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Meet the team

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Recently we showcased our work through the Scottish Countryside Rangers Association social media channels. Here’s a summary of who we are and what we’re working on this year.

Hi. I am Jan Dunlop and the Ranger Manager for Mull and Iona Ranger Service. My job predominantly covers the north of the island and the islands of Ulva and Gometra.

The beauty of our jobs are that we can plan for our days but something else quite often becomes more of a priority and we have the flexibility to work with this. We are very lucky to have a very wide remit from environmental education for all ages, working with land managers on access type issues, conservation management and in particular helping manage Calgary SSSI and encouraging use of Ardura, our community woodland; and that is just for starters.

Mull is a key spot for wildlife watching and photography, and some of our job is educating about responsible wildlife watching particularly otters, hen harriers and eagles.

Our volunteers and our local communities make our job a real pleasure to do and wouldn’t be possible without them. Working on an island is also very special as are our close work colleagues. Funding for our Ranger service is our biggest challenge and has got increasingly hard over the last 25 years that the ranger service has been in existence, but like mink we are pretty hard to eradicate.

Hi, I’m Emily Wilkins and I work in a partnership ranger role between Mull and Iona Community Trust and National Trust for Scotland. My focus is on the south-west part of Mull (known as the Ross) and the NTS estates of Burg (on Mull), Iona, Staffa and the Treshnish Isles, getting involved in visitor engagement, access work, wildlife monitoring, environmental education and outdoor wellbeing events along with a great team of colleagues and volunteers. At this time of year survey work is a priority, in particular for the rare Slender Scotch Burnet moth and the plants on which it depends. Maintaining good habitat for the moth means finding a balance with grazing cattle, sheep, deer and feral goats, and also involves us in some adventurous bracken clearance on steep slopes! Find out more here: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/burgs-beautiful-slender-scotch-burnet-moth

Hi I’m May, one of the NTS Seasonal Rangers on Iona, Staffa, and the Treshinish Isles, this is my first season! Our regular job on Iona is on Tuesdays when we run short, guided nature walks for visitors from our visitor shelter. In just 45 minutes we aim to introduce folk to the nature and wildlife on the island, something that doesn’t often get focussed on! We talk a lot on our new conservation farming efforts, including our new flock of Cheviot and Shetland sheep that will be doing some conservation grazing for us. All of this is to aid the fortunes of the elusive Corncrake, a moorhen sized bird that has declined by 70% since the 1970s, partly due to the intensification of farming. Not often seen, Corncrakes have a distinctive call, echoed in their scientific name of Crex crex. Another part of our work on Iona involves population surveys of the Corncrakes which have to be carried out between midnight and 3am as that’s when the calling is most active!

As part of our conservation farming efforts, we have left some meadows ungrazed and unmown, which has led to a wealth of wildflowers growing in them! Primrose, sea campion, meadow cranesbill, spring squill, cuckooflower, heath spotted and northern marsh orchids, yellow flag iris; the list is almost endless. Wildflowers are something we always make an effort to point out on our guided walks and the insects love them! Iona is such an amazing place for the visitors to come and visit and I love showing them around the island!

Hi. I am Peter Skinner, one of the NTS rangers for Staffa, Lunga and Iona for my second summer season.

Staffa has just reopened to visitors after work building a new jetty. The picture shows one of the boats bringing visitors, of which there can be 4 to 5 hundred on a busy day. They come to see the amazing geology, puffins and other wildlife. My job is to greet the visitors, answer lots of questions and ensure the wildlife is respected with so many visitors. We monitor some of the seabirds such as fulmar, shags, gulls and storm petrels. We also record all aspects of nature such as this common blue butterfly.

It is great seeing so many people encounter puffins for the first time. It feels like a privilege to work in such an amazing place, help protect it any enable so many visitors to experience coming here.

The seabird season is in full swing on Lunga with the sound of shag, razorbill, guillemot, puffin and kittiwake chicks filling the air (to name a few!). Before we know it, the birds will be back out to sea for another winter.

Lunga is the largest of the Treshnish Isles, an archipelago in the Inner Hebrides that came into the care of the National Trust for Scotland in 2023. My name is Louise and I am privileged to be a ranger for my third season, sharing these beautiful islands rich in wildlife. Each day brings a variety of tasks like recording sightings, checking wax blocks for the presence of rodents (or hopefully lack of!) and answering thoughtful questions. June is an exciting time on Lunga, bringing lots of lovely visitors and new life, as well as, the Treshnish Isles Auk Ringing Group (TIARG) attending to do the annual counts and tagging of seabirds.

