Islay Natural History Trust is Springing into Nature
We are very pleased to
be able to open the Islay Natural History Trusts Visitor Centre in April this
year, with the doors opening from Easter Monday with a new, simpler name - the
Islay Nature Centre. It is true we have changed the name of the centre a few
times over the years, with some still calling it the Field Centre, and from
there it has merged into a few formats in an effort to summarise in a title
what we offer, as so many are often put off by our little door which
unbeknownst to them, leads into a vast area of wildlife exploration and
information. So come Easter Monday all
will be go, with tanks and creatures, tadpoles and bugs, and a plethora of information
boards and displays. Please come and visit over the Easter holidays and
throughout the summer for information, excitement and activities for all ages.
We will need some help
collecting creatures to fill the tanks, so if you fancy giving us a hand we will be
down at Port Mor on Monday (2pm) rockpooling, with some of our catch making
its way to the centre tanks - all welcome.
I am always keen to pay the beaches back for what they provide and so on Sunday 8th April we will be undertaking a beach clean with the help of what was 'Rejig' on Kilchoman Beach (Machir Bay) at 2pm. Everyone is invited to come along and help out, for as long as you can manage or if you are just going for a walk come back with just 3 items of rubbish! Every little helps and with so many of you enjoying a walk on a beach a few items removed each time makes a big difference.
Let us know what wildlife
you are seeing around the island and we will put it up on our boards and record
it in our sightings. The skylarks are
singing, the curlews are 'cerlewing' over the moor, and lapwings are combat
dancing in the air and peewitting for a mate, scraping a nest in a damp corner
of a field. We await the first of the
summer migrants and the departing of the winter visitors. A few warmer days and the frogs are out on
the roads heading for a pond, and the cold wet chill of winter will hopefully
be a distant memory. We look forward to seeing you all at some point through
the season, either in the centre or on the many activities over the summer.
Fiona MacG
