Greening
up
There are moments at Lochranza when the freshness of the
air, the beauty of the place and the absence of traffic noise can make you feel
that you are in a new world at the dawn of time.Turn on the TV though and any
news relating to human impacts on our planet tends to be bleak. However, one
positive statistic I came across was that on one windy day last summer Scottish
wind turbines generated more electricity than was used. Another change-for-the-better
I’ve noticed is a result of the ban on free plastic carrier bags; trees in
winter festooned in out-of-reach tattered plastic is a sad sight but one I’ve
seen less of lately. Unfortunately, there seems no end in sight to the daily
washing up of plastic tidelines on beaches everywhere- not just unsightly but
deadly to marine life.
With these issues in mind we
joined the Green Tourism business scheme in 2016 which “means that a business
works responsibly, ethically and sustainably, contributes to their community,
is reducing their impact on the environment and aims to be accessible and inclusive
to all visitors and staff. Green Tourism is the market leading sustainable
certification programme for the international tourism sector”. When we arrived on Arran seven years
ago one of the first island principles that we grasped was that you should not
throw anything away because you never know when it would come in useful. In
fact, last Autumn, Nigel was able to build an entire shed out of reclaimed materials
that we had on site, so it all cost nothing. Meanwhile, a friend of ours at Lochranza
Field Centre has been raiding the bins regularly for discarded two- litre
plastic drinks bottles which he fills with sand and uses as ballast in his sailing
boat.
North Ayrshire Council was the second highest recycling performer
in 2016 in Scotland, and is working towards the target of Zero Waste but, on Arran,
to reuse or reduce rather than to recycle is important because all waste is
shipped daily off the island, which contributes significantly to the island’s
carbon footprint. Good news on the waste front is that Arran Eco-Savvy and the
Arran Community Land Initiative (both based at Whiting Bay) have been
successful in applications to the Climate Challenge Fund and granted amounts up
to £115,000. Eco-Savvy plans to create an island-wide network of reuse and
up-cycling sites, ‘Arran Eco-Savvy Reuse Micro-hubs’, whilst the Arran
Community Land’s ‘Arran Fabulous Community Food’ project aims to increase the
amount of food grown locally. Both initiatives will support carbon reduction on
the island.
We can all do our bit. If you have undamaged camping gear
you can leave it with us and we can make it available to visitors who have lost
or forgotten camping items. You can also donate items to the Arcas shop at the
Pier at Brodick which raises a lot of money for cancer charities each year. If
you have unused food which others might appreciate, you can leave it in
Basecamp, clearly labelled that it’s available for use.
If you’re interested in knowing more about Arran and green
issues, have a look at these links:-
https://www.facebook.com/TheBayKitchenStores/
(organic
produce, local produce, eco-friendly products)
Oh! And last one out turn the lights off please!
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