August has been a busy month here on Canna. We welcomed WTArchitects to the island to do the first of the community engagement workshops to launch our Coroghan Barn Project Development. The visit also gave Wil, Tamsin and the team the opportunity to meet the community, survey the barn and learn all about Canna.
Phil Long, NTS CEO and his wife, Annie, visited Canna to meet with the community, have a tour of the Canna House Project and attend various meetings.
The community were also given a tour of Canna House to see the progress so far on the project. The building is transforming and there was much astonishment as to the work being carried out there. Many thanks to Indi, Glyn Young and John Angus Morrison for showing us around.
Nathan, our Canna House Gardener, gave a community propagation workshop. He explained the uses and techniques of propagation then we went into the Canna House garden and chose various plants that we wanted to use. At the polytunnel, Nathan showed us how to cut the stems and plant them in trays with coconut based soil and root powder. Many thanks to Nathan for taking the time and sharing his expertise…..hopefully we will all have some great plants for our gardens very soon!
We have a new-ish crew working down at the pier now with Nathan as Acting Harbour Master with Murdo and myself as Linesmen (I’d prefer we were called Linesperson but I’m guessing terminology hasn’t quite caught up yet!). Jane has also been trained as a Linesman to provide cover along with Gerry and Caroline and the team is working well together.
Bob Swann and his team from the Highland Ringing Group have been out to Canna carrying out bird survey work. It is the longest running seabird project conducted by amateurs anywhere in the world and it started in 1969. With the outbreak of Avian Flu, Bob and the team had slight trepidation about what they would find here on Canna. Great Skua have been badly affected with numbers dropping from 15 breeding pairs in 2022 to only 6 in 2023. The Guillemot ledges are also looking very empty. Most worrisome is the Fulmar numbers which in 1995 were at a peak of 653 pairs; in 2023, the team only counted only 19 pairs of which none had managed to raise a chick. This is the first total failure ever recorded in their survey since it began all those years ago. Bob thinks there are a number of factors causing this decline in Fulmar numbers from a reduction in food in the form of discards from boats, predation from White Tailed Eagles to high mortality rates from long-line fishing in the North Atlantic, and of course, avian flu.
There is some good news however! Shags, Kittiwakes and Herring Gull numbers continue to steadily rise and the Puffins are in a healthy state. The Puffins made good their escape at the end of the season unscathed.
We are getting excited about our Beach Clean event as part of the Highland Climate Festival on Saturday 30th September. In preparation for the event, this week saw residents and visitors alike come together to make decorations for the Shearing Shed using marine litter, plastics, cardboard and various other art materials. Everyone enjoyed spending an afternoon using their imaginations, working with their hands, creating sea creatures and chatting. Thank you to Vicki and Aileen for organising and there will be a few more over the coming weeks so if you are on Canna and fancy doing making something, come along and get creative!
Last month we also said goodbye to Donald and Fiona who have moved onto pastures new on the mainland. I asked Fiona to write a bit about her time here on Canna and this is what she said:
“Living and working on Canna for over 8 years has been an adventure, a long one, longer than most people manage. The view from my doorstep at The Square of St Edwards on Sanday, is imprinted in my brain and the last thing I see in my mind when I go to sleep at night.
Canna ‘affects’ people in different ways . Some are in nervous awe of the beauty or fragile way of life and enjoy a chapter of their life “living the dream” before retreating to what they describe as a ‘normal life’! Others, like us, embrace it, immersing ourselves in all aspects of island life and personality . The vagaries of the weather, ferry tales, family disruption, being ‘prepared’, healthcare, learning about ourselves, what makes it all tick. But eventually the pull of family becomes more insistent, particularly after the last few Covid years and very sad decisions have to be made.
Being particularly connected to Canna House, I have personally learned a huge amount professionally, which I take away with me. Margaret and John Campbell and their lives are now a part of my life and not living on Canna, does not mean that they are in my past . Indeed I have more time and ‘brain space’ to fully appreciate, enjoy and learn from them now. I am now writing a biography of Margaret, in a way even further strengthening my ties to the island. My own personal favourite space on Canna is John Campbell’s wood, where he is buried. The peace and tranquillity of the wood, walking with the dogs, no man made noise, only the blackbird in the bushes and the tree tops and distant sheep on the crags. That’s my space. You can take the girl out of Canna but you can’t Canna out of the girl. I’ll be back.”
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