Let’s take a look at what our North Coast team, Sarah and Louise, have been up to so far in 2025.
Bettyhill Bumblebee Emergency
Farr Glebe meadow at Bettyhill has long been a stronghold for the Great Yellow bumblebee, but in 2024 the local rabbit population rocketed, and the wildflowers were eaten off, leaving nothing for the bees to feed from. It is hoped that the Great Yellow has managed to cling on in local gardens, but its continued presence in Bettyhill is precarious. Rabbit fencing has been installed at the meadow over the winter, and more coordinated action is now needed to help ensure the survival of Bettyhill’s special bumblebees. In the face of this need for action, in February we coordinated a public meeting to discuss the Bettyhill Bumblebee Emergency. We had an enthusiastic turnout for the meeting, resulting in all kind of commitments to action from setting up BeeWalk survey routes to improving gardens for pollinators and providing landowner advice.
Plantain leaf beetle training in Orkney
March saw us make the trip across the Pentland Firth with a group of intrepid volunteers to spend the day learning about the plantain leaf beetle with our colleagues at Buglife and RSPB. We were delighted to see this beautiful beetle in its natural habitat at Yesnaby in Orkney. The experts at Buglife reckon this striking beetle could be present on the north coast too, despite a lack of records, so between the Species on the Edge team and volunteers we’re systematically searching areas of suitable habitat from Kinlochbervie all the way round to Latheron. If you spot one, please let us know!
Caithness Nature Relaxation Film
People Engagement Officer, Louise, has been working with Iain Black of Flow North Yoga and Wellbeing in Thurso to produce a short Caithness nature relaxation film featuring some of our wonderful community green spaces, including Dunnet Community Forest, RSPB Forsinard Flows, and Thurso Community Gardens. Editing the film was completed over winter, and Iain and Louise are now ready to visit community groups in Caithness with the film, offering a supporting workshop to help participants make the most of the wellbeing benefits associated with connecting to nature. If you have a group of adults who would like to take part in a workshop, please contact louise.senior@plantlife.org.uk.
Creative evaluation
The north coast Species on the Edge area is excited to be piloting a new and creative approach to evaluation. With the support of our external evaluation team, we have appointed artists, Laura O’Kane and Sinéad Hargan to produce an abstract film installation work that reflects on the motivations that inspire individuals to work on behalf of Small Blue butterflies in Caithness. Over the coming months, the artists will be collecting field notes, photographs, film and audio recordings at Small Blue butterfly-focussed events and activities. An online portal and physical drop-off point will be created to allow individuals involved in the work to contribute their thoughts anonymously and in a variety of creative formats. Their final piece, which is due for completion in September 2025, will weave together community reflections, gathered materials, and artefacts created by the artists inspired by their site visits.
Conservation comic book
Finally, we are just about to begin a project working with Scrabster-based illustrator Aimee Lockwood to create a conservation comic book for the entire north coast. Comics are a popular tool to communicate science. Combining the benefits of visualisation with character-driven narratives, comics have the potential to make scientific subjects more accessible and engaging for a wider audience. Our idea for this project is to tell the story of key north coast species, including how people can help to protect them. Local stakeholders will be involved in defining the scope of our comic book, and we will run workshops with communities and schools across the north coast to gather local people’s thoughts through creative activities such as zine making, comic character creation, drop-in craft sessions, species illustration and walking sketch tours. We hope to have the comic book printed and ready for distribution by late spring or early summer of 2026.
Survey season is go!
And if all that wasn’t enough, we’re heading into our busy survey season with an ever-expanding number of volunteers. If you’re interested in volunteering to support our survey work with any of our species, please contact louise.senior@plantlife.org.uk.
To keep up to date with all that we’ve got going on in the North Coast and to receive notifications of new events and opportunities, sign up to the Species on the Edge mailing list, keep an eye on the Species on the Edge social media channels, or get in touch with Louise.
