The team from ASG are great to work with, really professional and luckily, we had some nice weather for their long-awaited visit to Argyll and the Islands. The film crew arrived on the afternoon of Tuesday 13 October and we headed to one of our coastal sites to catch the sunset. There were gorgeous views as we passed through the little village of Portnahaven nearby. We were greeted by crashing waves and barely a cloud in the sky as we got the site and the film crew were in their element, getting a glimpse of some of the best scenery Islay has to offer.

The next day we headed to Eilean na Muice Duibhe, one of our main peatland sites, to look at the rhododendron removal works going on there. The site is partway through the treatment process, so it was a great chance to showcase the effects of the treatment at all stages. We compared untreated Rhododendron, with the browning of bushes that were sprayed two weeks ago, and then the completely leafless remains of those treated last year. Unfortunately, it was a bit too windy to make much use of the drone that the camera crew bought, but they still managed to take it out for a test film, although with a slightly hairy moment when it lost connection in the middle of the bog!

Next up, it was time for the CANN staff to have our 15 minutes of fame! Deb Baker, the Islay Site Coordinator, explained all about the work the CANN project is doing protecting the sites and some background information about Islay, while I talked about local wildlife and the importance of peatland in combating climate change. A few retakes later (OK maybe more than a few!)  and we were done for the day, sending the crew off in the direction of a good lunch and more beautiful Islay scenery.

We can’t wait to see the end results