Excerpts from issue 53/04 29 November 2025
Uisge Beatha, peat and the Oa
Suntory, Diageo and Glenmorangie have announced a conservation partnership with RSPB Scotland to restore peatland on Islay.
A project at The Oa nature reserve is set to secure vital habitats for wildlife and natural carbon storage. The RSPB has said that this collaboration demonstrates how working together across industries is vital to restoring Scotland's nature.
Over the next five years, the distilleries will collectively contribute £1.6 million to restore approximately 1,000 hectares of peatland. The focus will include making the peatland more resistant to flooding, improving resilience against wildfires, and providing improved habitat for many species, transforming the landscape into a healthy, thriving blanket bog.
The peatlands of Scotland are set to play a pivotal role in the country's response to climate change and species loss. This internationally important habitat sequesters large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere, storing an estimated ten times as much carbon as the entirety of the UK's forests. Experts often highlight the value of peatland restoration in tackling climate change and mitigating its impacts.
Peatland also acts as a vital habitat for a variety of plants and animals, with the restoration work on The Oa set to benefit threatened species such as Curlew, Snipe, Hen Harrier and Large Heath Butterfly.
"This incredibly exciting partnership at the Oa will allow us to return some of Scotland's large and internationally important peatlands back to health," said RSPB Scotland Director Anne McCall.
"It's a shining example of how conservation and industry can work hand in hand in restoring Scotland's incredible and unique habitats. We are extremely encouraged to see businesses collaborating to share the responsibility of environmental restoration and protection.
"Healthy peatlands also help improve water quality, which should benefit both wildlife and people."
The Oa contains a diverse array of habitats and species, from windswept moorland to nature-friendly farmland.
However, much of the blanket bog on the nature reserve has been drained due to centuries of domestic peat cutting. This has reduced the peat's capacity to take in carbon from the air. Restoring this land will allow the peat to revegetate and return to a healthy, thriving habitat that delivers positively for climate and biodiversity.
Alistair Longwell, Head of Distilling and Environment at Suntory Global Spirits, said, "We're delighted to be part of this forward-thinking collaboration that combines the expertise of RSPB and industry counterparts to restore peatland on Islay."
Kristin Hughes, Global SVP for Sustainability at Diageo, stated, "Collective action across industries and with environmental leaders is essential if we are to make a lasting impact in restoring Scottish peatlands."
And Caspar MacRae, President and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, said, "At Ardbeg, we recognise the vital role peatlands play in Scotland's natural heritage and in securing a sustainable future. We are proud to be part of this partnership at The Oa, working alongside RSPB Scotland and fellow distillers to restore this precious landscape."
Photo: Margaret Rose Sinclair
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Wild Jura venison
Cath McCallum writes:
Wild Jura has been trading since January 2025, processing venison from Jura and making cuts and finished products to sell on Jura, Islay and beyond. We felt there was an opportunity to make publicly available venison from the deer that Jura is famous. We recognised the growing awareness amongst consumers of the health and ethical benefits of buying and eating local, wild venison.
It took us two years to build the Approved Game Handling Establishment at Keils on Jura, which is now one of 13 in Scotland. We are approved by Food Standards Scotland who advised us on a suitable layout that helped meet their strict food safety requirements.
We receive deer - fresh from the hill - in their skins and hang them in a chiller for around a week before moving them via a rail system to a skinning area. Once skinned they go into a different chiller where they are inspected by the Islay vet and stamped with our unique license code. Then we carefully butcher, ensuring everything is cut, minced, processed and vacuum-packed within a tight timeframe to meet food safety rules. The build-time happily coincided with two years of discussion with Argyll & Bute Council who were working with the Soil Association on school dinner menus. Ultimately we were delighted to be asked to develop burgers and meatballs suitable for the primary and secondary school pupils across both islands. We tested a few different recipes at Small Isles Primary school and taught the older children a bit about qualitative and quantitative data sets so that they could help with the design of a questionnaire and interview their peers. The children's feedback, along with help from our panel of very exacting young taste-testers at home, helped us develop products that hit the spot, while adhering to the council's requirements. The project has gone on to win two awards for Sustainability in Public Sector Catering.
