The Project Team / An Sgioba
Joyce Brìghde Gilbert
- Joyce is the person who has set 'The Gathering/AnCruineachadh' in motion.
- She had the idea, gathered the team, secured funding and is managing the overall project.
- If you want to contact Joyce, just get in touch!
Dr Joyce Brìghde Gilbert graduated with a BSc and PhD in Biochemistry and worked for six years in medical research before changing careers to concentrate on environmental education with a focus on community-based learning. Over the past 35 years she has worked for several organisations including Scottish Natural Heritage, RSPB Scotland, the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and Trees for Life.
Joyce has a particular interest in working with communities to explore sense of place and has designed and managed several interdisciplinary heritage projects in the Highlands.
A qualified primary teacher, she has a passion for the Gaelic language and culture and currently serves as a trustee with the charity Taigh Chearsabhagh on North Uist.
Recently she designed and managed The Glenmoriston Musical Heritage Project and Glen of the Bards Project on behalf of the Fort Augustus and Area Gaelic Group and the Glenmoriston Improvement Group.
In her spare time, she can be found pouring over old maps, exploring old tracks and paths or avidly making her latest craft project using found objects.
Andrew Grant McKenzie (MA Hons) FSA Scot
- The Highland Historian - Heritage Consultancy, Bespoke Tours, Researcher and Genealogical Advisor.
- Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland
- Trustee and Board Member of Museums and Heritage Highlands.
- Cyclist. Climber.
- Shinty referee - officiating at the MacTavish and Camanachd Cup
- Gaelic speaker- Andrew is a lifelong learner of the language and its culture.
If it's the history of the Highlands that you are interested in- then Andrew is your man!
Since graduating in Scottish History- paleography, folk tradition, Highland culture and the development of early-modern Scotland - Andrew has broadened his knowledge even further.
During his years working with the National Trust for Scotland he not only managed the Culloden Battlefield site, but also commissioned the LiDAR Scan of the site and was an advisor to the Highland Council during the development of the Culloden Moor Conservation Area.
If you have visited Culloden you may have seen Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Blunderbuss and letters - Andrew helped secure these for the collection!
Andrew is regularly involved with conservation and information collection - including working on archaeological projects at Culloden, Inverlael and Dundreggan.
In his business The Highland Historian, Andrew is much in demand due to his extensive knowledge and experience.
He is also a fantastic narrator and guide, bringing Highland history to life for all who have the pleasure of his company.
Caoimhe Keohane
- Anam Yoga & Nature
- Nature Conservationist
- Yoga Practitioner (200hr Yoga Certification)
- On site outdoor Instructor. 2022 - present, Fairburn Activity Centre.
- Seasonal ranger, Forestry and Land Scotland, Kilpatrick Hills, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. 2021.
- RSPB Community Ranger, Hebrides, 2019- 2021.
- The Wilderness Society, Australia.
- Hillwalker. Cold Water Swimmer. Woodcrafter.
Caoimhe has worked on various conservation projects in Australia and Scotland, giving her extensive experience in engaging with communities and individuals.
As an outdoor instructor at Fairburn Activity Centre in Marybank, Caoimhe works with groups of adults and kids. She guides them in various woodland based adventures and introduces them to a world of nature, adventure and all its benefits for wellbeing. Wildlife walks, bushcraft, orienteering and climbing are just some of the activities led and taught by Caoimhe.
Caoimhe practises yoga and meditation, and combines these skills with nature therapy - Anam Yoga & Nature. Her approach involves primal movement, breath awareness and a sense of being present. By inviting this connection to the natural environment surrounding us we might invite a deeper understanding of the importance of protecting the natural world.
Caoimhe often collaborates with her partner Tom Langhorne, both sharing a passion for Highland survival skills, bushcraft, celtic mythology and art.
Ceit Langhorne
- Gaelic Singer
- Creative practitioner
- Researcher
- Glen of the Bards Project
Ceit is very experienced in working on community projects throughout Scotland as a creative practitioner and singer, specialising in Gaelic cultural heritage.
In fact many may recognise her from her involvement in The Glen of the Bards Project ( for Glenmoriston Improvement Group). Ceit researched and performed a selection of some 400 lesser-known songs and music from Glenmoriston.
Ceit uses a range of creative media to tease out the characters and themes from the songs and poetry she researches; and attempts to re frame them in a starkly modern way in order to impress their relatability and freshness onto others. She does this through public-speaking; song-writing; digital storytelling; drawing and mask-making.
Charlie Grey
- Scottish Traditional Fiddle Player.
- National Centre of Excellence in Traditional Music
- Charlie Grey & Joseph Peach- Finalists in the 2017 BBC Radio two young folk awards.
- Glen of the Bards Project
Many might know Charlie as he is of course a local lad. He first picked up a fiddle at 6 years old- and now (a few years later) is making a name for himself on the Scottish Traditional Music scene. He has collaborated, performed and toured internationally with a number of other musicians, singers and bands.
