Carsphairn Community Woodland: Lantern Making and Bonfire
Event at a glance:
Location: Dumfries and Galloway
Date: 26 October 2025
Number of Staff & Volunteers: 2
Number of Attendees: 20
First-time participant? No
Bursary support received: Yes
What they said:
We have been wanting to invite the local community into the woodland more regularly. We want them to feel a sense of ownership for the land and feel welcome to enjoy the woodland and the playpark and bird hide we have here.
Being a part of the festival made it possible for us to run a lantern making event and have a bonfire. It’s a good time of the year to bring a bit of light back to people and have a social gathering as well as getting creative. It felt meaningful that people enjoyed making the lanterns and having marshmallows and socialising. one participant said ‘thank you – it has been lovely for us (a couple) to build something together that is not our house!’
It was great to see people coming out into the woods to get creative despite the horrid weather and it was really nice to have a mixture of people – families with young children, teenagers, adults and even people who just came to have a cuppa and a chat.
Outcomes and Community Feedback
Everybody who attended the event was pleased to take home a lantern and really enjoyed themselves despite the weather! Marshmallows were appreciated by all ages!
Challenges
Not being sure how many people would attend. It was difficult to plan how much equipment was needed.