A SCHEME involving the population of one of Scotland's most popular holiday islands, aimed at improving the environment and boosting tourism, has been launched, writes David Steele.
Beachwatch Bute has been in existence for just a few months but already a beach ranger service is in place and local people have collected and disposed of hundreds of bags of rubbish.
The National Lottery Charities Board provided more than #33,000 for a tractor and trailer to patrol the miles of beaches in little-explored corners of the island.
Argyll and Bute Council also helped to turn landfill tax cash into a salary for the ranger and his assistant, and other willing partners have been recruited from Argyll and Islands Enterprise.
The chairman of Beachwatch Bute, primary school head teacher Roddy McDowell, explained: ''This is a voluntary organisation which draws support from the community of the Isle of Bute. It really came into existence because people were fed up with rubbish building up on what are some of the finest and quietest beaches on the west coast of Scotland.
''I would defend local people and visitors alike by saying that the bulk of the rubbish is coming ashore and is not dumped on the beaches. That is another reason for the scheme to be launched, so that we can monitor and trace where items are coming from and alert the relevant authorities to do something about it.''
Mr Fraser Brown, the newly-appointed beach ranger, working at Stravanan Bay, explained: ''I have a background in horticulture and this seemed an ideal way to continue working to improve the appearance of our surroundings and in particular the beaches.''
The clean-up scheme is part of an overall resurgence of the island and it is hoped that in the coming months a network of paths - dubbed the West Island Way - will be linked up from one end of Bute to
the other.
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