Monday 14th February 2011 Andy Scott sculpture flattened in road accident
A 13 foot-high sculpture by public artist Andy Scott has been sent
flying by a careless motorist. The sculpture, known as the Man in
Motion, is made from welded steel mosaic and was designed to
compliment the nearby Stirling Castle and Wallace Monument. The piece
is installed at Muirside roundabout, just outside the village police
station in Tullibody, Clackmannanshire, and is one of five pieces in
the county by the artist. Brian Smith, a college lecturer and local
resident, told the press: "Whoever crashed into it has made a fair
mess. It looks like they've driven into one of the statue's legs and
brought down about five or six tonnes of metal. I don't know if it
quite stopped them but it certainly slowed them down.” Stirlingshire

Tuesday 18th January 2011 The Stirling Heads return after six year restoration project
Replicas of the 37 ‘Sterling Heads’ have been installed after experts
completed the recreation of "a lost Renaissance masterpiece" at
Stirling Castle during a six-year restoration project. The replicas,
which are on the ceiling of the King's Inner Hall, were copied from
the original 16th Century carvings which depicted the faces of
historical figures. The work is part of Historic Scotland's £12m
restoration of the Royal Palace inside Stirling Castle which is
attempting to recreate the look of the building during its 16th
Century prime. Peter Buchanan, Stirling Castle Palace Project Manager,
said: "We've been looking forward to this moment for a long time - the
new versions of the heads took five years to carve and since then a
great deal of work has been done to create the ceiling and get the
painting just right. Stirlingshire

Monday 20th September 2010 Denny volunteers to collect ‘most dismal town’ award
Residents of Denny, a town in Stirlingshire, Scotland are to receive
the Carbuncle award for the most dismal place in Scotland. The award
was originally granted to John O’Groats but no-one there was prepared
to pick it up. Hearing the award had gone uncollected residents at
Denny, who came second in the contest, approached the organisers at
design magazine Urban Realm asking for the trophy. The townspeople
hope the award might speed up regeneration plans for the town
described by one of its own residents as "like Beirut on a bad day.” Stirlingshire

Thursday 29th July 2010 Stirling Castle to make a Big Noise
There will be plenty of volume when the Big Noise Orchestra from Stirling's Raploch estate perform at the town's castle for the first time. Inspired by a Venezuelan scheme to help poorer children, the orchestra project was originally launched in 2008. The orchestra already has violins, violas, double basses and cellos and hopes to add woodwind, brass and percussion to become a full symphony orchestra. The Big Noise orchestra have already performed at big events and venues, including the G20 summit in St Andrews and at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh. Big Noise manager Kathy Whitaker said: "We are so pleased to be playing at the castle, which is such a big feature on the skyline from Raploch. All the children are so excited to be playing in such a grand place. We can't wait." Since the project was launched, more than 250 children at the local Raploch Primary School, from nursery age to P5, have learned to play instruments. Stirlingshire

Wednesday 9th June 2010 Rare mining bee sightings a first for Stirling
A rare insect, the tawny mining bee, has been found on the University
of Stirling’s campus. The rare bee was spotted by Dr Ben Darvill, the
director of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (BBCT) which is based on
the campus. The bee, usually found in English gardens, makes small
volcano-shaped mounds in the soil. Dr Darvill said: "This discovery,
on our doorstep, just goes to show how much lies out there waiting to
be found by the curious. The general public can do their bit to make
gardens little oases for bees by planting more traditional 'cottage
garden' style plants and wild flowers. Farmers, crofters and other
land managers are encouraged to consider bees and work towards
providing a mosaic of flower rich patches with something available
throughout the season." Stirlingshire

Tuesday 20th October 2009 New wetland habitat planned
A new approach to controlling flooding on the River Forth will create
a habitat for protected wildlife. The pioneering project hopes to
create saline pools and salt marshes at Skinflats RSPB sanctuary, near
Falkirk by flooding the site with sea water. It is hoped the work will
lead to a rise in the number of birds and otters at the reserve.

Despite the site at Skinflats being completely surrounded by major
industrial developments such as the huge Grangemouth refinery and the
Longannet Power station the RSPB are confident wildlife can flourish
there.

RSPB site manager at Skinflats, Nick Chambers, commented: "If enough
land was managed like this to allow high tides to naturally flood
coastal land, flooding could be alleviated for thousands of people
living in places like Falkirk." Stirlingshire