Sleat Nature Group on the Isle of Skye is a volunteer sub-group of Sleat Community Trust. Set up about 20 years ago the initial remit was principally to advise the Trust on the environmental aspects of its development work, including writing an environmental policy guiding the Trust’s activities. More recently, our focus has expanded to include hands-on           research and conservation, and encouraging the local community to connect with Sleat’s wonderful wildlife and environments.

Much of our activity takes place in and around Tormore Community Forest, a former Forestry Commission plantation that was bought by Sleat Community Trust in 2011. Sleat Nature Group was instrumental in making the forest much more accessible to the public by obtaining funds to create paths, restoring an old stone fank as a picnic area and       viewpoint, and encouraging local people and visitors to explore the forest. A separate volunteer group now maintains and develops the path network, and is planting areas of new native woodland to supplement natural regeneration, with many of the trees grown from local seed.

Over the past two years, Sleat Nature Group has worked with the Species on the Edge project to offer training in bat     detection to the local community, and participate in bat surveys of Tormore Forest. The group’s members were also           involved in advising on a major peatland restoration project and a hydropower scheme in the Community Forest.

We run an active programme of events, led by local experts. Recent events include two very popular guided otter walks, informing 22 participants about the habits of our local otter population, and a fern identification walk with a nature photo competition for youngsters. The winning photo is featured on our Facebook page. Over the last three years our winter talks programme, mostly presented by local experts, has covered marine mammal entanglement, Skye’s otters, sea trout, orcas, kelp crofting, Scotland’s Rainforest, underwater wildlife monitoring, impacts of salmon farming, raptors of Skye, community-led conservation of ten different bird species around the world and a presentation by the John Muir Trust about their important habitat conservation work on Skye.

Sleat Nature Group has recently embarked on a quarterly marine litter survey of Ostaig beach, as part of Loughborough University’s ongoing 50 Years of Litter on Skye project. Quantification of the beach litter based on Scottish Islands Federation and Marine Conservation Society methodology has revealed that plastic pollution, much of it from salmon farming and the fishing industry, accounts for over 90% of the beach litter surveyed. This work contributes to island-wide efforts to tackle beach pollution, coordinated by Skye Beach Cleans. The project’s next phase will collate data from beaches around Scotland to advocate for policies and methods to reduce litter at source. Sleat Nature Group also         coordinates local community beach cleans and is developing a ruined outbuilding into a beach waste disposal point, at which the public can leave collected beach litter for collection and disposal by the Highland Council.

Several invasive non-native plant species (INNS) have gained a foothold in Sleat, posing risks to our native flora. Sleat Nature Group has produced information leaflets for the local community and visitors, and carries out control measures on Rhododendron, Himalayan Balsam and Gunnera in specific areas to try to limit INNS spreading further. Mostly this is done by volunteers using manual methods, but a contractor was hired with funding secured by Sleat Community Trust to start chemical control of Buddleia, which is threatening the restoration of native woodland in the Community Forest.

Sleat Nature Group’s activities are co-ordinated by a Steering Group, and we are always looking for more folk to get involved.