is 25^th May so plenty of time to enjoy practising and get a team together for April registration.