"Without rain there wouldn’t be rainbows" these are the words that appear above a colourful bench on West Bay. The bench is located at the pavilion near the playpark and the entrance to the public toilets.
This bench was repaired by local creatives during COP27 (October 2022). The bench and surrounding work (prints and gutter repair) aims to provide a space for people to meet, chat, sit, and think about the positive actions they could take to protect biodiversity and improve the health and wellbeing of the local community here in Dunoon.
Want to know more?.....read on
For many years this bench, owned and maintained by Argyll and Bute Council, was broken. The timber seat was completely missing from the bench, which sat under the shelter of the pavilion roof near a leaking downpipe. It seemed a shame that a bench in such a lovely location, with views out onto wildlife and the Firth of Clyde was unable to be used.
2021
Like many local authorities Argyll and Bute Council declared a climate emergency during COP26 in Glasgow (2021). The organisation made a commitment to rethink the way services were delivered to protect the health of the planet and the many communities they serve.
2022
In August 2022 Argyll and Bute Council Amenities and Roads department took the decision to remove a large quantities of shingle and biodiversity from the beach at West Bay using a digger. Historically this is how the beach had been managed to create a clean looking beach and to reduce debris being washed up onto the promenade.
Shingle beaches are sensitive marine environments, common in Argyll and Bute and other areas of the UK, but rare in other parts of the world. Plants, insects and animals not found in other places are part of a unique shingle beach ecosystem that helps maintain a resilient beach.
In 2022 biodiversity not seen on the beach for many years was thriving. The shingle had been left untouched during lock down (2020-21) and this had enabled the plants to flourish for the first time in many years. A promenade running along the length of West Bay made this biodiversity accessible to people walking or wheeling along the shore.
A creative project called ‘We Are Building A Beach Hut’, supported by Argyll and Bute Council's Economic Development Team, the Dunoon Area Alliacne, CHARTS and BE-ST, had spent time researching the heritage of West Bay and the role biodiversity plays in the maintenance of a healthy beach. For example: Plant roots provide a natural way of holding a shingle beach together. In turn the shingle provides a natural and cost effective defense to the sea wall and promenade which is an area identified by Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) as being at risk of flooding due to sea level rise caused by climate change.
However, not everyone in the community liked the look of the biodiversity, it contrasted with how the beach looked during the busy summers of Victrorian era and there is a belief that taking the level of shingle down reduces flood risk and debris being pushed onto the promenade during storms.
A FaceBook campaign focused on getting the council to clear the beach of plants was established. This led to the Council's Amenities team taking action to remove the shingle and biodiversity as apposed to maintaining the beach in alignment with good environmental practice. This led to the cancellation of an exhibition associated with the Beach Hut project. The exhibition was due to take place on West Bay to celebrate the heritage of the area and draw attention to the value the beach biodiversity had as a natural resource for the community.
During COP27 (October 2022), further commitments were made by global leaders and policy makers to the protect global biodiversity and habitat loss and to hold institutions to account for Green Washing.
In October 2022 the bench at West Bay was carefully repaired by members of the We Are Building a Beach Hut project team to create a space for people to think about the positive actions we can all take to restore and live with biodiversity.
2023
The beach biodiversity has started to return to West Bay. The height of the shingle against the sea wall is also restored, highlighting how costly interventions to removel shingle and biodiversity using a digger hasn't resulted in long-term change.
It is hoped that the exhibtion can be put on at West Bay, but todate there has been no commitment from Argyll and Bute Council's Amenities department to reveiw their use of a digger to manage the beach.
To find out more about the We Are Building A Beach Hut project ago here>
