Caithness General Hospital & Leadburn Community Forest:
Country Lead
- Stuart Gibb- Co-Principal investigator
Core Team
- Dr. Howard Dryden- Water and Sanitation Business
- Dr. Stepahnie Terrani Brown- Outreach and Foundations
- Diane Duncan- Aquatic Health
- Chicken farm adjacent to Leadburn Forest
- Scottish Government
- Friends of Leadburn
Community Woodland - Pharma companies
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency
(SEPA) - Woodland Trust
- Fish farms
- Businesses associated with Scottish tourism
- NHS
- Women’s Institute
- Alliance for Water Stewardship
- Local authorities
- Rotary Club
- Highlands & Islands Enterprise
- Surfers Against Sewage
- South Scotland Development Agency
- Scottish Water
- Young Farmers Association
- Scottish Enterprise
- Forestry Commission
The challenge was monitoring water quality due to a lack of comprehensive water management
in Scotland. Water is an important resource to Scotland employing 16,600 directly. The sector
had grown by 29% in the past 3 years. This had also been in parallel with the population growth
which also put pressure on the water resources. The team had years of involvement in water
filtration systems and engagement with the private sector and communities.
The focus was on 3 major links: Food production, water and community.
Caithness General Hospital
The hospital is based in the eastern coastal area serving a rural community. The team focused on reducing the environmental impact of healthcare especially on the water system by focusing on pharmaceutical discharges, developing a OneHealth Breakthrough Partnership (OHBP);
Leadburn Community Forest:
The site was chosen for the ongoing bog restoration in the community forest which plugs into the wider Scottish Government policy on Pete restoration, Carbon Capture and Climate Change. It was focused on holding community level surveys on water quality.using simple dipsticks for pharmaceuticals associated with farming. It also weaved in social capital by trying to estimate the value of the landscape for the community.