Opt-in membership is available to businesses that either exist out-with the catchment area of Nairn BID, or whose property’s rateable value lies below the £1000 threshold, but still wish to support the BID and receive most of the benefits that members do. As Nairn BID exists for the improvement of Nairn as a whole then supporting the BID can be a valuable way of saying to your customers that you as a business are contributing to making Nairn a better place.
Opt-in members receive the same benefits as other members, they just don’t have the voting rights that levy area businesses do when it comes to the renewal ballot for the BID. For the five year business plan which outlines the main areas of spending and objectives of Nairn BID, please click here.
They can apply for free stalls at our events and markets, benefit from free marketing and promotion (website listing, social media sharing and member of the month), and attend our meetings, business workshops and networking events.
Nairn BID organises street markets along the High Street several times a year. The BID also runs Taste of Nairn, Wheels of Nairn and the Countdown to Christmas events.
If you think your business would benefit by being part of the BID and you would like to join, please fill in our application form. You can also send us a photograph and listing wording for the VisitNairn website.
Opt-in membership starts from £125 a year. Membership runs for our financial year from 1st October to 30th September. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to get in touch – office@nairnconnects.com
Member of the Month – Green Hive
With COP26 right around the corner, we couldn’t be more proud to announce Green Hive – our newest opt-in member, and recent sign-up to accept the Highland Gift Card – as Member of the Month for October.
Green Hive are a thriving and sustainable community charity supporting local people to design solutions with a focus on environmental challenges and empowering them to deliver a wide range of activities, products and services which bring about ‘Happier People and Happier Places in Nairnshire.’ Green Hive are an incredibly active member of our community and are always looking at ways to collaborate with local businesses to work towards a greener future.
As part of the Book & Arts festival, for example, Green Hive played a key role in supporting Kinetika’s silk flag-making by using their workshop space to facilitate the sessions. The Green Hive workshop is a welcoming, modular space available to the Nairn community for hire as a venue.
Caroline Woods, Green Hive Community Projects Coordinator, comments: “It was fantastic to see the Green Hive workshop full of creative people transforming our space into a vibrant, flag and photo-filled artistic studio!”
On Saturday 12th September, Green Hive hosted the Big Beach Clean with Nairn Eco and Surfers Against Sewage. A total of 66 volunteers attended across 3 locations, and collected over 40 bags of pollution along Nairn’s beautiful coastline, combined amounting to about 1.5 tonnes of litter and waste cleaned from our beaches!
Scottish Water provided reusable water bottles at the Top-up Tap, and Asher’s even provided some sweet treats to keep everyone energised on the day. How’s that for teamwork?
Caroline shares a word of thanks to all of those involved: “Well done to everyone who came along and participated – from spotting microplastics in the kelp beds, to collecting glass and cans from the dunes, lugging lost lobster creels back to base and collecting many, many different types of litter – you have tidied up our beautiful beaches, taken part in a national movement to track and reduce beach littering, helped educate people about marine pollution and provided us with some very interesting plastics for recycling!”
Following the Big Beach Clean success, Green Hive are now in the process of launching a new £4,000 fundraising appeal to apply for a massive £40,000 in match-funding.
If successful in getting the funding, Green Hive plans to use these funds to not only remove plastics from the local beaches, but also to recycle them into something new and valuable to the circular economy.
Examples of this on a smaller scale can already be seen at the Green Hive workshop (and on their website) and in the Nairn Museum shop: clocks made from recycled HDPE plastics, birdhouses made from reclaimed wood, tote ‘bumble’ bags made from salvaged textiles, outdoor recycled plastic benches, and more. Making Nairn’s environment cleaner, safer, and ultimately working to avoid unnecessary waste going to landfills, are amongst Green Hive’s top priorities.
Caroline explains: “All of our amazing products are unique and handmade by our superstar team of volunteers using 100% recycled or reclaimed materials that have been donated or found by the Nairn community.
“Currently, we are making items from recycled plastic, reclaimed wood and reclaimed fabric, but we are keen to turn our hands to many different waste streams and always love to hear your creative recycling suggestions!
