PEOPLE living on Scottish islands will benefit from community-led wellness initiatives designed to support them to live healthier lifestyles.
The Healthy Islands Fund will help to deliver these initiatives with just over £1.3 million of Scottish Government funding from the wider £30 million Islands Programme.
The fund is managed by Inspiring Scotland with projects focusing on building local capacity to increase well-being, foster connections and promote healthy and resilient islanders and communities – helping them to recover from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Islands Secretary Mairi Gougeon said:
“It’s important that local communities have initiatives that can promote participation and equality in physical activity, as we’ve outlined in our National Islands Plan. We need to ensure that these are locally-led and local community groups are often best placed to provide these services on our islands.
“The projects that we are funding will help encourage people to live healthier lifestyles and improve their resilience. I’m so grateful to the groups for applying to help improve the lives of the people living across Scotland’s islands and I can’t wait to see them in action.”
Inspiring Scotland CEO Celia Tennant said:
“Inspiring Scotland is delighted to be the delivery partner for the Scottish Government’s Healthy Islands Fund which supports the aims and outcomes of the National Islands Plan and builds on the work of the Scottish Government’s Island Communities Fund. The 56 successful Healthy Island Fund Projects delivered on 35 islands will support our island communities to engage in healthy lifestyle choices and in turn support their physical and mental wellbeing.”
The fund has secured £1,361,767.21 in total, to be shared between 56 different community organisations across 35 islands, covering the six local authorities of Argyll and Bute, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Highland, North Ayrshire, Orkney and Shetland.
