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Dimàirt, 01/June/2010
Green Shoots on Islay
Remember the pictures from the Aftermath of the Heather Fire on Islay entry? The blackened landscape in the centre of Islay? Back then I wrote ‘Often nature can recover surprisingly quickly, so hopefully it will do so here as well!’. Two pictures a friend from Islay sent me over the weekend indeed show first signs of a recovery now with some fresh green growing in the area, however, it's just a start for now:
Of course this is no consolation for the hundreds or even thousands of ground nesting birds which were killed or the substantial financial loss the farmer farming in the area has suffered. Reading a report in the Ileach I also understand Scottish Natural Heritage estimates the area will take 20-30 years to fully recover, some of it probably never.
The press release of Sgt Rae from Strathclyde Police mentions that most of the fires were set deliberatly and that two members of the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue services were injured while fighting this senseless fire. I hope whoever is responsible for these fires is suitably ashamed for their actions and fully realises the damage they have done.
Still, hopefully the fresh green shoots will signal the start of the road to recovery and that somebody will learn from this and not do it again.
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