Conservation

Coming up this week we’ve got two lovely events!

Tuesday 12th – Erraid guided walk with Emily

A walk exploring the natural and cultural history of this tidal island (setting for Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Kidnapped’), stopping off at the seal colony, lighthouse observatory and a beautiful sandy beach. You may wish to linger and explore the many lovely beaches around Knockvologan after the walk.

10.30am-2.30pm, £7.50/£5, meeting at Knockvologan Farm, bring along waterproofs, sturdy walking footwear, lunch and a drink, call 07717581405 to book or for more info!

Thursday 14th – Kids Beach Activity Day

Spend the day on the beach. We’ll do lots of activities, including a beach clean up & rock pooling. Take the plastic challenge – how many “one-use” plastic items do you use in a day? Try and count before you come along. Use an ID sheet to find local shoreline creatures. We’ll have a great day whatever the weather and get our feet wet!

10am-2pm, £7.50/£5, meeting Calgary Bay car park, wear suitable, weather appropriate clothing, good footwear and bring along lunch and a drink. Booking not required, but helpful. You can call Rachel on 07540792650 for more info.

Next week… 21st August – Froglife comes to Mull

Dragons on the move – a unique opportunity to learn more about pond life from wildlife charity Froglife! Join the Ranger Service and Froglife to study and learn about the local pond life in the area with:

– fun pond dipping sessions

– activites

– craft sessions

– use of lab facilities to study what you find

– join a guided walk to look for reptiles in the area

1-3pm, £5/£3 at Corry Meadows, Fisnish (PA65 6BA), please wear appropriate clothing and footwear, for more info please contact Jan on 01680 300640 or 07765898600

We had a great time over the last two weeks with Bunessan Show and Salen Show, both great days! The was windy and then very muddy respectively for each, I think my van only just made it out of the field. Things are just about back to normal with Scottish children back to school this week already. We will be at Tobermory Lifeboat Day this weekend though (Sunday 17th), so come and support our much appreciated emergency service!

Hello, I’m Emily the ranger for Iona, Staffa, Burg and the Ross of Mull. What have I been up to recently?

Well, wildflowers and seashore safaris have featured in many of my events this year. Here’s a lovely scarlet pimpernel found growing near Sandeels Bay on Iona, and some rockpool friends:

I have been working alongside Mary Ireson and Scott Douglas, youthworkers in Tobermory and Oban respectively, to bring together young people from all over Mull, and from Oban, for fun outdoor activities. This week’s challenge was a camping trip to Ulva (thanks to Fran and Isaac from Camas outdoor centre – http://www.iona.org.uk/island-centres/camas) as part of the John Muir Award, discovering, exploring, conserving and sharing the experience of wild places: http://www.johnmuiraward.org

The group worked as a team to help carry all the equipment, stopping for games and butterfly spotting along the way, and set up camp near the coast. A highlight of the evening’s beach exploration was observing the fascinating world of the hermit crab as we found a large colony in a nearby rockpool and spent time offering them empty shells as potential new homes or watching them delicately scavenging the eyes from some nearby dead sandeels to eat! Some of our group made an in-depth study of the creatures living inside a cowpat!! I think John Muir would have approved 🙂

Ulva Ferry