Hot on the heels of this year’s success, the Isle of Arran Wildlife Festivalcommittee is holding a public meeting at the Ormidale Pavilio on Tuesday 15th, 7.30 PM.  This will be an opportunity to find out more about the festival and to have a say in how the festival is run in future. 

Over the last three years, the Arran Wildlife Festival has grown in stature. The festival has as its target audience locals as well as visitors.

The purpose of the festival is to foster a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of the local wildlife through a focus on education and conservation. The festival provides this through events that are informative, fun and appealing to a wide range of backgrounds, ages and interests, including local children.

This year during the festival in May, Blackie the Black Grouse toured all the islands primary schools and through puppets and dancing games raised the awareness of the history of the Black Grouse and the ongoing conservation project to re-introduce Black Grouse onto Arran.

 Over the eight days of the festival, there were many activities including guided walks, fun workshops, presentations and films about wildlife, hosted by local experts and national specialists. This year there were over 60 events, most of which were fully booked.  A survey revealed that half of all participants said that the festival influenced their decision to come to Arran.  As fifty six percent of these came for a week or more, there can be no doubt that the island’s economy has benefited! 

A number of island businesses have been involved this year- with hotels and restaurants hosting events and activity providers offering wildlife watching sea kayaking and boat trips. However- it wasn’t just the businesses directly involved that benefited- many other establishments were named by participants as places they visited before or after events.

This year, the wildlife festival raised £400 for conservation, from donations and visitor contributions. The organisers are seeking ideas for a suitable project to receive the funds.

 Kate Sampson, Senior Ranger at Brodick Country Park, and member of the organising committee said: “We are delighted that festival visitors have been able to put something back into conservation on Arran and we are looking forward to hearing ideas that will benefit Arran’s wildlife in a tangible way.  This could be an island cleanup, purchase of litter picking equipment, or even a project to remove an invasive species from an area where it is causing problems. There are always lots of ways that funds can be spent on conservation- but it would be nice to come up with a distinct project for the festival to fund”

The present Organising Committee Chairman, Jim Cassels, was upbeat about the future. ”There is no doubt in my mind that the Arran Wildlife Festival is a worthwhile event but for it to continue it needs the support of the people of Arran.” 

To find out more about the festival and how you could help please come along to the public meeting in the Ormidale Pavilion on Tuesday 15th July at 7.30 PM. The meeting is for anyone who has an interest in wildlife or tourism on Arran. 

Lucy Wallace, Local Co-ordinator Arran Wildlife Festival