The MacRobert Trust

Trustees’ Tree-planting

macrobert — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 10:49:47 +0000

The first tree to be planted on behalf of Trustees in the Arboretum coincided with the autumn Trustees’ meetings on Friday 2^nd November. All Trustees and many of their spouses were present to witness the Trust Chairman, Sir Garth Morrison, planting a specimen tree on an extremely frosty morning.

This ornamental tree, a Red Cappadocian Maple will produce rich, deep red spring foliage, turning to green in the summer and will then develop stunning golden colour in the autumn. In 20 years’ time it could grow as high as 4 metres.

The Douneside Arboretum is a work in progress with plans for shrub borders, mown paths, spring bulbs, seats and a wildlife pond. Guests and visitors to Douneside have been donating to this development over the last few months; a commemorative book in the Library records all the donations with names, thoughts, memories and dedications. The gardeners and garden trainees have been very busy this autumn, planting a variety of trees as well as 8,000 spring flowering bulbs. Pond life is also taking shape and we look forward to lots of activity come the spring!

It is just over 100 years since Lady MacRobert set out to develop the gardens at Douneside. A collection of trees from all over the world is a fitting tribute to Lady MacRobert’s vision for Douneside Gardens and her dedication to horticulture which The Trust seeks to sustain on a number of fronts.

Good Luck Cameron

macrobert — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 13:57:33 +0000

Cameron Murray from Ayr, was
offered a garden trainee-ship for 2011/12, following a successful 2-week residential period with The Trust for his Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award which he achieved.

During his year with The Trust, he gained certificates in pesticide application and chainsaw operation. The MacRobert Trust gained accreditation as an RHS Approved Learning Centre last year and are one of only two approved centres in Scotland, the other being the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh. Cameron was our first student and successfully completed 5 units towards the RHS Level 1 Award in Practical Gardening. He aims to complete the 6^thand final unit at a later date.

He is bright and friendly and was popular with the gardens team and his fellow trainees. We all wish him very well with his future career.

Farewell to Garden Trainees

macrobert — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 09:38:51 +0000

Last year’s intake of garden trainees depart at the end of August after completing their year with The Trust. Amber Everett, who hails from Fochabers, joined The Trust on completion of SVQ level 3 in Horticultural Management at Moray College. She has been a model student, very careful and precise and above all committed. Amber has been accepted to study towards an HND in Horticulture and Plantsmanship at Edinburgh Botanics with the option of continuing to degree level.

Over the year, Amber has gained a vast practical experience as well as certification in chainsaw and pesticide application. She was also given assistance and guidance in applying to Edinburgh Botanics, and a favourable
reference.

Magnus Stout, who lives just outside Aberdeen, joined The Trust after completing a 3-year apprenticeship with Aberdeenshire Council in Parks and Landscapes. In addition he had volunteered at Crathes Castle Gardens for a period. Magnus’s ambition is to become a head gardener in a heritage garden and, with this in mind, he starts a 1-year work placement with NTS next month in Heritage Garden Management based at Pitmedden Gardens.

During his year with The Trust, Magnus
worked towards and completed SVQ level 3.
He also gained certification in pole saw pruning and a trailer driving licence.

They have both been excellent trainees and contributed a great deal during their time with The Trust. We wish them all the very best with their future plans.

Douneside Gardens Open Day 2012

macrobert — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:54:26 +0000

A record number of visitors enjoyed a fine day at the annual Gardens Open Day at Douneside House on Sunday 15th July. The gardeners had done sterling work despite the recent heavy downpours and the team were on hand to assist with plant sales and answer questions. Other volunteer staff members helped out with the car parking, manning the gates, collecting tea money and running the raffle. Sabrina Campbell (Trustee) is pictured drawing the raffle. The gardens looked just sublime and members of the public commented on how they had never looked better.

The Ballater & District Pipe Band as always gave a great performance, hugely appreciated by an enthusiastic crowd of nearly 500 and the teas and legendary home bakes in the house rounded off a perfect summer’s afternoon. More than £3,500 was raised, a significant increase of 33%, to be shared between Perennial, the Gardeners’ Benevolent Society and Scotland’s Gardens Scheme. The proceeds from the raffle went to the specialist palliative care unit, Friends of Roxburghe House Grampian.

Diamond Jubilee

macrobert — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 13:39:03 +0000

Frances Troup, Head Cook at Douneside, made this magnificent Jubilee cake fit for a Queen which was shared by the community at the Diamond Jubilee street party in Tarland on Saturday 2nd June. There was enough to feed 500 people!

Cheque presentation for swimathon

macrobert — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:00:41 +0000

A bit of a do was held on Wednesday 4^th April to mark the end of the Douneside swims the Dee remarkable event. The amazing total of £5,276 was raised by the team and cheques were presented to the Chairman of the local SSAFA Forces Help branch, Colin Champion and to Ward Sister Elisabeth Miller of the Cardiology Unit of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (pictured below). Both spoke eloquently about their charities and how this money would be used.

