Local charity, the Carman Family Foundation, have been the owners of Holmehill since mid 2018. Bill & Celia Carman live in Dunblane - see their webpage.

They have decided to make grants available to projects in Dunblane which improve public areas for wildlife. At this stage, they are seeking expressions of interest.

The Charity's press release says:-

The Carman Family Foundation has the main aim of improving the environment in public areas. Our first (and ongoing) project is Holmehill. While the Holmehill project develops we would like to support projects that further our overarching aim. In particular, we would like to give some focus to improving those areas so wildlife (insects, birds, amphibians, mammals) will follow.

There are areas of Dunblane that could become more “wild” and improve their value to wildlife. It would also reduce the maintenance required. Apparently small changes can make a difference. For example:

• Grassy areas can be turned into “meadows”, so improving them immeasurably (in our view) and reducing maintenance (they only need a strim once a year).
• A few trees here and there can make a big difference to the environmental value of a patch of land.
• There aren’t enough ponds in Dunblane.

We realise ownership of land can be an issue, but even Council-owned areas are often available for improvement if the Council is not required to support the improvement financially. There are verges along roads, small pockets of woodland – in fact many areas can be improved if one thinks broadly enough. Applications can be made by charities, community groups and others. Any grant applications need to show how the work will provide public benefit.

We prefer the work is done by volunteers, so reducing the cost overall. All other justified costs, including hire of machinery, would be covered.

However, we are unsure about the level of interest in such a scheme and we also need to work out how to manage the scheme from a legal perspective. Hence this is an initial request for expressions of interest. If you think your project fulfills these aims, please send us a paragraph outlining what you want to do, where it is, what the benefits would be and how much you think it might cost – by email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.