Consultation process
NANN - Arran Locality4. How can the North Ayrshire Nature Network (NANN) provide local opportunities for education and green skills development?
For example:
- could the NANN provide an outdoor learning experience for school children, young people and our wider communities?
- how could the NANN be used to develop green skills like wildlife tourism, land management, ecologists, countryside rangers?
We could do with supported nature stewardship roles for enhancing people's connection to nature and developing islanders' skills to protecting it. A Rural Skills Hub for developing better island climate resilience; from improving food security with a chance to learn and try out regenerative agricultural techniques and crops to trialling more sustainable building materials.
Arran has for a long time needed a ranger service to engage with visitors, encourage youngsters to enjoy, protect and respect nature and assist with improving access to the countryside. This would be a positive development for the island as a whole
Yes please - we need a nature audit of our area. Local people know a lot about what is here already, we need to share and enhance that expertise so that our place can receive the respect it deserves, and we can work to further augment and record that knowledge.
We have scope for the creation of a Rural Skills Centre - we look at what is happening at Dumfries House with traditional craft skills courses, and wonder if that could happen here too? We could teach people traditional skills - scything, haymaking, using timber to build structures etc etc Creation of wildflower meadows, wildlife ponds etc. Look at how to manage coastal erosion. We are a key area for rare species of bumblebee - how can we enhance the habitat to encourage more of these insects, and other important wildlife?
Tourism is really important on Arran - how can we work with visitors, businesses and landowners to ensure it remains sustainable and successful?
A fully funded NANN Ranger could work with communities to build up the biodiversity in the designated areas, ensure walking routes are maintained, run nature workshops and have an action plan to try and control invasive species.
Need for countryside rangers - vital to manage the environment and help develop eco / wildlife tourism
Support existing projects, and advertise educational opportunities in the Banner.
engage with young people (youth forum, future outdoors) and communities
lots on arran already (rangers, woodland trust) engage with schools, community, sharing
this would be good to do. engaging with schools
engage with school, planting, farming etc