This was an opportunity finally to relax, enjoy the delicious home bakes provided by Douneside House and bathe in reflected glory in the knowledge that everyone’s efforts thrashing up and down the pool would go to such worthwhile causes. Informality and fun was the name of the game and personalised awards were handed out to all the 20 or so participants. Jo Fraser was given particular credit for inspiring the team. Where to next?

We are the Champions!

macrobert — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:25:33 +0000

The ‘Douneside swims the Dee’ team have completed their massive challenge in record time to swim the equivalent length of the River Dee from Braemar to Aberdeen in the Douneside House pool. The target was achieved 13 days early on 16th February so a personal challenge was laid down to head back upstream and branch off up the Tarland burn to Douneside for a grand finale before the 1st of March. Having successfully navigated the Tarland burn, the Douneside team were triumphant in realising their new goal to swim the distance of 133 miles (17,822 lengths) a day early on Tuesday afternoon, 28th February.

An especially HUGE thank you to all the supporters. The team are confident that the target sum of £2,000 has been well and truly blown out of the water, but watch this space in March for the final figure …

PS A special mention should go to Irene McMorland, one of the Douneside staff, who has raised £500 for charity through the sale of her mouth-watering tablet. Irene has only recently learned to swim.

Douneside swims the Dee

macrobert — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:24:02 +0000

A team of staff working for The MacRobert Trust in Tarland, Aberdeenshire has embarked on a ‘soggy’ challenge to swim the length of the River Dee, a distance of 87 miles, in the Douneside House Leisure Centre swimming pool. Staff will swim a total of 11,667 lengths throughout the month of February to raise money for the local branch of SSAFA Forces Help as well as the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Cardiology Unit, as part of National Heart Month.

The MacRobert Trust has long-standing links with the Forces. Many donations are awarded annually to charities with links to serving and retired members of the Armed Services and, from May to October, over Christmas, over Easter and during some winter weekends, Douneside House provides subsidised holiday and respite accommodation in a Scottish country house style for serving or retired commissioned officers of the Armed Services and their families. For the rest of the year it serves as a commercial conference centre used by organisations in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire area.

The swimathon challenge was the idea of a member of the Leisure Centre staff, Mrs Jo Fraser. The event was launched by Trust Administrator, Air Commodore Bob Joseph, and his wife, Jan, on 1st February when each swam a number of lengths. The idea is that staff will take turns swimming lengths until they have completed the distance. To date 7,300 lengths have been accomplished; the team is already well past Aboyne and heading downstream to the mouth of the River Dee at Aberdeen!

Six-year-old Connie Smith, a pupil at Tarland Primary School pupil and the youngest swimmer in the event, will swim the final lengths. Connie was born with a hole and weak valve in her heart and had received treatment for her condition from the cardiac experts at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. She has teamed up with her mum, Andrea, who works at Douneside House. At least two other members of The Trust’s staff have received life-saving treatment in the Cardiac Unit and are taking part.

Third Farming Scholar Selected

macrobert — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:38 +0000

The MacRobert Trust Scottish Farming Scholarship was established in partnership with the Nuffield Farming Scholarship Trust in March 2009 for a trial period of three years. The objectives of the Nuffield scheme, originally set up by Lord Nuffield and the then Vice President of the NFU in 1978, was to select scholars who would be encouraged to bring back to farmers in the UK ideas of good and innovative agricultural husbandry from different parts of the globe.

The Trust’s third scholar was selected in January 2012 and is Mrs Heather Wildman of New Cumnock, Ayrshire. Heather will attend her first Nuffield training in London in late February, immediately followed by attendance at the pre-study International Conference in London with all the other 2012 Nuffield scholars. Heather will then settle down to shaping her own study and overseas travel programmes and will be formally presented with her Scholarship Award by a representative of The MacRobert Trust at the 2012 Nuffield Conference on 23rd and 24th November. Steven Jack, The Trust’s second scholar, will present his report at the 2012 Conference.

The Trustees of The MacRobert Trust offer their warm congratulations to Heather on being selected for Trust sponsorship and wish her every success with her studies and future work.

The MacRobert Trust Launches New Website and Revised Charitable Themes

macrobert — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:31:43 +0000

The MacRobert Trust is delighted to announce the launch of our brand new website, which has been completely redesigned and rewritten.

We believe the new site better reflects The Trust’s busy workload as both landlord and charity, duties which we discharge within a modern context.

A comprehensive section on grant-making has been designed to offer vital information and guidance to potential applicants, and will hopefully reduce the burden on our busy staff by answering the questions we are asked most frequently.

The relaunch coincides with an announcement outlining the new charitable themes and sub-themes decided at the recent Trustees’ meeting. The themes and sub-themes define the scope of The Trust’s charitable work under our Charitable Donations Policy and can now be easily updated by Trust staff whenever they are amended.

Other parts of the site offer a fascinating insight into the history and ethos of The MacRobert Trust, the workings of the Estate and The MacRobert Legacy. A password-protected area gives Trustees access to minutes and other useful documents.

We hope you enjoy the new site. If you have any comments or feedback, please contact us by email.