Authors: Stuart Hatt and Stuart Fraser
Hello again! Previously we shared our diary of part of our research trip for the Corncrake Calling project, which was spent on the beautiful Skye and Uist back in late May/early June. We had spoken about the goings on on Skye, meeting with a diverse crew of farmers, crofters and corncrake experts (you can read about that here: [Part 1]. Before talking about our first steps on the island of Uist, we just wanted to give a quick update on the status of the project. We are due to begin our project kick-offs with all the fantastic schools that have enthusiastically agreed to take part on the project over the next couple of weeks. Both Stuart H and I, along with the RSPB Scotland project team, have been working away in the background putting together a dossier of education material (partly in thanks to our many cohorts we met on Skye and Uist) and are excitedly looking forward to getting the creative process underway!
Anyway, without further ado…
Tuesday 1600 hours
After a delightfully uneventful ferry crossing, we planted our feet for the first time on the island of Uist. We arrived in Lochmaddy to a slightly more overcast sky, which didn’t detract in the slightest from the beauty of the island. We saw an owl swoop over the road among a LOAD of other birds, Uist seems teeming with birdlife!
Tuesday 2300 hours
Mainly a day for settling into our surroundings and checking out the island. Finally hunkered down in our amazing, brand new pods at the Creel Yard on Grimsay, got dinner in Charlie’s Bistro – amazing wee place, 1st class repast! Off to sleep ready for a big day of meetings tomorrow.
Wednesday 0800 hours
A busy day lies ahead, lots of places to see and folk to meet! Starting off with a meeting with Claire and Martyn from RSPB Scotland just off the causeway. Wonder what we’ll learn?
Wednesday 1100 hours
Turns out quite a lot! A good long chat with Claire Bird (could that be more apt?) and Martyn Jamieson about birds and crofting. It was interesting to get a varied perspective, with Martyn being a long serving Islander and Claire being a relatively new arrival. We learned about the corncrake surveys that they were undertaking and the difficulties they have in locating these elusive wee rascals. Did you know they use their surroundings, as well as cars, sheds and other man-made structures, to bounce and amplify their call? Is that one bird or two?!
Wednesday 1300 hours
After meeting with Claire and Martyn, we took the road down to Aird for a really interesting chat with 87-year-old crofter Roddie ‘Red-Tie’ MacDonald, his daughter Gretta and her husband Callum. Roddie is a classic example of a crofter – he took care of is land for decades alongside working other jobs, an absolute workhorse of a man. He’d finish his ‘day job’ at the post office, grab a sandwich and head out to the field to work till dark, he year-round. For decades Roddie worked his land allowing him to subsidise his income but for him and his family it’s about more than that. Working with the land is part of their tradition and passing that knowledge on is obviously important to them. They fear for how crofts may be sold off in the future, weakening the knowledge being passed down through the generations. For Roddie though, even though he isn’t as fit as he once was, his daughter, son-in-law and eventually his grandson will ensure his legacy continues at least for a couple of generations more.
Wednesday 1600 hours
We thought we would mix things up a little here and seek a different perspective on Island life and took the short drive down to Nunton Steadings where we met with Kate from the North Uist Distillery Company. Kate and her partner Jonny are both island natives, both returning to the island after university and opting to set up shop, creating the first (legal) distillery on the island. Gin is the product of the moment, but whisky production is on the horizon, using the local bare barley grown by neighbours and utilising the waste for cow feed, making a circular, clean, sustainable model. Brilliant to chat with Kate about her memories of living on the island, hearing corncrakes and getting a younger view on the crofting culture on Uist. We also HAD to hit the gift shop and pick up some gin, for research of course…
Wednesday 2200 hours
Our last meet of the day was up in Balranald with Anne MacLellan. Wow, did she have a vast amount of experience! Not only a crofter, running the Balranald campsite, she was also a biodiversity officer for 12 years. Whilst chatting with Anne, we heard several calling male corncrakes all around. I’m sure this must get old for some, but we were still in awe of the sound. Anne owns several crofts and is another example of someone keen to make them work in the modern age. Running her campsite alongside more traditional crofts she has found a route that works for her and her family. While some of her neighbours seek descendants to take over their crofts, Anne doesn’t have to worry – her son was gifted sheep for his birthday and cannot wait to take over any crofts she’ll let him loose on! It’s this sort of family support and legacy that is important to many crofters and those without are sometimes concerned about the future of their croft.
Finally, we took the short drive up to Berneray, where the promise of seeing the seals did not disappoint! The dinner at the Berneray Bistro hit the mark perfectly and back to the Creel Yard for a bit of Gin sampling. Long day must hit the sack!
Thursday 0730 hours
After the best night's sleep in a long while, we were hit with the realisation that this was our final day on Uist. No meetings scheduled so we plan to do a bit of exploration. Heading off to visit some of the freshwater lochs on South Uist, one being on the RSPB reserve, wonder what we will get to see?!
Thursday 1400 hours
Sitting in the queue waiting to board the ferry back home, we recount what we have learned on our trip about the island life, crofting, farming, climate, sustainability and the corncrake. It has been an eye-opening journey, one which we are sure will help us in the long run on the project.
We got such a great understanding of the troubles that these lovely little birds face as well as the problems facing the Crofting way of life. While often at odds with each other, Crofting and the Corncrake's fates certainly do feel like they’re linked in some ways. Keep up with the project with our Instagram @corncrake_co_design to see photos of our trip and all the things to come.
Thanks,
SF+SH
Check back soon to find out how the Stuarts get on with the co-design programme in schools in coming weeks...