At the time of going to press we have processed 92 deer from our tiny facility and our product list includes minced and diced venison, whole sirloin rounds, steaks of various cuts, stir-fry strips, lorne sausage, burgers and sausage meat for Christmas stuffing. All the ingredients we add are organic, and to keep our environmental footprint to a minimum we pack in biodegradable, compostable packaging. For now, everything is frozen, allowing us to avoid using preservatives. We will be looking at some chilled, ready-to-eat products next year, and with these and our current range we hope to become part of our customers' weekly shop, so that we can all make the most of having this source of versatile, healthy meat on our doorsteps (often literally, on Jura!).
Like all small business owners, we are grateful for every single order, and we are very appreciative of all the local support we have had over the past year. Wild Jura is run by Cath and Andy McCallum at Keils on Jura. Wild Jura venison can be ordered online at wildjura.com/shop and is delivered free to collection points on Islay twice-weekly in the run-up to Christmas. hello@wildjura.co.uk / 07884 000870
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In this week's issue:
RNLI Book Fair, Council proposal to close public toilets, The council's money problems, Ardbeg All Islay Fund, Distillers combine for peat restoration, Knitted poppy wreath, Bruichladdich path extension, Gaelic Centre events, School page, Sports clubs meet CalMac, Friends of the Round Church, Invasive plants project, Islay Archers Distillery Challenge, Bridgend to Bowmore path, A walk on the wild side, Wild Jura venison, Islay Connections Patient Travel survey, Margaret Mactaggart tribute, Music review: Ben Wilcock & John Rae - March of the Octopus, Coisir Og Ghaidhlig Ile, Sidekick bike project, Kilmeny church update.
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Youth sports clubs meet CalMac
Louise Muir writes:
Representatives from Islay and Jura's youth sports clubs met with CalMac staff on Wednesday 19 November to discuss growing concerns about the impact of the current winter timetable on young athletes’ ability to travel to competitions. Louise Muir, Andy McCallum and Ben Shakespeare, representing the sports clubs, alongside Jim Porteous and Frazer Campbell from the Islay Ferry Committee, met with Terry Williams (Area Manager) Linda Kirkpatrick (Port Manager), Grant Meecham and Holly McFarlane (Operations) and Amanda Taylor-Walsh (Area Manager). The meeting followed an open letter signed by eight local sports clubs, highlighting how the lack of early and late weekend sailings—and frequent last-minute timetable changes have made it increasingly difficult for children to participate in matches and events across Argyll. In some cases, trips to nearby communities now require two overnight stays, while sudden timetable changes have forced teams to withdraw from competitions entirely.
At the meeting, clubs stressed that a single Saturday sailing is unworkable and that a reliable, all-year round, weekend service is essential. Key requests included:
Early and late ferries on Saturdays and Sundays are needed to allow day-return travel to matches as far as Oban or Glasgow.
Better alignment with Jura ferry times and weekend bus services
Last-minute timetable changes must be minimised, as they have disproportionate impacts on clubs, volunteers, and young people.
If possible ferries should operate out and back from the same port, allowing children to be transported easily around the island.
CalMac representatives were supportive of the clubs' concerns and recognised the significant challenges caused by the current winter timetable. However, with vessels deployed elsewhere and pressures on the MV Finlaggan and its crew, they explained that opportunities for altering the single-vessel timetable are limited at present. Despite these operational constraints, the discussion explored whether some compromise might still be possible to ease the pressure on young athletes and volunteers.
A further discussion took place regarding the visibility of sports clubs' use of the ferry service. Clubs explained that they often do not pre-book tickets because cancellation charges—arising from last-minute timetable amendments—are unworkable. CalMac acknowledged this issue and agreed that, going forward, sports groups may email the ports directly to advise of planned travel, improving communication and ensuring their journeys are recognised.
The current Saturday timetable in particular is already pushing volunteers to breaking point. Without workable travel options, parents and coaches cannot support young people in attending training, matches, and competitions. Reliable weekend sailings are essential to ensure that children can continue to participate in sport; crucial for their physical health, mental wellbeing, confidence, social development, and connection to their wider community.
CalMac, alongside the Islay Ferry Committee, have agreed to explore potential changes and keep the requirements of the youth sports clubs at the forefront of any future timetable consideration. The youth sports clubs will maintain an open dialogue with CalMac and hope to find a workable solution soon.
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