Islands and the communities who live on them provide examples of often quite sophisticated adaptations to difficult circumstances. As such, they offer opportunities and examples of sustainable living to which our urban communities might aspire. Our islands are places of inspiration and renewal from which many people can benefit. This was the general conclusion at the ISLA final conference on March 11 and 12 in Rothesay, on the Scottish Isle of Bute. 

  ISLA is a cooperation of a number of small islands in North West Europe that started in 2004 and is supported by the EU. Project partners present at the final conference were the French islands of Ouessant and Quéménès, the Dutch island of Tiengemeten and the Scottish isles of Shetland and Argyll & Bute, who hosted the conference in cooperation with the project’s lead partner DLG from the Netherlands. Sadly, the delegation from the Irish Bere Island could not reach Rothesay because of the severe storm.    ISLA has contributed to the realisation of various projects on the islands, like the Shetland Heritage Museum and the restoration of several cultural heritage buildings. Nature island Tiengemeten has restored a number of old characteristic farmhouses. On Quéménès, sustainable energy supply through wind and solar energy was achieved. For Bere Island, the Old Schoolhouse was renovated in order to open it as a Heritage Complex. Argyll & Bute has undertaken different projects at three islands Islay, Gigha and Lismore.   All of the practical experiences and recommendations the project partners gained through their exchange of knowledge at meetings and site visits, have been recorded in ISLA’s final report. At the conference, this report was presented to councillor Len Scoullar of Argyll & Bute by project manager Joop Eilander of DLG. Presentations of all project partners and guests like councillor Nico Kikkert of the Dutch island of Texel and Roel Posthoorn of Natuurmonumenten all gave excellent examples of opportunities for island communities and networks. Site visits to Ardencraig Gardens and Mount Stewart House were made to see examples of island development.   

At the closing of the conference, the essence of the project was translated into a final statement. This document points out the themes that deserve politicians’ and authorities’ extra attention. It is a call to stakeholders and policy makers to continue to invest in the islands. ISLA has proven that this can be vital for a sustainable and viable future of island communities, and that island networks can generate great innovative power.    The European Union supports the project through the Interreg European Regional Development Fund. You will find more information on ISLA on www.isla-europe.com.  

Closing Statement
ISLA Project July 2004 – June 2008
 
For the past four years, ISLA has supported the sustainable development of small islands in North West Europe, enabled by the EU Interreg programme. The partnership itself and the investments carried out within the project proved to be crucial contributions to a sustainable development of the partner islands. With this closing statement, ISLA would like to provoke a wider understanding of these challenges and possibilities. It is an invitation to non islanders, politicians and decision makers to learn about the benefits of investing in island networkss and island communities.
 
Importance of a network
Island residents have strong feelings about being islanders. They acquire knowledge and inspiration from other islands, because they have many shared common challenges and opportunities. Through ISLA, islanders have a realisation that common solutions can be found. ISLA has delivered a wide range of strategies and all partners have used elements for their island’s specific situation. The project meetings strengthened the process of knowledge exchange and use of each other’s best practices in different fields. This reduces the risk of rigidness, or one-sidedness in the development of the islands.
 
In this process, islanders should be allowed to be ‘empowered’ to find their own solutions to their own particular problems. Forming transnational partnerships and approaching the EU for funding will strengthen this process. National and European authorities can see the benefits of stimulating, creating and supporting island networks.
 
Giving direction to investments
Governments should support an approach where relevant potential investments can be identified by islanders, their local agencies and other partners. As ISLA has demonstrated, this could include redundant buildings, niche marketing and development of sustainable energy amongst others. There are many other worthwile opportunities. The projects are transferable, interchangeable and highly relevant to other islands and even mainland situations.

One of the unexpected outcomes of ISLA is that adapting or renovating redundant buildings in extremely rural areas can act as a catalyst for social and economic development. Niche markets can also play an important role in local economies and are therefore essential for the sustainable development of islands in North West Europe. It has proved to be valuable to invest in redundant buildings and use external advisors to identify potential niche markets.
 
Furthermore, actual themes like climate neutral energy development are directly linked to the partners’ island situations. ISLA acknowledges that islands can be terrific laboratories for innovations with regard to sustainable energy supply, water supply and water treatment. Many islands are at the forefront of testing new technologies so registering the activities and networks could encourage synergy.
 
Islands and the communities who live on them provide examples of often quite sophisticated adaptations to difficult circumstances. As such, they offer opportunities and examples of sustainable living to which our urban communities might aspire. Our islands are places of inspiration and renewal from which many people can benefit.

The ISLA project will finish with a Final Conference in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute on March 11th and 12th 2008. Here you can find information on the transportation from both airports  to Rothesay. To make a hotel reservation, here is an overview of accommodation in Rothesay. Finally, we kindly ask you to formally register to the conference by filling out the registration form.

Here you can find the time tables from the trains from Glasgow to Wemyss Bay and from the ferry from Wemyss Bay to Rothesay . 

If you have any further questions, please contact us through email: islaproject@minlnv.nl

We look forward to meeting you in Rothesay!