A particular favourite for a lot of people, me included, is watching the moment a puffin brings a beak full of sandeels back to the burrow where a puffling eagerly awaits! If you capture a seabird with fish in its beak you can contribute to ‘Seabirds, camera, action!’ to help Scotland’s seabirds! Find out out more here:

https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/seabirds-camera-action

What else have we been up to recently? In the last couple of months we have hosted a royal visit to Ardura Community Forest; worked with our local primary schools on topics ranging from owl pellet dissecting, to adders, slow worms and bees; carried out a seabird census of Iona’s offshore islets; searched for alpine plants and carried out Habitat Impact Assessments high up above Burg’s clifftops; raised awareness about responsible visitor behaviour; run a community garden bioblitz; teamed up with a local geologist for two popular Pebble Picnic events; encouraged volunteers to participate in Buglife’s Riverfly project; hosted Rachel and Reid (the rat-detecting dog) from Biosecurity Scotland – thankfully our seabird islands remain rat-free! Never a dull moment!

Wintering Well

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Inspired by a project from the University of Glasgow, Emily teamed up with SWMID community gardener Lorraine to run a series of weekly Wintering Well Garden Gatherings throughout January and early February at the Ross of Mull Community Garden in Bunessan.

For anyone who struggles with grey skies and long hours of darkness, it’s important to get outside into the daylight whenever possible. Our events provided a reason to venture outdoors and gather around the firepit for hot drinks, cake, companionship and creativity!

This year, sessions were loosely themed around foods that can support our winter resilience and incorporated an optional nature- or arts-focused activity to help us embrace the season. Unlike last year we were lucky with mainly blue skies although temperatures varied wildly from thick frost or cold winds to still sunny days when we could appreciate apricity (the warmth of the sun in winter). Some participants made the most of the good weather to walk or cycle from home to the garden.

Our first theme was ‘roots’, we munched on a rooty parsnip cake and thought about what might be going on for us that’s not always visible on the surface. Participants took photos to represent how they feel at their worst and best in winter, which were then collated into a gallery to discuss the following week.

The next theme was ‘greens’. We drank sage, rosemary and plantain tea, ate kale and beetroot swiss roll and learned how to prune blackcurrant bushes, taking the cuttings home to place in a vase of water and watch the buds unfurl into leaves. Some of us plan to root them too!

In week 3 the theme was spices, so we enjoyed homemade chai tea and spiced cake. Spices are important in winter as a small pinch can transform something that would otherwise be bland. Our activity was looking at a patch of sky through a frame and choosing three words to describe it, to encourage us to look for the tiny details that can transform our day. Local poet Brian then created this lovely piece from our chosen words.

Medicinal plants were the focus in week 4. Lorraine had created elderberry rob for us to drink, and a low-sugar beetroot cake with dark chocolate. We wove willow into dreamcatchers infused with our hopes and intentions. Willow bark has pain-relieving properties.

The first week of February saw our last gathering for now, when the theme of citrus was celebrated with fresh scones and newly-made marmalade, and an orange and almond cake. Brightly-coloured citrus fruits are great for vitamin C and encourage us to search for the hopeful colours of the coming spring, which we found in hazel catkins, early daffodils and a rainbow amongst the showers.

Thanks to everyone who took part, it was lovely spending time with a different selection of folk each week and we hope these sessions gave you something to smile about this winter!

Beachcombing and Bookbinding

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The ranger service collaborated with Toben Lewis of Baile Mòr Books for an event this week.

Participants gathered at Ardalanish beach for a clean-up and to search for items that could be recycled into book binding art. Our island coastlines collect a lot of rubbish that washes up from the sea, a sad reminder of how much plastic is thrown away.

Leaving the beach cleaner than we found it.

In the afternoon some of us had a go at making our own books under Toben’s expert tuition. We began to transform a pile of potential materials…

We drilled and cut and stitched, learned the correct way to fold paper and tried a Japanese binding technique. We even included some paper made from seaweed.

Here’s the finished result! Trash transformed!

May Events

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May events

We can plan events but not the weather! Please dress appropriately, wear sturdy footwear with ankle support and bring water to drink, snacks and sunscreen if required.

Sunday 5th May – Work party@ Calgary.

Come and help tidy Calgary Bay for the season.

Time: 1.30pm to 4.00pm

Meeting: at the camping area

Refreshments provided

Further info from Jan on 07765898600.

Wednesday 8th May – Carsaig Coastal Walk

Join the ranger service to explore this stunning coastal landscape below cliffs, with plenty of wildflowers, waterfalls, native woodland and seashore habitats.  Spot seals and potentially other marine mammals, perhaps an eagle will make an appearance too!  You might like to bring a picnic to enjoy after the walk.

