Highlands Reimagined Update

Highlands Reimagined Update

Hello everyone, it’s Will here, the presenter of Highlands Reimagined podcast. Our original 3 part miniseries asked what needs to change to encourage Mackay Country’s young people to stay or return, build their futures here, and start to reverse generations of population decline - a problem experienced by rural areas all over the world. Unfortunately, due to some pretty major health issues that started at the end of last year, the Highlands Reimagined feed has been pretty quiet. But I’m just popping in to let you know two things. Firstly, we are still intending to get new content on here - maybe not soon as such - because I’m still very much in the recovery phase. But please stay subscribed so that our show will pop up to the top of your feed when we do have new content to share. And secondly, I’m delighted to say that Highlands Reimagined has been shortlisted for the Scottish Podcast Awards 2026 in two categories - best documentary and best community impact. We’ll find out the results on June 25th, but for now, we are just delighted to have been selected alongside such a diverse range of the best audio content to have come out of Scotland over the past year. Thank you for listening, and please help to spread the word about the podcast by sharing the episodes so far with your friends and family.

Highlands Reimagined: Behind the Scenes, with Kathi Kamleitner, Will Sadler & Fiona Mackenzie.

Hello, it’s Will here, the presenter and producer of Highlands Reimagined. I’m pleased to share with you a great conversation that Fiona Mackenzie and I had on the Wild for Scotland podcast with host: Kathi Kamleitner. Kathi was interested to find out more from me about how the series was made and dig a little further into some of the topics that emerged from it. Fiona gave her perspective as Development Manager of Strathnaver Museum which commissioned the podcast series. I hope you enjoy the podcast and stay subscribed to the Highlands Reimagined feed for more bonus content in the future! Check out Highlands Reimaged at highlandsreimagined.com [http://highlandsreimagined.com/] Check out the Wild for Scotland podcast at wildforscotland.com [https://www.wildforscotland.com/]

Listen to this if you’d like to hear more from Highlands Reimagined!

Listen to this if you’d like to hear more from Highlands Reimagined! Highlands Reimagined is an Anya Media [https://www.anyamedia.net/] production, commissioned by Strathnaver Museum [https://www.strathnavermuseum.org.uk/] and published in partnership with the Wild for Scotland [https://www.wildforscotland.com/] podcast. Find out more at highlandsreimagined.com [https://highlandsreimagined.com/]

Episode 3 - From the Ground Up

Who holds the power to shape the future of Mackay Country? In this final episode, the students of Farr High School are determined to find out. They take their questions about land ownership and how it impacts all of the issues we’ve discussed so far directly to the Scottish Land Commission. They learn from an Irish island community’s inspiring story how high-speed broadband could create new tech jobs in Mackay Country. From debating wind farms to designing new ways for their voices to be heard, the students explore how their generation can take control and build a future from the ground up. Highlands Reimagined is an Anya Media [https://www.anyamedia.net/] production, commissioned by Strathnaver Museum [https://www.strathnavermuseum.org.uk/] and published in partnership with the Wild for Scotland [https://www.wildforscotland.com/] podcast. Find out more at highlandsreimagined.com [https://highlandsreimagined.com/]

Episode 2 - Home Truths

While community is a powerful reason to stay, if young people do feel the need to leave, then what might encourage them to return? After exploring their deep connection to home, the students of Farr High School now confront the reasons they might have to leave. To understand their options, they get firsthand accounts from two people who made the journey back, learning what it takes to forge a career here. The students also tackle the tough issue of affordable housing in a frank conversation with a local council officer. This episode gets to the heart of what needs to change for the next generation to build a future in Mackay Country. Highlands Reimagined is an Anya Media [https://www.anyamedia.net/] production, commissioned by Strathnaver Museum [https://www.strathnavermuseum.org.uk/] and published in partnership with the Wild for Scotland [https://www.wildforscotland.com/] podcast. Find out more at highlandsreimagined.com [https://highlandsreimagined.com/]