Tag: Falkirk

Charity to host FREE event for people with neuromuscular conditions

Muscular Dystrophy UK is inviting people living with a muscle wasting or weakening condition, their families and carers to join a free in-person event open to everyone. Attendees will hear from and meet a range of people, including Paralympian Stephen McGuire, who lives with muscular dystrophy.

The Information Day takes place on Saturday 28 March 2026 and is organised by the leading charity for more than 110,000 children and adults in the UK living with one of over 60 muscle wasting and weakening conditions.

The event will feature a full programme of talks and discussions on managing fatigue, mental health and wellbeing, inclusive education, and disability sport, along with networking opportunities. You’ll hear from leading voices in research and healthcare as well as people with lived experience, with plenty of time to ask questions and explore the support available through Muscular Dystrophy UK.

Jacqueline Munro, Head of Regional Support and Outreach at Muscular Dystrophy UK said: “We’re delighted to host the Information Day and look forward to welcoming people from across the whole of the Scotland.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity for our community to access expert information and support, learn more about our services, and, importantly, connect with others living with muscle wasting or weakening conditions.

“It’s a chance to share tips, advice, and build lasting relationships with peers, ensuring that no one faces their journey alone.”

The event will run 10am – 5pm, at Forth Valley College, Grangemouth Road, Falkirk FK2 9AD.

Spaces are limited, so sign up today: musculardystrophyuk.org/Scotland

Lunch and refreshments will be provided and there is a Changing Places facility onsite available. A special thanks to Euan’s Guide, the Teapot Trust, In Control Scotland and Scottish Disability Sport for supporting the day.

The Information Day is part of a series of events happening across the UK including York (28 Feb 2026) and Birmingham (14 March 2026). With dates for Northern Ireland and Wales to be announced.

Contact Muscular Dystrophy UK with any Information Days enquiries on  

infoday@musculardystrophyuk.org. 

Discover other events happening in your area at musculardystrophyuk.org/events

For more information about Muscular Dystrophy UK visit: musculardystrophyuk.org 

or call our free helpline on 0800 652 6352 (open Mon – Fri 10am – 5pm).

Photo credit @ Muscular Dystrophy UK / Jonathan Ryder

Falkirk commemorates pandemic experience with live screenprinting event at Callendar Park

Remembering Together is a national project that seeks to give each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities the chance to reflect their unique experience of the Covid-19 pandemic with the help of commissioned artists and creative organisations. 

Greenspace Scotland in collaboration with Falkirk Council and Studio Caspar, have been working extensively with the wider community over the past year to create a memorial that authentically reflects the experiences of residents during Covid.  

To celebrate the forthcoming memorial and the project moving to its final stages, a live screenprinting event is set to be held in Callendar Park, with lead artist Caspar J Wilson printing illustrated posters that tell the story of the project so far. Attendees can even take part directly, pulling the squeegee and printing their own edition to be taken home and shared by everyone who comes along.

Wilson, who has extensive experience in socially engaged community art, set out to engage in an authentic process of co-creation with Falkirk communities.

This took the form of workshops held at community venues such as Larbert High School, where pupils made collages expressing how they had been pushed apart in isolation before coming back together; and at the Forth Valley Sensory Centre, where beautiful bouquets of flowers shared thoughts on the kind of calm, green spaces that could be the right venue for a memorial.

The purpose of these interactive workshops was to allow for participants to communicate through creativity, forming a collective vision of a memorial that would authentically reflect the breadth of experience that people had during these difficult years.

Every individual has a unique experience of Covid, but they are all somewhat united in various ways and Wilson sought to reflect that by taking each person’s story and displaying them as a piece of design, in an evolving, growing collection in a public space.

All the drawings, writings, collages and stories from the workshops have been used as inspiration for the memorial, as part of a library of stories, which will take the form of a permanent sculptural installation in Callendar Park.

For this event, a sample of the community artwork made from these workshops will be displayed in Callendar House alongside the screenprinting.

Artist Caspar J Wilson said, “This event is an open invitation to everyone who is curious about our work to create a memorial to Covid.

