The Arranology Project is a new initiative that has evolved through the collaboration between several of the island’s community organisations and ‘–ology’ experts. It brings together their knowledge and love for the different aspects of the island‘s natural and social history – geology, archaeology and ecology, in an accessible form for both visitors and residents. Stuart Blake from the Lochranza Centre and Arran Geopark project tells us more below…
The Arranology Project involves the production of three short promotional video’s, each of which is around 5 minutes duration. The aim is to inspire both visitors and residents alike and entice them to visit some of the numerous sites of interest located in all four areas of the island.
The video’s will be themed on the three “ologies”, geology, archaeology and ecology and will be filmed by three separate film crews, two of which are from Arran – Edward O’Donnelly and Chris Atkins and one from the mainland, Douglas Simpson of “Fullcoursetrails”. Each crew will be supported by local experts who wish in a few words to say what is so special about Arran. The films, which, offer a “taster”, basically cover “what we have of interest” and “where it is to be found”.
Some of the filming has already begun on the ecology video, taking advantage of the good weather and the fact that the Red deer, in early April, were still in possession of their antlers! The archaeologists have also been around the Island, consulting with the Heritage museum and other local experts, whilst the geologists have written scripts and earmarked various sites of note, ready for filming from now until early May.
The whole project is due to finish by mid- June when it is hoped that we will have managed to create three videos which can be downloaded or streamed free of charge from the Arran Geopark website or viewed at the various visitor interpretation centres located around the island.
It should also be noted that without the financial support and backing from The Arran Trust, Highlands & Islands Enterprise, Arran Access Trust, together with local voluntary input from staff representing the National Trust for Scotland, Coast, Eco-Savvy, Arran Heritage Museum, Lochranza Centre CIC, Lucy Wallace, Otterstail, Visit Arran together with a great many other individuals, this project would not have got off the ground.
At a time of difficulty for many, it is nice to have a collaborative project to work on which hopefully will bring interest and pleasure to participants and viewers alike.
