12th-19th May 2010



The Arran Natural History Society Wildlife Festival

 The Arran Natural History Society is formed for the purposes of encouraging the study of local Natural History, Geology, Meteorology, Archaeology and cognate subjects. This will be done via talks, guided walks and workshops.

A sub group of the Arran Natural History Society will contribute to these purposes through a week long Wildlife Festival to be held in May.

The Purpose of the Arran Wildlife Festival
Underpinning the purpose of the festival are the principles of conservation and education. The festival has as its target audience locals as well as visitors.

To this end, the purpose of the festival is to foster a greater awareness, appreciation and understanding of the local wildlife through a focus on education and conservation. The festival provides this focus through events that are informative, fun and appealing to a wide range of backgrounds, ages and interests, including local children.

At present Arran has a wealth of wildlife and at the same time is one of the most accessible islands on Scotland's west coast, under an hour from the mainland and less than two hours from Glasgow. The purpose of the festival therefore includes meeting this challenge of celebrating Arran's special wildlife and promoting the island as a unique wildlife destination in a responsible way that conserves the wildlife for future generations.

The Aims of the Arran Wildlife Festival
Within this purpose, the main aims are to:

  • Raise awareness about the wildlife on Arran.
  • Increase appreciation of our natural heritage including the relationship between the wildlife, the habitats of Arran and its geology.
  • Encourage responsible wildlife watching through the development of appropriate skills.
  • Increase understanding of the need to collect data as the basis for advice on wildlife management
  • Encourage sustainable “ecotourism” which supports the purpose of the festival
  • Support and work in partnership with local, national and international organisations that share our purpose.