“You can catch us at the Nairn Street Market on Saturday 27th of November for the perfect, one-off, sustainable Christmas presents, ideal for your loved ones. Each item created is unique and limited in number, because we believe in crafting long-lasting products that demonstrate the circular economy at affordable prices.”
As a non-profit organisation, sales of our products are used to support our talented volunteers and run our creative workshops. We also take custom orders!”
Volunteering at Green Hive workshops is not only a great activity and a means of learning more about the circular economy, but it’s also about giving back to the community. If you are unable to donate money to the fundraising appeal (via this link), then giving your time to Green Hive’s ongoing events is just as helpful.
For example, Green Hive has recently partnered with Nairn Academy to run a series of plastic recycling workshops, and are looking for helpers throughout the school term. Could this be you?
Caroline adds: “Our team of volunteers are at the heart of everything we do, from crafting in our Green Hive workshop, to collecting litter from Nairn’s green spaces, to looking after the trees and plants in the Nairn Community Orchard, to being a Board Member that volunteers knowledge, time and skills to steer Green Hive forward.
“We wouldn’t exist without the dedication of our amazing volunteer base, whom we support to build their self-confidence, make new friendships and learn new skills, whilst looking after Nairn’s environment.
“There’s never been a better time to get into volunteering – with a wide range of volunteering opportunities available for both outdoor and indoor activities, you can choose what works for you, and spend time improving our environment alongside like-minded people!”
Green Hive has recently been awarded Adapt & Thrive funding from the Scottish Government in response to the pandemic’s negative effects and with the aim to ‘build back better’ for the future. But Green Hive are looking to reduce long-term reliance on grant funding, by developing various trading opportunities as an innovative and award-winning community and environmental charity.
With an established ‘dream team’ of people working and volunteering, Green Hive are now looking to hire two self-employed staff members, which will help to open up job opportunities in the community.
Other successful achievements by Green Hive include the Community Orchard space nestled in Viewfield where you can sit and have lunch with friends or enjoy a moment of solitude with your favourite book.
Given that it’s Autumn and the harvest season is coming to an end, Green Hive have juice pressing kits that you can order, which are perfect for those excess fallen apples you may have accumulating in your garden. It makes for a great family activity, with a tasty reward at the end!
Or if you’re more of the active type, Green Hive now has an eBike (and trailer!) for hire. We’ve seen people go on romantic getaways with the eBike, and we’ve seen others use it as a means of moving house. However you choose to use it, you can find more about hiring it on the Green Hive website.
Green Hive also have a pocket-sized Active Travel Map you may find useful for your journey. This was done in collaboration with Nairn BID, and you will find QR Codes to these on the newly installed maps around town.
Whatever tickles your fancy, Green Hive have put out a monthly calendar of events that you can view below, or on the Green Hive website and social media pages:
And with Winter right around the corner, heating bills are something to think about. What if there was a way to get your house warmer more efficiently, for less money, and a reduced impact on the environment?
Caroline uses Green Hive’s new heating instalment as an example for what you could do in your business or even your home: “We are looking forward to a very cosy winter in the Green Hive workshop after the installation of an air-source heat pump heating system and double-glazed windows, thanks to recommendations and funding opportunities from Zero Waste Scotland.
“We can now heat our workshop all winter without worrying about our energy bills or using fossil fuels, keeping our carbon footprint low and making our organisation more resilient and sustainable for the future.
“We highly recommend all business owners to take advantage of the advice and recommendations from Zero Waste Scotland, they can help you find more efficient and sustainable ways to operate, as well as save money and access funding to help you make energy-efficient upgrades at work and at home.”
Finally, the team at Green Hive would like to invite Nairn businesses to the Green Hive workshop to see (and feel the warmth of) the energy efficiency improvements in person. Green Hive are happy to do all they can to help Nairn businesses along the route to “net-zero” and to saving money along the way.
Drop the team an email at nre@greenhive.co.uk to say hello and register your interest, and let them know when you are available to swing by their workshop space.
Caronline extends an invite to Green Hive’s ‘Natter’ sessions, which are informal discussions on Green Hive’s activity and updates: “We have two Natter dates in our calendar this month: the 8th and 22nd of October. We welcome you to come along at 1pm on either of those dates for cake and a chat, to find out more about Green Hive and our amazing community of volunteers!”
