So since my last blog post I have learnt and seen a great amount from the local communities in North Ayrshire. I have met some inspiring people, and seen some inspiring locations. I have realised that there are people in the local community who have a voice and an opinion, they are passionate and driven; all they need is for someone to support and encourage them.
Since starting my workdays I have been trying to bring people together that are around Ardeer Quarry LNR and Stevenston Beach LNR. Trying to represent the needs and passions of the local people. I have been working with North Ayrshire Rangers at Eglinton Country Park to try and expand their Friends of Group. Working with the Scottish Wildlife Trust to try and develop a Nectar Network program that will see big business and golf courses combining to increase the biodiversity of the areas surrounding their sites. This is just a small sample of what I have been doing since my last blog – the message I am trying to get across is that the diversity of the workload reflects the diversity of opportunities there is for local community groups to get involved with. It has been challenging to try and establish ecological networks formed from dedicated locals but I feel I am making progress. Rome was not built in a day.
As mentioned above I have met some inspiring people; one man in particular who is up for The Provost’s Civic Pride Awards because of his dedication to helping the community has inspired me to do the best I can to preserve local green spaces. People like that really do make me feel privileged to be in this position.
Just like a sapling, there is growth starting to appear in Stevenston. A group of local volunteers who started on my first work day, litter picking, decided they wanted to take action. The results of just a few hours litter picking inspired them to do more for their beach. They are meeting regularly now and have cleaned up 70 bags to date from just a few hours every weekend. This for me is what I am striving for, if there was more groups like this that I could help over the entire of North Ayrshire then we could see some real impact.