Time: 10am-1pm    Cost: £10 adult, £5 child

Booking essential: contact 07717581405 or ewilkins@nts.org.uk

Meeting point given on booking, car-sharing encouraged as very limited parking at Carsaig.

Wednesday 15th May – Guided walk on Ulva. (Cancelled until June 12th)

Come and join the Mull and Iona Ranger Service on a guided walk around a small part of this tranquil Island, giving you a taster for future visits. During this exploration there will be opportunities to learn about the islands past and to look at island life now.

Time 10.30am till 1.30pm Cost: £10 Adult, £5 child (does not include ferry fare)

Booking essential: contact 07765898600 or jdunlop:mict.co.uk.

Meeting at Ulva Ferry 

Wednesday 22nd May – Tireragan Spring Walk

Join the ranger service and Tireragan Trust to explore the woodlands and wetlands of this beautiful nature reserve, stopping for wildlife watching along the way and learning about recent peat restoration efforts.

You’ll need waterproof walking boots or wellies that are comfortable to walk in, as the paths can be very wet.  Bring a packed lunch.

Time: 10am – 3pm    Meet: Knockvologan Barn    Cost: £10 adult, £5 child

Booking essential: ewilkins@nts.org.uk or 07717581405

Wednesday  29th May

Woodland walk at Ardura enjoying the new growth of spring and learning about the species living in the Forest

Time:11.00-1.00 Meeting: the Main Car Park just after the Lochbuie turn off. Cost:£10 Adult,£5 Child.

Booking essential: rfrench@mict.co.uk, jdunlop@mict.co.uk or 07765898600.

Seasonal ranger posts

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Exciting news! National Trust for Scotland are recruiting for 3 seasonal ranger posts across our islands this year. Please indicate at the top of the application form which is your preferred location. (Currently only the Staffa job description is on the website, but the Lunga and Staffa/Lunga/Iona roles should appear there next week and are very similar.) https://www.nts.org.uk/volunteering-jobs/job-search/highlands-islands-region

A day in the life of the Staffa seasonal ranger

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One of the organisations our ranger service works in partnership with is the National Trust for Scotland. Guest blog from Louise King, this year’s NTS Staffa seasonal ranger, looking back on this summer.

Staffa is particularly well known for two things: Fingal’s Cave, a remarkable sea cave carved into the free-standing basalt columns, and the comical, pint-sized puffins that make the island clifftops their home between April and early August each year. As incredible as these two elements are, there is even more to Staffa. It is a completely awe-inspiring island, with a constant fluidity to match the flowing topography of the landscape and the surrounding seas.

Before being entrusted with the position of ranger (my dream job!) thanks to the funding raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery, I had been fortunate to visit Staffa on several occasions. Even though I now step ashore almost daily, no two days are alike. There is always something different to see, a new nook to explore, changing colours through the seasons, distinctive bird song filling the air, the weather showing its power, and unexpected wildlife encounters.

My day begins on the geologically rich shores of Fionnphort in Mull, where the tour operators’ boats welcome us aboard. There is always a hum of excitement in the air, as people from all walks of life gather to visit the spectacular Inner Hebrides, each with their own stories.

From the get-go, Staffa is in sight, along with several other island properties we manage in the area: Iona, Burg and, very excitingly, the newest Trust property at the Treshnish Isles. My work supports our conservation charity’s vision to care for, protect and share these special places, now and for future generations to enjoy. The 6-mile boat journey north is an experience in itself, whether riding the long rolling waves of the Atlantic swell or gliding through mirror-like seas. The seas of the Hebrides are abundant in marine life. Particular highlights so far have been lunge-feeding minke whales, seals sunning themselves, my first-ever basking shark, leaping common dolphins, blooms of jellyfish and boisterous bottlenose dolphins – not bad for the daily commute!

Upon reaching Staffa, many people are overwhelmed by the sight of the Great Face’s basalt columns towering over us. After landing at Clamshell Cave, manoeuvred expertly by the skippers, I scramble along the causeway to Fingal’s Cave, checking the path as I go to ensure it’s safe for visitors. The cave is rarely quiet, be it the sound of roaring waves that inspired Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides overture or people making their own music on calm days. Often, there are echoing gasps of amazement … and even the occasional bagpipe rendition too.

I then climb the staircase to the top of the island, following the newly laid meandering paths to the puffin colony. Here, people eagerly await the puffins’ emergence from the sea below. These little birds take to the skies in a wheeling flight, flapping in unison in large circles out from the sea along the edge of the cliff before landing, often with a less-than-graceful thud, by their burrows. The sight of these bright-billed birds mere metres away brings a chorus of excited gasps, some people even shedding joyous tears. It’s a special moment in people’s lives that I feel humbled to witness.

