Paperboats Scottish Parliament Action

Highlights from the Scottish Parliament Climate Action 23rd November, 2023. Featured image shows Kathleen Jamie (left) setting sail a paperboat. Credit: Paperboat collective On a bright blustery morning people gathered from across Edinburgh and Scotland, outside the Scottish Parliament for the Paperboats campaign. In the run up to COP28, writers and activists from the collective joined …

Speak up for Nature

The Scottish Government’s consultation on Biodiversity, which was launched in September and reported in the Voice for Arran in October, is coming to a close next month. If you haven’t already taken part, there is still time to add your voice. The following is an article by Bruce Wilson, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Scottish …

Winter Solstice with the Pioneer Project

Cordon Community Garden Winter Solstice Gathering On Sunday 17th December, join us for a range of Winter Solstice activities at the Cordon Community Garden in Lamlash. We will be at the garden from 12 noon. Activities will include: • Solstice fire • Willow crafts • Wreath Making • Mulled Wine (+ non alcohol mulled drinks) …

Peace on Earth?

By Peter Finlay. Featured image shows a recent scene of bombing in Gaza. I am going to go back to my little robin – the one I wrote about in April. He came to me then to help me heal from a kind of personal assault I had experienced. He came again a few days …

Poem for December

  Poem No. X: Butterfly A shred of torn wallpaper calls a dying butterfly to mind. It is a secret mouth in touch with the other world. One day, I see a dying butterfly, examining my beard in the mirror. The butterfly with drooping wings drinks dewdrops curdled in a warm breath. If I die …

Notes from The Arran Naturalist

For this issue of the Voice, we have selected a piece from The Arran Naturalist, No. 9. A section on a shorebird count that took place in January 1985. The survey of Arran’s coast and birdlife was part of a larger survey of Britain’s coastline, organised by the British Trust for Ornithology. It is interesting …

Birds in November

Among the birds spotted on Arran over the last month, are Waxwing and Little Egret. Sightings of Waxwing have come with the arrival of an irruption in Scotland, as reported in the mainstream news.: A bumper number of waxwing sightings is being reported across Scotland this winter. Waxwings are annual visitors from Scandinavia but they …

Arran Natural History Society meeting

Dragonflies of Scotland The next Arran Natural History Society meeting will be the first online gathering of the autumn/winter season of talks. In ‘Dragonflies of Scotland’, Danièle Muir of the British Dragonfly Society (BDS) will introduce the ecology of these beautiful insects plus some tips on identification. Danièle is the Scottish Conservation Officer of the …

Peterhead expansion plan would worsen Scotland’s biggest climate polluter

From a Friends of the Earth Scotland press release, 14th November 2023. Featured image shows Peterhead Power Station. In February 2022, energy giant SSE and the fossil fuel company Equinor submitted a planning application to the Scottish Government to build a new and additional gas-fired plant next to the existing gas-fired plant at Peterhead power …

Eco Savvy’s December news

Arran Eco Savvy has lots of things planned over the weeks to come, including a special sustainable Christmas in the Whiting Bay shop. Read on to hear from Eco Savvy’s shop manager Nikki, who explains the great reasons to buy pre-loved and eco products, for a green and gorgeous Christmas! Nikki writes: There are lots …