What can we say?
Our Achievements
We still don't quite know how our wee project, once rooted in silence and stigma, has gone on to receive worldwide recognition but what we do know is this:
Hartwood Paupers Cemetery has been brought back to life through love, dedication, and community spirit.
Reuniting Families and Telling Stories
We have reunited into the hundreds of families with their once long-lost relatives, learned about the lives of many buried within the cemetery through their descendants, and have even put faces to what were once just numbers.
Bees, Benevolence, and "Pure Dead Brilliant" Honey
Thanks to funding from the Environmental Key Fund from the Windfarm, we were able to take on parental care of our bees! With support and guidance, we established our own hives – and to say they’ve settled in is an understatement.
We're now hoping to produce Pure Dead Brilliant Honey,
Keep an eye out – the honey is as local as it gets!
Stories that Touched the Nation
We met Jane Mathers of Magical Nature Stories, thanks to Margaret from Spotlight Shotts on a sunny morning meeting and never thought that the story of the cemetery would came something magical – deeply moving storytelling that captured the heart of Hartwood’s history. T
hese stories were later shared at the Edinburgh International Storytelling Festival.
A National Lottery Good Cause – and Project of the Year!
We were honoured to be named a National Lottery Good Cause Project for 2023, but nothing could have prepared us for being awarded Scottish Project of the Year the same year.
To say we were speechless would be an understatement.
The trophy now sits proudly in Lottie, our greenhouse.
👉 Read more here
Lanarkshire's First WooWoo Composting Toilet
No more hiding in the trees!
Thanks to funding from Scottish Power’s Renewable Environmental Key Fund, we were able to install North Lanarkshire’s first WooWoo composting toilet on 6 March 2024.
Supplied by WooWoo Waterless Toilet Systems and expertly installed by Xoli Wastewater Solutions,
it means visitors and volunteers can stay a wee bit longer in comfort and dignity.
👉 Toilet system
👉 Installer info
Keep Scotland Beautiful Outstanding Level 4 Award
On our very first attempt, we were delighted to receive the prestigious Keep Scotland Beautiful Outstanding Level 4 Award — a recognition of the quality, care, and commitment we bring to the cemetery. It’s an award that sets a high bar, and one we’re proud to uphold.
Commonwealth War Graves Recognition
After years of determined research and advocacy, our cemetery has finally been recognised as a Commonwealth War Graves site. Special thanks go to Rhona, whose tireless campaigning ensured our WW1 soldiers received the honour they deserve. In collaboration with Terry Denham of the In From the Cold Project, we received unforgettable news: Patrick Tierney (Lair 317) was added to the official roll of the fallen.
What started with a visit to my GGG Uncle Robbie MacDonald’s grave at Villers Station Cemetery, where he was honoured and remembered, has come full circle – now our Hartwood soldiers will receive the same recognition, dignity, and care.
So what's next?
If anything, the past few years has shown us, is that anything is possible if we put our minds to it ... so watch this space
BBC Who Do You Think You Are
