IT is a safe space where vulnerable children who have been separated through the care system can learn to be kids again.
For more than half-a-decade Siblings Reunited - known as STAR - has been helping bring brothers and sisters together after their families fell apart and others had to step in and take care of them.
Now the charity in, is to receive a funding boost to help more children and continue their mission for years to come.
The project operates from a farm near Cupar, Angus, and visiting children have access to an animal enclosure, a nearby beach and a wide range of creative outdoor activities, giving them of opportunities to play and spend quality time together.
A range of activities are on offer
It was established six years ago and is run by volunteers, relying on donations to keep going. Since it was founded, hundreds of siblings have been brought together there, and given space to be children again.
Founder Karen Morrison explained: "We leave what they want to do very much up to them. These are siblings whose only contact may have been through a supervised visit with a social worker present, and where they snap into the sort of relationship they have at home.
READ MORE: Government urged to step in over closure of vital services for vulnerable and high-risk youth
"At home it can often just be about survival, because they are facing very difficult circumstances. But here we move out of that and they have the chance to just be children together."
"So if they come here and just want to play with their Lego, do some colouring-in, or do activities, it's up to them."
The charity has received £60,000 from the The National Lottery Community Fund to help fund activities and cover its costs.
It is open throughout the year, with only a break at Christmas, offering two-hour breaks for children from across Scotland once a month.
Kids can visit a fairy glen...
The youngest to visit has been a six-month-old baby, while others have been late teenagers. Activities include gardening, walking in the woods, baking, cooking and playing outside.
One of the most popular things is to let the children grow their own potatoes and then cook stovies when they are harvested in the farm's kitchen.
READ MORE: Almost 200,000 crisis fund applications last year
Ms Morrison, herself a foster carer, said: "It is just wonderful to see the spark in their faces when they get to run around and play together. These are children who grow up with a distrust of adults, and when it is time to go we often get a lot of tears because they assume that this is all they are going to get.
"At home they are often being taken places or separated, sometimes on false premises, and they think it's happening again. But they open up when they realise they are coming back and this for as long as they want it."
She added: "They are learning to be children again, and our goal is to make them feel secure and confident as they rebuild their relationships together."
...or meet the farm animals
Eileen Black, Trustee at the charity, said, “Every time we see the look on these young peoples’ faces, the joy and anticipation of meeting their siblings, who they may not have seen for weeks, months or even years, is a reminder why STAR is so important. What they get out of these visits is immeasurable and having regular, positive contact with their siblings can have a profound effect on their behaviour and emotional well-being.”
READ MORE: It’s vital to give children breathing space
Lead Supervisor, Peter Melville, added “In my role I get to witness first-hand the huge difference we make and thanks to National Lottery players we can continue to grow and reach out to more separated and estranged brothers and sisters throughout Scotland.”
Among the other groups receiving cash from the Community Fund is the Cranhill Arts Project in Glasgow, which runs workshops for the disabled and Libertus Services, which offers activities for the over-50s in Edinburgh.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here