I spend a lot of time here at the north end of the island by the burrows, engaging with visitors to help give an insight into the ‘secret life’ of the puffins, answering any questions and discussing the environmental importance of these seabirds.

Beyond my set daily tasks, my adventures vary. So far, they have led me to cover more of Staffa than I could have imagined. I have studied wildflowers, rambled in rockpools and surveyed many of the breeding bird species including puffins, shags, fulmars, black guillemots, gulls and storm petrels. Hearing the latter’s soft purr and calls from among fallen rocks was a special moment, made more so because I was able to share it with some kayakers. Despite their own amazing travels inciting a little jealousy in me, they said this made their holiday.

I have also had the opportunity to explore many of the caves on Staffa, including the Cannonball Cave whose cylindrical chasm is thought to have been created by a tree trapped in the lava flow that eroded away – how cool is that! From wildflowers coming into bloom and baby birds being born, to surprise encounters with otters, white-tailed eagles and a humpback whale towards Lunga, I never know what’s in store for me!

One of my favourite spots on the island, where I find a little peace between landings, is perched above the Great Face, looking down onto Boat Cave. Here you can clearly see the three untouched formations of ash, basalt columns and chaotically jointed pebble effect. On stormy days, the wind whistling round the cliffs stirs up the birds who float effortlessly, whilst calm days provide the best spotting opportunities for marine life and passing boats. It certainly puts a lot of things into perspective.

Working on Staffa is not without its challenges. Being exposed to the elements, it’s easy to see why this island has remained uninhabited. Some days appear miserable, wet and windy; others offer no shelter from the glaring sun (who knew that happened in Scotland!). Luckily, no matter the weather, each day brings a surprise and some fun of its own.

The impact Staffa has on people personally is astounding. Whether you find serenity or have your senses overwhelmed, it evokes a reaction in everyone. I am unbelievably privileged to be able to share with people, and impart my knowledge on, such an extraordinary place, full of history and natural landscapes. I love doing my bit to protect Staffa, so it can be cherished for many years to come.

The conservation and engagement work carried out by Louise on Staffa was supported through funding from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, who have now raised more than £1 billion for thousands of charities and local good causes.

Positive Imaginings

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At the end of September the ranger service teamed up with Rowanbank Environmental Arts and Education to bring their Positive Imaginings Climate Circus to the woodlands of Mull!

Undaunted by the (at times challenging) weather, the team began to set up and rehearse at Aros Park and Tiroran Community Forest.

We worked with children and staff from all 6 Mull primary schools on interactive workshops about climate change. Sadly Iona school were unable to join in due to weather cancelling ferries.

A series of games and demonstrations helped to explain the science and causes of global warming, how it links to climate change, then we heard about situations around the world where many people had been inspired to become involved in solutions when just one person voiced their idea and started taking action in their own small way. People such as Wangari Maathai planting trees in Africa, or Afroz Shah cleaning beaches in India – their individual actions have built into global environmental movements.

The children used natural materials to make pictures of the positive futures they would like to see, featuring water-powered cars, solar panels, communities that grow their own food, and lots of trees.

Later in the week everyone had a chance to experience a colourful and exciting outdoor performance through the joy and wonder of storytelling, circus and connecting with nature. As the audience arrive at the forest, they are met by Flow, the forest dreamer, and Jay, the planter of oak trees, who introduce them to all the plants and animals living there.

However, as the story unfolds, Flow starts finding black bags in the forest, which represent real environmental problems, and becomes weighed down with anxiety and despair. Jay and the audience must seek help from Anam the Dreamweaver.

Anam empowers people to make their dreams a reality, and weaves the children’s dreams into a bright cloth representing collective action.

At first Flow cannot see the colours, but Anam helps Flow understand that what is needed is a new perspective, to use our imagination to find new ways of thinking and doing. Flow learns how to live with her climate worries and manage these complex emotions: by working with others to take climate action; and by remembering to notice the natural beauty that exists all around us.

The performance ends with a ceremony in which everyone has a chance for their dreams to be heard, the first step towards living in a kinder way for all who share this planet. 

Thanks to our fundraising efforts, the work with schools and an additional public performance were supported by The Waterfall Fund, Argyll and Bute Council Supporting Communities Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund and partners An Tobar and Mull Theatre, Forestry and Land Scotland, Mull & Iona Community Trust and South West Mull & Iona Development. 

We need to change the pattern, to see things from a different perspective.  How do you imagine a positive future here on our islands?  What one action could you start taking for our shared environment and communities?

Photos by Ranger Service and Rowanbank staff and volunteers