He forms one half of the duo Charlie Grey and Joseph Peach, who have international tours, a documentary, podcast, and currently 5 albums to their name.
Charlie always has plenty of musical projects on the go and this year will see him recording his first solo album
Euan Robinson
- Director, Wilding Film
- Awards; The Last Ski Maker in Scotland (2022) Vimeo Staff Pick Award, Finalist, BANFF International Film Festival, London Mountain Film Festival and Destination Unknown Film Festival. Section winner I Thought… A film about Brexit at the Comites Film Awards
- Films screened at; V&A London, Southbank Centre, British Museum.
- Films featured on the BBC, The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Mirror, the i.
Euan is based in Scotland but his filmwork takes him all over the world. He has been an independent documentary filmmaker for over 10 years working for clients which include the BBC, arts organisations, international charities and advertising agencies. Euan is based in Dunkeld where he lives with his wife and two young children. He is never happier than when up a hill, in a loch or sleeping under the stars.
Euan’s documentary film The Last Ski Maker in Scotland toured the world during 2022 and was a finalist at Banff Mountain Film Festival and Kendal Mountain Film Festival and will shortly be part of Fort William Mountain Festival.
Dr Greg Mannion
- Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Stirling
- Teaches postgraduate Educational Research
- Leads the ‘Environment’ pathway on Initial Teacher Education
- Supervises students at masters and doctorate level
- Conducts research on outdoor and environmental education - for example, citizen science, outdoor learning, intergenerational education.
- Funders of past projects include ESRC, charities, NatureScot, RSPB, Children and Young People’s Commissioner Scotland, Education Scotland
- Research Outputs
Greg teaches and conducts research in higher education. Previously, he spent 10 years as a Primary School teacher in Ireland where he specialised in local place-responsive education.
Since completing his doctorate in 1999, he has conducted various projects involving young people's participation, the place-related dimensions of learning as well as outdoor and environmental education.
He lives in Perthshire and enjoys playing guitar accompaniment to traditional music and walking increasingly more slowly with his 15 year old whippet!
Here is an example research output based on evidence from the Drove Roads Project led by Dr J Gilbert: Link to research paper.
“Looking back can help us live more sustainable lives''.
Helen Liddle
- Our Highland Home
- September 2022, British Cartographic Society, Stanford’s Award for Printed Mapping - Commended
- BA (hons) Visual Communication, Animation. Edinburgh College of Art.
- Copywriting
- Illustration
Helen lives in Invergarry and has two children at the local School.
During Covid restrictions she organised the Invergarry Primary Rocks Art Trail around Invergarry. This was a great success with locals, visitors and as a non contact fundraiser for the School. Helen is an artist and works on Highland themes, flora and fauna and is also a keen mapmaker.
Iona MacLeod
- Iona MacLeod
- BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) in sculpture and installation, Ontario College of Art and Design, Canada.
- My work takes form in sculpture, drawing, painting, video, objects, performances, installations, and photography.
Iona is a visual artist living on the Isle of Lismore in Scotland.
She describes herself as a person on a mission to create work that is beautiful and interesting. Hoping that others will find and enjoy these qualities in her work as well.
Iona works in a variety of different mediums. Her work can take form in sculpture, drawing, painting, video, objects, performances, installations, and photography.
Munro Gauld
- Munro Gauld on Soundcloud
- Glen of the Bards
- The Lus Collective
Munro Gauld has a background in rural land management and community development, and is a traditional musician with 40 years’ experience playing and teaching.
He has a particular interest in traditional music from the 18th-19th centuries and has carried out music and folklore research and performance projects for clients including The John Muir Trust, Perth and Kinross Council and the Scottish Crannog Centre.
During 2021 and 2022 he, along with colleague Ceit Langhorne examined the musical heritage of Glenmoriston on behalf of the local community, in The Glen of the Bards. Outputs for this work were two written reports and a series of concerts sharing the findings of the reports including the performance of some of the discovered songs and music from the glen.
Dr Nick Barnes
- Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist with NHS Highlands
- Honorary Associate Professor with University College London
- Honorary Senior Lecturer with the University of Aberdeen
- Cognitive Analytic Psychotherapist.
- Sustainability Champion and lead of the ecoCAMHS workstream within the Child and Adolescent Faculty of Royal College of Psychiatry, where he is particularly focused on exploring the impact of the climate crisis on children and young people's mental health, as well as supporting services to move towards more sustainable, greener (& bluer) and nature-based practice.
Throughout much of Nick's career he has been particularly focused on working alongside children, young people and families who struggle to engage and access support and services for a multitude of reasons, such stigma, prejudice and / or discrimination.
As a result he has spent most of his time in research seeking to explore offers of opportunity and engagement that are meaningful and accessible to the young people themselves.
This has enabled research into initiatives such as peer mentoring and peers support alongside projects that place creativity at the heart of their offer, all the while looking to ensure young people develop a sense of connection (with themselves and with others, and with the world around them) enabling them to feel empowered and develop a sense of agency in their lives and within their communities.
