We celebrated five years of ACT at our recent quarterly Board meeting with a delicious cake for all attending Board members, advisors and staff. Bruce Marshall, one of our original Board members, had the honour of cutting the cake. Grace Macleod, our Chairperson, thanked everyone for coming and for their support and hard work over the years. The cake was expertly crafted by Sam, our finance officer. 

Grace welcomes everyone to the meeting	Bruce cuts our birthday cake	Sam - the birthday cake creator

Our first quarterly meeting of this year was held in the Three Villages Hall, Arrochar, the same location as our first official launch meeting in April 2014.  

We now have eight board members, 21 advisors and 10 staff plus three contractors who oversee and deliver our current projects and future project development. We have come a long way since the early days when only Development Manager Julie was in the office!

Each of our projects align with one or more of our five objectives. These are:

• To care for and enhance our environment.
• To encourage people to enjoy and benefit from our environment.
• To encourage investment that will improve our environment.
• To share ideas and work in partnership with groups and individuals with an interest in our environment.
• To increase opportunities for local people such as employment, training, and volunteering.

By following these objectives we continue with our mission to sustainably maintain, enhance and promote the coast and countryside of Argyll and the Isles. Why do we do it? Because we know that this is a spectacular part of the world that everyone should be able to enjoy now and forever.  

Over the next few months we will be sharing lots of information about what we do and what we have achieved in our first five years of activity. We'll also be sharing news about how you can get involved in our birthday celebrations. Keep your eyes peeled for updates on our website and social media channels. 

Banner image: Left to right: Duncan MacLachlan, Ross Lilley, Grace Macleod, Ann Scott, Andree Hawke, Bruce Marshall, Colin MacFarlane.