Scotland’s Argyll Coast and Islands were declared a Hope Spot in June 2019– the first in mainland United Kingdom – by international non profit Mission Blue. Hope Spots are nominated by local communities for the importance of their ecosystems and species. They include the Great Barrier Reef, the Galapagos Islands and Ascension Island.
Four community organisation, (Friends of the Sound of Jura, CAOLAS, CROMACH and Save Seil Sound) all members of the Coastal Communities Network, collaborated to achieve the designation of the first Mission Blue Hope Spot in the mainland United Kingdom.
Their aim was to shed light on the immense beauty, rich history and vibrant life along the Argyll’s West Coast and to raise community awareness of the need to celebrate and encourage protection of Scotland’s unique marine ecosystems.
The Hope Spot covers a number of protected areas, including the Loch Sunart to Sound of Jura MPA, Loch Sween MPA, Firth of Lorn SAC, Loch Creran MPA and SAC and Loch Sunart MPA & SAC, It is one of the most biologically diverse marine environments in Scotland and the UK, and this new Hope Spot joins an impressive and growing list of Hope Spots around the world.
For generations Argyll’s sea has sustained its coastal communities but these resources are under great pressure. The Hope Spot shows what is possible when people who live by the sea look after it sustainably, for everyone’s future benefit.
facilitates a structured educational programme in primary schools within the area.
There are 21 primary schools on the Argyll Hope Spot coastline, with 16 others further inland. We aim to help pupils explore what lives in the sea near their homes. This is achieved via six modular lessons divided between the classroom , the shore and the sea using the educational materials designed and commissioned for this project.
These are the waters nearest to our homes, where we live and work, and which we know and love. It is up to us all to decide the future of our local seas.
Organises an artists residential snorkelling course enabling them to work on and exhibit marine themes to help promote the beauty and diversity of our coastal waters. Friends of the Sound of Jura believes that people should know what lives in the sea near their homes and why that matters. It is hard for most of us to see marine wildlife, so this project aims to train artists to draw underwater and to share their experience.
FOSOJ has partnered with Carna Conservation initiative (carnaconservation.org) to offer the Carna Hope Week. Carna Island lies in Loch Sunart. The first Carna Hope Week offered a full and immersive week for a group of local students aged 15-18 to find hope, enthusiasm and curiosity through nature. They learned and applied scientific skills that have positive environmental impact, giving them inspiration to shape their opportunities and their destiny.
Mission Blue Hope Spots are a catalyst to greater understanding, appreciation and protection of our marine environment, and they have a global reach. By highlighting Argyll’s world-class marine life, Scotland’s first Hope Spot will increase the area’s appeal to visitors, benefiting local businesses, including sustainable fishermen.
Collectively, Hope Spots can help to protect and restore marine biodiversity on a local, regional, national and international scale.
