Opening of Sparling Bridge marks the end of the Saving the Sparling Project

---

The long awaited Sparling Bridge successfully opened on Saturday 30th November. Crowds gathered either side of the bridge on the sunny afternoon to celebrate the grand opening of the new pedestrian and cycle bridge connecting the communities of Minnigaff and Newton Stewart.

What a great name for a bridge!

Here at the Galloway Fisheries Trust we have been busy continuing our efforts working on the Saving the Sparling Project, which was originally due to be completed in May of 2019. However thanks to an extra funding boost from the EMFF we were able to continue working on the project behind the scenes for a few extra months this autumn.

This autumn our Sparling Project Officer, Courtney, has been running more events to raise awareness about our special sparling. Some our events have included giving evening presentations to the Wigtownshire Antiquarian and Natural History Society back in September, as well as to the Scotland Wildlife Trust Local Group in Castle Douglas and the Lockerbie Wildlife Trust in Lockerbie in recent weeks.

At the end of November, the Official Opening of the Sparling Bridge marked the end of this sparling project. The Galloway Fisheries Trust have loved being involved in the organising of the Sparling Bridge Opening and assisting the Cree Valley Community Council Events Committee with the running of the event, utilising the opportunity to engage with members of the community about sparling. Our sparling officer Courtney was present throughout out the day, hosting a sparling stall at McMillan Hall to showcase our sparling model and project display boards, as well as playing our Sparling Film.

We are presently planning some new and exciting sparling work for this spring, which is aimed at increasing their numbers and working with more local schools reconnecting communities to an important part of their cultural heritage. So stay tuned for updates about sparling in the spring, if you wish to get involved just get in touch via the website!