During our time on Isle of Arran we are aiming to complete the John Muir award, an award that encourages young people to enjoy the outdoors and educate them on conservation efforts in their local surroundings. This award includes four challenges: the discovery of a wild place, its exploration, a project to conserve it and the sharing of our experiences in order to educate other people on conservation.

Our first full day on the island started with a walk up to Brodick Castle, this would be the start of the discovery stage of the John Muir award. The castle's walled garden was full with exotic plants from across the globe including the California Redwood, and while there we started our bird log which will contribute to research into bird numbers on the island.

After enjoying the views from the castle we continued our walk up to Glen Rosa, a stunning valley on the north of Arran. With our bird log now filling up we started an activity to help us appreciate and understand the rarity of the plants that surrounded us in the glen. The Arran White Beam, a tree that only exists of the Isle of Arran, of which there are only a few hundred growing on the island, this illustrates the fragility of ecosystems and highlights the necessity of conservation, a concept which we encouraged to define for ourselves as individuals.

After exploring Glen Rosa we headed towards the beach in order to investigate how the ecosystem changed which was portrayed through the sightings of coastal birds such as:  common gulls, herring gulls, oyster catchers and shags. We also spotted some seals, much to the excitement of the group it was a new experience for many members of the group. 

 After a day of trekking we took some time to relax and then began on our presentations which will further our understanding of the island and the importance of conservation efforts.

A late night beach trip ended the first day of our wee adventure.