COMANN NA MARA (SOCIETY OF THE SEA) LAUNCHES NEW WEBSITE
Comann na Mara (Society of the Sea) has recently launched a new website. Comann na Mara is a voluntary group and registered charity based in North Uist, but open to all. This group is made up of those who work on the seas, enjoy the sea as a leisure activity and who recognise the important part that the sea plays in island life.
In particular the group wishes to acknowledge the past, make the most of the present and secure the future. One of the main aims of the group is to establish a marine research and interpretation centre in Lochmaddy which will form a focal point for the wider aims of the group.
These aims include education on the value of the rich waters that lap the shores, promotion of responsible stewardship, encouraging research into the sea and marine life and securing the future of this valuable resource. The project has to date received enormous local, regional, national and international support. Lochmaddy itself is a European Marine Site (Special Area of Conservation) and is renowned for its large range of rare habitats and species, which are all contained in one loch system. Comann na Mara has just been gifted its first scholarship of £500 a year from Calum and Rory Macdonald of Runrig Music. This year, a student from Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory (UHI) will be coming to do a project in Lochmaddy.
For further information on the Special Area of Conservation and Comann na Mara, visit the website at www.comann-na-mara.org.
Other websites of interest are as follows: Western Isles Biodiversity www.cne-siar.gov.uk/biodiversityHebridean
Mink Project www.snh.gov.uk/scottish/wisles/intro.aspUist Wader Project
www.snh.gov.uk/scottish/wisles/uist.asp
Madadh Mhor guarding the entrance to Loch nam Madadh