“Do you care about the River Carron? Do you stay near the river?” These are the questions we put to the public to draw them into a series of Community Conversations held in February and March 2009 along the 19.8 mile River Carron in Central Scotland.

We hope to increase awareness that what is done at one end of the river impacts what happens at the other end. Our action plan will set out how together we will ensure that the river celebrates our heritage and provides a cherished and sustainable resource for this and future generations.

Our communities formed a long time ago along the river because of the basic human dependency on waterways. In this post-industrial period in our history, the River Carron - despite being the actual physical center of several local communities - has become somewhat neglected both physically and in the attention we pay to it. Yet it is a time of great opportunity to let it regenerate into the valuable natural asset that it is, and to do what we can to nurture that natural process along.

This project - part-financed by the Scottish Government and the European Community, Falkirk Council, Forth Valley & Lomond LEADER Local Action Group, 2007-2013 Programme – will in great part help us to create our Green Map, which will enable us to look at potential development projects, to help identify opportunities for individuals and community groups to become involved in the environmental / ecological restoration of the river, improve safety and help plan ways to improve access to and links along it.

The "Communities Along the Carron" Community Conversations include informal discussions, large scale maps on boards for people to pin notes about what should be preserved, problems, issues, wishes and aspirations. The attendance is intergenerational and mixes residents, businesses, interest groups, anglers, planners, farmers, landowners, etc. Several schools are also taking part in river walk exercises with rangers to help map certain areas of habitat and biodiversity.

Anticipated publication date for the Green Map is September 2009 – both online and in printed form, to be used by community members, visitors and the council.