COWAL’S landmark Holy Loch Nature Reserve is in the running for a top national award for the first time.
The prestigious award, organised by the National Biodiversity Network (NBN), recognises bodies for good work in wildlife recording.
Lead Scientist Dr Neil Hammatt said: “It’s wonderful to see the reserve nominated for a national award. It is such a special environment in so many ways and a truly precious resource for Cowal and wider Argyll.”
Holy Loch Nature Reserve is a 24-acre coastal ecosystem in Sandbank, managed by the Sandbank Community Development Trust. It is one of Scotland’s most intensively studied biodiversity hotspots.
It is home to a unique range of habitats and a vast array of specie, the result of being situated at the interface of land, tides and freshwater.
Dr Hammatt added: “The reserve, which is a long undisturbed site, has required work on tackling invasive non-native plants. It’s a battle that we are winning.
“The latest comprehensive analysis, involving advanced DNA barcoding and traditional morphological identification, has so far catalogued between 2,600 and 3,000 species of plant, animal and fungus within the reserve.”
The US Navy left the Holy Loch in 1991. Since then, nature has been making a strong comeback, ably demonstratedbythenatural regeneration of seagrass, in itself a model when it comes to tackling climate challenges.
The NBN Trust is all about nature thriving everywhere in all its diversity. The body is focused on making data work for nature in order to support improved decision-making about the natural world and its connection with people.
The awards, started in 2015, were previously known as the UK Awards for Biological Recording and Information Sharing. The winners and those highly commended will be announced at the NBN Conference in November
