News and Events

Treat yourself or someone special this March to making a beautiful living spring bulb wreath. 

For £35, enjoy a relaxed, creative workshop and take home a wreath that can be replanted and enjoyed again. All proceeds support community events across Black Mount. 

Location: Black Mount (tbc)

Spaces limited, book early HERE. Any issues or questions email us: bmdevtrust@gmail.com

*£3 discount for 'friends of Black Mount Community Development Trust' (become a friend HERE) - friends will get a discount code emailed to them.

We are delighted to have been successful in securing 420 saplings to plant across Black Mount. We chose a selection of: hazel, blackthorn, crab apple, elder, dog rose, rowan. 

These edible hedging plants will help Black Mount residents to forage for fruits and nuts, to produce your own jams, jellies and wines, or provide extra food for wildlife.

We will be looking for help in February 2026 to help us plant them across Black Mount!

We are delighted that Loaningdale have awarded us £1970 towards a local make and mend project in Black Mount. More details to follow in January 2026.

Join us at Errington's Barn on Wednesday 10th December, 6.30-8pm to meet Jennifer and Ross our local community police officers.

We secured £500 from the microgrant scheme administered by Black Mount Community Council to allow us to set up and run a community speed watch across Black Mount. 

Signs have gone up across our villages and hamlets, our speed monitors have been out and our first few sessions in Dolphinton, Newbigging and Elsrickle have gone well.

Our first job is to share the evidence with local councillors, South Lanarkshire Council and Police Scotland. Including evidence that shows that over 93% of cars were speeding in our only 20mph zone (outside Black Mount Primary School)!

We are still recruiting volunteers to gather speed data - get in touch: bmdevtrust@gmail.com

Two of our trustees attended the ML12 Repair Cafe in Dolphinton Hall to help out by bringing a children's craft activity.

It was incredible to watch the repairers at work - save up your broken items and blunt tools and give them a new lease of life - an amazing resource to have in our community.

We secured funding to work with our community on our understandings of climate readiness in Black Mount:

• We hosted Trees, Tea and Taking Action at Dolphinton Hall and;

• Black Mount Bulbs - filling planters for our village sign with flower bulbs in the community garden at Black Mount Primary in Elsrickle

After these two successful engagement events we took your feedback and thoughts and developed a plan for Black Mount Orchard - a edible tree/hedging project for across Black Mount. This will include:

• 420 edible hedging plants including hazel, blackthorn, crab apple, elder, dog rose, rowan

• signage for some sites: covering foraging, edible foods and history of Black Mount

Join us at Dolphinton Hall 6.30-8pm on Friday 28th November to celebrate 6months as a charity, hear about what we have achieved, find out what's next and help us shape 2026 to your wants and needs.

The evening will include a short quiz by the brilliant Kev Buchan too.

more details to follow...

Save the date to help us build and fill planters, one for each village/settlement in Black Mount.

Meeting up 10am-12noon on Saturday 22nd November 2025 at the Community Garden at Black Mount Primary School in Elsrickle. 

• bring your gardening gloves

• get ready to plant some bulbs to brighten Black Mount

more details to follow...

Thanks to Biggar and District Men's Shed for help building the planters!

Join us at Dolphinton Hall on Saturday 15 Nov 3.30pm for a talk by (local resident) Chris Hardy, Head of Science for Forest Research, on:

• our local woods

• Scotland's priority trees

• and climate resilience

• with crafts, tea & biscuits too! 🌱💚

We were delighted to partner with Errington's Barn on a family friendly Halloween event on Friday 31st October 2025. 

We were outside with marshmallows, fire pits, spooky woodland walk and storytelling by lantern light!

We have had great support from VASLAN in applying for charitable status and were delighted to attend one of the Clydesdale Third Sector Locality Network Meeting in Biggar in June 2025.

It is great to hear from other local community initiatives, to learn from one another and build new connections.

We were able to feed in the evidence and insights from the 2023-24 Black Mount Community Survey to the Local Development Plan which means your voices, concerns, wants and needs have been included in this important consultation.

Join us for a friendly community cycle from Newbigging Playing Field to Dolphinton as part of the Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival. 

• Sunday 21st September 2025

• Bring a picnic to enjoy at 12.30pm before setting off at 1.30pm on a 7-mile route. 

• We’ll finish at the grand opening of Dolphinton Hall where they will be selling tea and cake. 

All ages welcome, though riders must be confident cycling on roads. Younger cyclists can join for the final, easier 1.5 miles. 

Find out more, and sign up HERE

Give your bike a fresh start! Drop it off at Elsrickle Community Hub anytime from 7.30am in 18th September 2025, and Gear Up, a social enterprise from Lanark, will provide a free full service. 

• They’ll tighten, oil, and check everything—plus do minor repairs or leave advice for follow-up. 

• Collect your bike later that day, road-ready for the weekend’s cycle. 

Open to all, completely free, and part of the Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival..

Find out more, and sign up HERE

Join us as we team up with ERRINGTON'S BARN for a family-friendly day exploring the journey from grain to loaf. 

• Saturday 20th September 2025

• TALKS with Angus from Mungoswells (11am & 11.30am, booking required), 

• hands-on breadmaking workshops (drop-in, 9.30–10.30am & 12.30–1.30pm), plus kids’ sensory play with oats, wheat & flour. 

Free event, part of the Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival. Adults must accompany children.

Book talks here: www.erringtoncheese.co.uk/farm-shop/p/breadmaking-for-resilience

Thanks to Errington's Barn for organising for Angus McDowall to join us in the Larch Room at The Barn to share his knowledge and experience of milling flour in East Lothian. 

He brought samples of grain from all the various stages of milling and provided a fascinating talk on the history at Mungoswells and the milling process.

This was part of our activities for Lanarkshire Climate Action Festival 2025.

With support from the Development Trusts Association Scotland - three of our trustees were able to attend the DTAS Annual Conference in Glasgow.

Lots of learning, lots of inspiration and some amazing connections!

In May 2025 we were granted charitable status as Black Mount Community Development Trust SCIO.

We met with Màiri McAllan MSP to introduce the Black Mount Community Development Trust and share the findings of the 2023-24 Community Survey.

Some of our trustees established the first Black Mount Community Fun Day in April 2025. 

It brought together local voluntary organisations, local businesses and our children, families and local residents in the grounds of Black Mount Primary School. 

Find out more about who attended by CLICKING HERE.

We staged a roadside protest on the first Black Mount Community Fund Day where children campaigned against speeding in their villages and made signs on the day to slow down drivers.

It was a huge success, with this being some children's very first experience of protesting!

We are looking forward to organising next year's Community Fun Day.