A new comic celebrating the wildlife of Scotland’s north coast is now available to borrow from schools and libraries across the region, following its launch at Thurso Library last month. The comic is a collaboration between conservation programme Species on the Edge, communities from across the area, and local artist Aimee Lockwood.
The comic can also be viewed digitally on the Species on the Edge website: www.speciesontheedge.co.uk/species-on-the-edge-conservation-comic
The North Coast Species on the Edge comic was conceived as a collaborative community project. Artist Aimee Lockwood led community workshops across the north coast throughout summer 2025, where participants shared the wildlife stories that mattered most to them and highlighted the flora and fauna that they wanted to celebrate and protect. Their contributions are woven through the comic alongside Aimee’s own illustrations.
The driving theme throughout the comic is that whilst the north coast is home to many well-known and charismatic species – from puffin to orca – it is also home to many more underappreciated or even misunderstood species that deserve our attention and protection. Aimee’s illustrations highlight a selection of these special species and describe the work that local groups and organisations are carrying out to help protect them.
The comic was officially unveiled at a launch event at Thurso library in September, where guests enjoyed a question-and-answer session with the team behind the comic, hands-on creative activities, and treats from The Printer’s Rest, before receiving their own copy to take home.
Louise Senior, People Engagement Officer for Species on the Edge, says: ‘The comic project was designed to bring together diverse narratives relating to conservation across the north coast, from Durness to Dunnet. Different people in different places were telling me stories about different species, but it seemed to me that underlying this variety was a unifying message about the value of our unique north coast biodiversity and about the determination of local efforts to protect it. Our comic tells this story.’
Aimee Lockwood said: ‘Comics aren’t just for kids. Visual storytelling can translate complex topics into a fun and relatable format that many people find easier to digest than a lengthy monologue. In this comic, we’re grappling with potentially contentious conservation problems, but, by adding colour and humour and using north coast settings, we’re bringing those issues into focus and making them locally relevant.’
Notes
Species on the Edge is a multi-partner species conservation programme dedicated to working with communities across Scotland’s coasts and islands to help them secure a future for their local vulnerable and threatened wildlife. Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the partnership consists of Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, Bat Conservation Trust, Buglife, Bumblebee Conservation Trust, Butterfly Conservation, NatureScot, Plantlife, and RSPB Scotland. The programme is active across seven landscape-scale areas in Scotland: Argyll and the Inner Hebrides; Outer Hebrides; North Coast; Orkney; Shetland; East Coast; Solway Coast.
Aimee Lockwood is an illustrator, small press comic maker and creative workshop facilitator currently based in Caithness. She creates colourful artwork inspired by folklore, conservation, literature and the natural world.