Three reports of ISLA’s transnational working groups are now available online. The reports can be found under Projects > Transnational studies shortly. For this moment the reports are included in this news item. The following reports are available:

Stakeholder participation in island settings (Bureau Buiten)

ISLA organic farming and marketing study (CLM, IronsideFarrar, Agro Eco)

Stakeholder participation in island settings (CLM, IronsideFarrar)

“There is a sense of being an islander that brings people together”

         

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are happy to announce that the ISLA Final Conference will take place on March 11^th and 12^th 2008 on the island of Bute in Argyll & Bute, Scotland. You are invited to share the experiences gained by the ISLA partners through their transnational cooperation.
 
The conference will focus on the unique position of islands in policy development, and will look at ways of improving economic well-being and environmental quality, as well as the  cultural experience. Participants and project partners will be able to share examples of practical solutions in workshops and discuss best practices for implementation .
 
The ISLA Project brings together five island partners from four countries, which though different in many respects, have the common challenge of balanced and sustainable development. The partnership is based on the idea that by sharing experiences and ideas across and between partners, individual and common solutions can be found for future island sustainability.

Further news will be published on this web site in due course!
“One element of ISLA is the individual projects. Another is the joint working element which has broadened our horizon for possible future projects”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                

                                                                                        

                                                                                                                                           

                                                                              

                                                                                                                      

                                                         

                      

                             

          

       

                   

                                                                                    

                                                                                                   

                                                                                                   

ISLA’s photo contest with the theme ‘On my island, through the eyes of a child’ has resulted in a winner from Shetland. Tori Williamson’s picture of a little girl on an island hill was chosen by the ISLA jury. Here’s the winning photograph:

ISLA Winning picture ‘On my island, through the eyes of a child’ by Tori Williamson

Choosing tenants in 2005

In February of 2005, in view of proceeding to the access slipway restoration works, the first phases of a hydrodynamic study of the site were launched. In December of 2005, it appears that the Conservatoire has settled the question of the selection of the islands tenants as a jury chooses them following a call for projects.

Last year’s work

During the summer of 2006 a farmer’s interest group and the tenants undertook a second vegetation management operation. In the summer important works took place on the slipway. The sloped part of the slipway was entirely demolished, leaving only the platform, which was consolidated with gabions. The results of the study of the slipway and its surroundings were published in July of 2006 and have lead to the suspension of works until the summer of 2007 because the revealed absence of an accessible rocky base underneath the cobble bar will lead to consequential modifications in the design and the cost of the structure.
The human resources aspect of the project is also subjected to important changes in 2006 as a series of events as well as differences in principles between the Conservatoire and the tenants will lead in October 2006 to the cancellation of all agreements previously made with the latter. The next candidates in the list of applicants were immediately contacted. The last works on the main dwelling house were carried out in September of 2006 with the fitting of the interior and exterior carpentry.

Results in 2007

A temporary contract was signed in March of 2007 between the Conservatoire and Mr. And Mrs. Cuisnier, he new tenants.

The tenants have embarked as soon as May of 2007 in agrarian works preliminary to the islands exploitation and destined to maintain preserve its landscape. These include ploughing the plots, mowing the vegetable garden and the introduction of chickens that will constitute the islands poultry reserves.The firm selected for the building works came back to the island after a wintery pause and has finished putting up the guesthouses doors and windows at the beginning of June 2007. The interior carpentry is to be fitted soon.
A meeting took place in the Brittany offices of the Conservatoire in March of 2007 with the building firm responsible for the access slipway restoration so as to relaunch the works. These will take place during the summer of 2007. Following the opening session of May 2007 and the designation by tender of the firm that would carry-out the works, the energy system of Quéménès which is composed of a wind generator and photovoltaic solar panels will be put in place during the summer of 2007.  The water treatment system is currently being selected.
 
The projects progresses make it conceivable to open the farm-guesthouse in the spring of 2008.      

Work on the ISLA extension project ‘Developing and Enhancing Ardencraig Gardens’ is now complete. The project involved the restoration of seven Victorian glasshouses, using a combination of modern materials together with the original cast iron fret work and external finials. The finished product retains its Victorian character but uses new materials and technologies to regulate the temperature and humidity in the glasshouses.
Currently, the gardens employ three people on a full time basis. Through the restoration of the glasshouses, the employment of the staff has become secured. Even though in overall terms, the gardens do not provide large scale employment, this is a significant number in terms of the island population. The gardens are now able to be used to train new gardeners as part of the Council’s employability unit. Since their restoration, the gardens have one apprentice and one trainee, neither of which would have been possible prior to this work being done.

Garden tourism

In addition, the gardens have served the island as a tourist destination for visitors, however, more recently parts of the gardens had to be closed off to visitors as the structure of the glasshouses was becoming dangerous. The refurbishment of the Victorian glasshouses is part of a wider project to re-establish the gardens as a tourist attraction, and thereby improving the overall tourism product offered by the island of Bute.  Attracting visitors to the island is an ongoing effort for all agencies and businesses involved, and each contributing attraction enhances the overall attractiveness of the island as a tourist destination. Following the official opening of the gardens in June, they will re-open to the public.
Work on the subsequent phases of the enhancement of the gardens have been made possible through this initial investment in the glasshouses. These include improvements to the car parking area, and attracting private investment into an adjacent building to create a visitor café and/or shop.