“I want to share the story of the project so far and all the fantastic community artwork made in our workshops. We are screenprinting an illustrated print that tells this story. Come to Callendar Park, see the community exhibition, watch artist prints being made by hand and take one home with you.”

Lesley O’Hare, Cultural Services Manager for Falkirk Council said “Caspar has taken a range of people from across the Falkirk Council area on a creative journey, enabling them to articulate their experiences of the pandemic in imaginative ways.

“This gathering will be an opportunity to celebrate the journey so far and soon we will see how he has translated these experiences into a design for the memorial”.

Remembering Together Falkirk is commissioned by greenspace scotland with funding from the Scottish Government.

Sacha Dench returns to Scotland to meet climate change innovators

UN Ambassador for the Convention on Migratory Species, Sacha Dench visiting Celtic Renewables, Scotland’s first biorefinery plant meeting Martin Tangney OBE, Founder of Celtic Renewables at the new plant in Falkirk.

UN Ambassador for the Convention on Migratory Species, Sacha Dench, touched down in Scotland yesterday as part of her Round Britain climate challenge to raise awareness of the effects of climate change … and shine a light on the innovators working to solve the crisis.

Flying in on an electric paramotor, Sacha flew over the Kelpies before landing nearby and visiting Celtic Renewables – Scotland’s first biorefinery plant – where she met Martin Tangney OBE, Founder of Celtic Renewables, Gillian McKee (MSP), Linlith-Go–Solar, Climate Conscious Entrepreneurs Edinburgh and Fuel Change apprentices and pupils from Larbert High School to talk about their My Carbon Zero Project.

Sacha also met Mark Stewart, Head of Energy, Infrastructure and Sustainability at Johnston Carmichael, Elaine Ford from Planet Rewild and Dr. Murray Collins, CEO of Space Intelligence during her ‘flying visit’.

In June, Sacha began her world record expedition from the host city of COP26, Glasgow. Since then, she has flown across Britain stopping off to talk to people involved in addressing the effects of climate change.  A compilation of these stories will be presented at COP26 the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in November.

Sacha Dench said: “I am delighted to be back in Scotland and visiting the beautiful capital and surrounds. I am looking forward to meeting people who are truly focused on answers to the climate crisis – not problems – and as such are inspirations to all.

“We’re trying to answer the question: ‘We drove the Industrial Revolution; can we drive the Green Revolution too?  As part of this expedition, we have been investigating how climate change is affecting different regions of the country and showing in a visually stunning and exciting way what is happing to help cut carbon and preserve and restore our environment.”

Professor Martin Tangney OBE Founder of Celtic Renewables said: “We were thrilled to host Sacha here at Celtic Renewables as part of this ambitious round Britain Climate Challenge. 

“In our view, COP26 must move us from justifying “why” we need to tackle climate change, to determining “how”, and Sacha’s expedition shining a spotlight on the people and initiatives helping us achieve Net Zero, is helping set this direction of travel.

“Celtic Renewables firmly believe we are part of the Net Zero future, and in bringing our first plant into operation we will show that low-carbon biotechnology can be both commercially sustainable and environmentally sustainable.  Celtic Renewables is part of a global bio-based economy, and our patented technology can and will play an important role in achieving Net Zero across the world .”

Celtic Renewables patented low-carbon technology converts unwanted and low-value biological materials, such as by-products from whisky distilling, into high-value, low carbon chemicals which can replace petrochemicals currently used in the thousands of products we use every day from cleaning materials to food production.

Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn concluded: “We are honoured that Sacha will take in the view of our world-famous Kelpies as part of her round Britain climate challenge.

“Falkirk Council is committed to working towards Net Zero by 2030 and is a key partner in the recently launched Forth Valley for Net Zero campaign, an initiative which brings public and private sectors together and will highlight all the great initiatives by businesses, educational establishments, and our local communities to help us achieve this target.”

Sacha hopes to succeed in achieving a Guinness World Record for the greatest distance flown by electric paramotor in a 30-day period.