General Manager, Julie Samuel, said “We are absolutely ecstatic to have been awarded this grant as it means that The Ecology Centre can continue to provide its services to the community.

“At one point it looked like we were going to have to relocate to a site 10 miles away which would have meant working with a whole new community. This award means we can continue to involve the people and volunteers who are a huge part of the Centre already and have helped it to become what it is today.

“It also means that local, young, unemployed people will continue to have opportunities to gain the skills and knowledge to get into employment.  It’s very exciting to have a purpose built, environmentally friendly Centre to operate from, enabling more people to be involved in a more comfortable environment. “

Announcing the funding, Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: “We know from our Growing Community Assets experience, that ownership of an asset can bring long lasting benefits to communities, including creating jobs and developing local services. I am delighted that today’s award will enable The Ecology Centre to continue to be based within the local community of Kinghorn where it will provide a range of increased social and economic opportunities.”

The  award comes from the Big Lottery Fund’s Growing Community Assets fund which supports communities to take control and influence over their own future through the ownership of assets. More detail on the programme is available at:-
www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_growing_community_assets