Castlemilk Park in Glasgow has achieved a significant milestone, becoming Scotland's 100th Local Nature Reserve. This designation follows a 15-year project spearheaded by Cassiltoun Housing Association, in collaboration with Glasgow City Council and Paths for All, to revitalise the park.

Since 2009, the project has focused on enhancing biodiversity, with a community woodland officer playing a key role in engaging local residents and improving the park's ecological value. Castlemilk Park now boasts a thriving ecosystem, providing a home for various wildlife species, including owls, bats, and butterflies.

The designation by Nature Scot will ensure the long-term protection of this valuable green space. Recent improvements, such as a £134,000 upgrade to a core path funded by Paths for All, have enhanced accessibility and connectivity within the local community.

The park continues to be a hub for community engagement, hosting a range of activities, including health walks, wildlife conservation initiatives, and wellbeing groups.

Councillor Angus Millar, City Convener for Climate, said: "It's been great to see the work that's been done to improve Castlemilk Park but also ensure this wonderful natural habitat is protected for both local wildlife and the local community. The people of Castlemilk have been crucially important to how the park has developed and evolved since 2009 and I'm so pleased that so many partners, including the council, have been working together to support the local vision for the park.

"From a time when the park was seen as unwelcoming and underused, it is now a much-loved place that hosts countless activities and draws in an incredible volunteering effort from local residents. Between Paths for All and the council, I am delighted that we have met the local aspiration to improve lighting in the park in a way will support active travel at night but also remain sensitive to local wildlife. Castlemilk Park being declared as a local nature reserve highlights the incredible transformation that's taken place here in the last 10 to 15 years."

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Clair Malpas, CEO of Cassiltoun Housing Association, added: "Becoming the 100th Local Nature Reserve is a reflection of all the hard work that has gone into developing Castlemilk Park to transform it into a valued community asset and haven for wildlife. This status will ensure that this vital green space is protected and can benefit local communities and the natural world for years to come.

"Credit must also go to Cassiltoun's Community Woodland Officer, Stuart Whittaker, who has worked incredibly hard to get the project to this point and to our colleagues in Glasgow City Council who played a pivotal role. We also thank Scottish Forestry for their support. The improvements in the park, from project ideas to practical work has been delivered and led by the community and has only been possible with their engagement and the support from a wide range of funders and partners.

"Improving the pathways and replacing the lighting is transformational for Castlemilk Park and brilliant news for the whole of Castlemilk.  Thanks go to the Castlemilk park volunteers who have spent thousands of hours to improve the woodland, the young people from Cassiltoun's Youth Advisory Panel who raised their concerns on the lighting issue and asked for this to be a priority area for funding and all the local people who've completed surveys providing evidence that this area matters to them.

"Receiving the Paths for All funding is testament to how far the Castlemilk Park Project has progressed since the feasibility study 15 years ago when the lighting issue was first raised. "

Paths for All provided funding through the The Ian Findlay Path Fund, established in memory of Ian Findlay CBE, the late Chief Officer of Paths for All, and which continues to support local initiatives aimed at enhancing path networks and removing barriers to active travel.

Yvonne McLeod, who manages the Ian Findlay Path Fund at Paths for All, said: "This project will make a significant and lasting improvement to the Castlemilk area.  The improvements made contribute to meaningful social, environmental and physical value to the lives of the local people.

"The purpose of the fund is to support community projects just like this one and it has been great to witness this fantastic example of teamwork between Cassiltoun Housing Association and Glasgow City Council. People are more motivated to walk, wheel, or cycle when their local environment supports them to do so. Cassiltoun Housing Association continue to make fantastic strides in improving the local environment and creating lasting benefits for the locals and the wider Castlemilk community."

Paths for All work directly with communities to improve local path networks that will make it easier and more attractive for people to walk, wheel and cycle or choose public transport for local everyday journeys. For more information about the Ian Findlay Path Fund, visit: www.pathsforall.org.uk/community-paths/cmp-grants/ian-findlay-path-fund