Castlebay High School Interns Drive Engaged Environmental Science Project

Local heroes - Robbie Campbell, Lily Scott and Charlie Beaton have spend the past two weeks working alongside academic staff, researchers and undergraduate students as part of the Muir Is Tir project - their objective to map seagrass habitats around the Castlebay area. Here, our wonderful partners outline what the summer internship experiences have meant to them.

Robbie explained: "While learning about seagrass and realizing how much of it we have around Barra, I was also able to use some of my prior knowledge of the local waters to guide the rest of the team to show them suitable local sea areas and marine life. Growing up on Barra, I have been diving for shellfish and selling it for pocket money, gaining a wealth of knowledge about our rich marine environment."

Lily added: "My strong sense of place and community has shaped my interest in our local environment and give me a better understanding of its true value. My growing concerns are that we maintain these local habitats - and these past weeks have shown me just how extensive and wonderful our local seagrass meadows are here in Barra."

Charlie summed-up: "Being involved in this project has shown me the value of community action and Robbie, Lily and myself have been able to support the Muir Is Tir project through our local knowledge and networks. I hope the young people of Barra will continue this legacy and take up the opportunities that are offered - we've had so much fun and gained new skills and confidence in the process."

Our thanks again to Barra High School and Monica Macleod in particular for supporting these opportunities.