Welcome to the rocks we live on!
Climate change is a major threat to the future of our planet, but we believe that everyone has a role to play. Rural and island communities are especially important, as we are often the first to be affected by the impacts of climate change. However, that also means we have a unique opportunity to lead the way in sustainable development.
This is the story of two people working in the climate space on the Isle of Raasay, helping their local community on their journey to net-zero by 2040 whilst ensuring the islands environment and its people are thriving.
We are passionate about helping young people and communities realise the impact they can make if they engage and take ownership of their local place and hope to inspire more folk to take action in their local communities.
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A brief intro to Raasay..
The Isle of Raasay is a small island off the coast of Scotland. It is situated between the Isle of Skye and the mainland, and is accessible by a 25-minute ferry ride from Sconser, Skye. The name Raasay, or Ratharsair in Gaelic, has Norse origins and is believed to mean the “Island of the Roe Deer”.
Despite its modest size, Raasay has a diverse landscape. The island is home to various geological formations, including Torridonian sandstone and Gneiss, as well as striking limestone cliffs on the east coast. A long extinct volcano, Dùn Caan, is the tallest peak on the island and offers spectacular views of Skye, the mainland, and the Western Isles.
Raasay has a rugged and bare landscape, with few trees and covered in heather, boggy areas, lochs, and rocky outcrops. The woodlands on the island consist of ancient temperate rain forests containing birch and hazel, possibly some of the oldest forests in Scotland, as well as planted monocrop plantations mainly of Sitka Spruce and Larch. Raasay’s variety of landform and conditions gives home to a rich array of flora and fauna, with over 3600 species recorded (NBN Atlas, 2021).
The Isle of Raasay has been inhabited since the pre-historic period. The island’s population spiked from its usual 400-500 people to over 1200 in the early 1800s, but clearances and limited access to land led to a decline in population, which dipped to 152 in 1972 (MacLeod, 2002). Today, the majority of the 179 population lives at the South-West end of the island, around the mining village of Inverarish and Raasay House. The community owns Raasay House, various parcels of land, including a community walled garden, shop, Development Trust and Renewables Company.
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What are we doing?
We are both young people living and working on the Isle of Raasay looking to make a difference in our community. The carbon neutral islands projects is a massive oppurtunity for us to get paid to do this!
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About Us
I am a Raasay native, born and raised here, and I really wouldn’t want to be anywhere else! I briefly left for university but quickly realised that concrete and crowds weren’t my cup of tea and moved home shortly after graduating.
I am passionate about energy and climate change, and I am currently the volunteer co-chair of Raasay Community Renewables, a community benefit company that works to transition the island to a sustainable energy future. I also believe that everyone deserves a warm, safe place to live, so I am actively involved in housing initiatives aimed at repeopling, retrofitting, and tackling fuel poverty.
It only took me 27 years to realize I have a love affair with remote places.
Rewind 11 years, I first moved to Stornoway in 2012 to start my career in the merchant navy at 17 years old. This career path led me navigating ships in some of the remotest places our planet has to offer, at times thousands of miles from the nearest land (never mind the nearest shop!)
Years of this lifestyle has conditioned me to think, by comparison, Raasay is somewhat of a bustling metropolis. An opportunity to work at the local distillery brought me to this island in the middle of covid. Over the past few years it’s become home, and I’m delighted to contribute to it’s sustainable future via my work with the CNI project. Making the world a fairer more habitable place for all is a key driving force for me and I believe taking climate action can work towards this.
See what we are up to..