With most of his original research being based on how we support the development and building of resilience, Nick has been keen to ensure that resilience is seen within a context of connections and relationships - that it is not simply something that is built within, but rather reflects the reciprocation of relationships between the self and the other. With the other being our family, friends, communities and the land on which we live.
Currently Nick is undertaking research in the Highlands and Islands on young people's attitudes to climate change, and how these are influenced by their sense of connection with land, community and nature.
Nicola Wright
- Storyteller
- Story Skills
- Historical interpreter & researcher
- TourGuide & Trainer
- Freelance, Illuminate UK- Museum & heritage learning for Trinity House Maritime Museum, Craigmillar Castle, Linlithgow Palace.
- Tour Leader Mercat Tours International
Nicola Wright is a storyteller, historical interpreter, tour guide and trainer.
As a freelancer for Illuminate UK Nicola works in museum and heritage learning with community groups, schools and training providers. She provides workshops, training, and tours at Trinity House Maritime Museum, Craigmillar Castle and Linlithgow Palace.
Nicola helps young people become Junior Tour Guides presenting the history and stories of local sites to other schools and community groups, they become the cultural ambassadors of the site and the stories. She has driven forward the outreach program at Trinity House, developing links between school pupils and homes for older people and working with young people to help record the stories and experiences of the older generation.
Nicola researches and develops workshops and storytelling performances on subjects as diverse as the Scottish Suffragettes, the life of climate scientist James Croll, female footballers of WW1 and is currently looking at Trinity House Maritime Museum links to the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
She has worked with a whole range of ages, from early years, primary school pupils, secondary school pupils who she takes on battlefield tours of the Western Front for Mercat Tours International and adults.
Nicola is a passionate believer in children as storytellers and provides voice workshops and storytelling skills sessions alongside her own storytelling.
Raghnaid Sandilands
- Raghnaid Sandilands
- Creative ethnologist
- Gaelic translator
- Map maker
- Small press publisher
- Researcher
- TOBAR AN DUALCHAIS: Custom, culture and what accrues – the dresser’s place’ – West Highland Free Press
Raghnaid has an active interest in the local heritage of the Loch Ness area. She often organises busy events in the village hall, for adults and children.
The nights have hosted speakers on many subjects that oil the wheels of engagement on matters of cultural life, aesthetics of highland architecture, Scottish film history. Gaelic place name lore for example and always music and good hospitality.
Children’s workshops have been based on the stories of the place; their own Gaelic super heroes, their own storied places, their own creativity. Using stories to take trips, to inspire print making, stop motion animation, drama, light drawing photography, comic making and large charcoal map making and then displayed at ceilidhs and concerts.
Gaelic has always been at the centre of these projects and Raghnaid says ‘ I believe in the value of new creative responses to the wealth of Gaelic culture on a local level in making life more interesting and home more of your own.''
Rob Sutherland
- Wayward Spirit Photography
- 360 VR photography, videography, drone piloting and aerial photography/filming.
- BSc (hons) Archaeology – University of Glasgow
- MSc IT – University of Liverpool
- MSc (Merit) Architecture: Advanced Environmental and Energy Studies – University of East London
- Former archeologist, Amazon expedition photographer, anthropologist, IT Manager, Engineer and stuntman
- Failed Gothic Rock God/Guitarist
Rob Sutherland started his career in photography in 1995 as an expedition photographer in the northern Amazon shooting native tribes peoples, expedition members, evidence of past civilisations and the natural environment.
Rob enjoyed a varied career but finally decided on a move to Drumnadrochit and a return to photography.
He’s enjoying chasing his dreams in the Highlands and helping others enjoy and develop their photography in his workshops.
Tom Langhorne
- Tom Langhorne/ Fandabi Dozi Wilderness Adventures
- Bushcraft-Survival Instructor & Youtuber- Providing courses and guided walks in “Highlander Survival Skills”.
- “Fandabi Dozi” Youtube Channel - 220,000 followers and growing!
- Masters Degree in Ecology and Environmental Science
- Former Outdoor Educator at The Shieling Project
- Summer Mountain Leader and IOL Woodland Activity Leader Qualifications.
It’s true to say Tom was always a wild one.
As a child he spent as much time as possible outdoors- hiking, fishing, building shelters and making fires. As an adult he traveled extensively at home and abroad and very quickly discovered that the wilderness adventure videos he made had an audience.
He soon found his Highlander Survival Skill videos were a sweet spot for himself and a booming audience. Tom combines historical research with his own brand of humor and storytelling, making the lifestyle and survival skills of a 17th Century Highlander accessible to all.
Humor and personality are also what make Tom such a successful and engaging teacher. Working with adults, children or family groups- Tom has a great knack for inspiring a connection with our natural and cultural heritage. Tom makes practical survival skills, nature, Gaelic culture and history fandabidozi!
The Gathering / An Cruinneachadh Community Arts Project has been made possible by the generous grants received from; Fern Community Funds, Beinneun Wind Farm. Along with match funding from The Fort Augustus and Glenmoriston Community Company.
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