Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Calgary machair will bloom again

Post Thumbnail

The machair at an iconic island beach will be returned to its former glory this summer thanks to the local community.

Fencing is to be erected around the delicate area of grassland at Calgary Bay on Mull to keep the sheep off.

This will allow the unique sandy grassland to once again become a riot of wild flowers, bees, butterflies and birds during the summer months.

The Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is currently in a state of decline as a result of overgrazing.

But now a community group has raised £6,400 to fence the area off and keep it protected for four months.

Landowner Argyll and Bute Council has agreed to lease the ground to Friends of Calgary Bay, so that they can keep livestock away, giving the machair a chance to replenish.

Jan Dunlop said: “We have got £6,400 including gift aid and some donations are still coming in. We have ordered the fencing material, we have got a contractor, so hopefully by June we will have the fences up.

“We will have a grazing agreement, which will be flexible. For a three to four month period there will be no sheep during the summer in the area we have fenced.

“After that we will open up the gate and the sheep will get back in. In the mean time we will have had a full bloom of flowers.”

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 next priority for the Friends of Calgary Bay is the car park.

Ms Dunlop said: “We need an extension on the car park. We will probably just have to keep fundraising.”

Mull-based Councillor Mary Jean Devon said: “I think it is vital to protect the machair.

“Calgary Bay is an 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.”