A delicate area of grassland on an iconic island beach is to be protected from sheep as a community group takes steps to conserve the rare habitat.
The machair, a unique sandy grassland at Calgary Bay on the isle of Mull, should be a riot of wild flowers, bees, butterflies and birds during the summer months.
But the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is currently in a state of decline as a result of overgrazing.
Landowner Argyll and Bute Council has agreed to lease the ground to Friends of Calgary Bay so that the group can fence off the sensitive area, keeping livestock away for four months of the year and giving the machair a chance to replenish.
Jan Dunlop, countryside ranger manager for Mull and Iona, provides support to Friends of Calgary Bay. She said: “We have seen how bad the machair has been getting and the council does not have the money or the staff to do anything about it. The locals feel very passionate about it and in order for us to do something, we have to lease it.
“We have got a Just Giving page to pay for the fencing. Hopefully by June we will have a fence up. It is not to keep the sheep off the machair totally, it is just to keep them off for four months and let it have a rest, to give the flowers a chance.”
She stressed: “Once the fences are up we will put gates in. We are not keeping people out, we are just trying to regulate the sheep. We do need the sheep to munch there some of the time.”
The group needs to raise £12,000 to pay for the fencing and in total more than £4,500 has been donated to date on the Just Giving page.
Mull-based Councillor Mary Jean Devon brought the issue to a recent meeting of Oban Lorn and the Isles area committee. She said that if the group of councillors were unanimous in their support for the lease, it could be fast-tracked. The area committee agreed to back the plan.
Councillor Devon said: “I think it is vital to protect the machair. Calgary Bay is important part of Mull’s history. That is where the ships sailed to Canada from.
“The big city of Calgary in Canada is named after that small bay.
“We were left it as a legacy, it is our duty to leave it to other people.”
A council spokesman said: “At its meeting members of the Oban Lorn and the Isles Area Committee expressed support in principle for the Friends of Calgary Bay who have approached the council to see if it can maintain the site and erect fencing. Community involvement in the upkeep of our areas is welcomed and we will be discussing with the group how this can best be done in Calgary Bay.”
