Spirit of Orkney» Gulf Stream

Orkney nature project moves forward

admin — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:45:39 +0000

A project to help make it easier to get up close to the wildlife on Orkney has come a stage closer thanks to new funding.

RSPB Scotland has announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and Orkney LEADER have approved grants to allow the development of stage 2 of the Enjoy Wild Orkney project.

Orkney features many creatures, plants and birds due to it's position on the gulf stream

The funding was welcomed by RSPB Scotland’s Orkney Area Manager Eric Meek, “We are most grateful for this support and the help we have received in putting together the bid from so many people and organisations throughout Orkney. As a result of these grants we can now employ a consultant to help us develop our proposals to a stage where the project can be considered for full funding later in the year”

Enjoy Wild Orkney aims to make it much easier for people to access Orkney’s fantastic wildlife.

Ideas suggested in the proposal include the establishment of a Nature Festival in early May, a mini-amphitheatre to maximise the sounds of waders at the Loons, a downloadable self guided tour of nature hot spots on Orkney and inter-island ferry rangers.

The funding just announced will allow these ideas to be more fully developed for a stage 2 application to HLF later in the year.

Alister Brown from Orkney Island Council LEADER programme said, “ We are keen to support this initiative on Orkney and hope that a successful conclusion will lead to the full grant being awarded leading to long term benefits for Orkney’s wildlife and people.”

The development stage of Enjoy Wild Orkney will be managed by a project team headed up by RSPB Orkney Reserve Manager Andy Knight.Similar Posts:

Orkney – Desktop Wallpaper – Crops

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 09:49:57 +0000

Taking full advantage of the gulf stream and long hours of daylight, the farmers of Orkney grow high quality crops.

We have been out with the digital camera and have some great desktop images for your computer.

Below you will find some of the most common screen sizes.

Crops growing in Orkney

Orkney desktop wallpaper - Crops - 1600x1200 (24)
Orkney desktop wallpaper - Crops - 1152x864 (26)
Orkney desktop wallpaper - Crops - 1024x768 (26)
Orkney desktop wallpaper - Crops - 800x600 (102)
Orkney desktop wallpaper - Crops - 640x480 (84)

( Note these images for for desktop wallpaper use only and must not be edited)

Here are some general instructions for installation.

If you are unsure with what to do, we suggest that you consult your computers online help section or the internet for further instructions.

Installing wallpaper

Windows 1. Find out how big your screen is. Shrink your browser window and click with the right mouse button on an empty piece of desktop. A pop-up menu should appear. Select ‘Properties’. A box will appear with tabs across the top. Select the ‘Settings’ tab and on the right-hand side of the box, it should say ‘Desktop Area’ and tell you how big your screen resolution is.

2. Come back to this webpage. Click on the PC link above that is the same size as your screen. For screens bigger than 1024×768 use the 1024×768 option. The picture should now load in your browser.

3. Click on the picture with your right mouse button and a menu will appear. Select the ‘Set As Wallpaper’ option.

Mac OS

1. Find out how big your screen is. Click on the Apple menu, then select ‘Control Panels > Monitors & Sound’. A window will appear telling you how big the resolution of your screen is.

2. Come back to this webpage. Click on the link above that’s the same size as your screen, hold the mouse button down so that a menu appears. Netscape users select ‘Save this link As…’ and Internet Explorer Users select ‘Download Link to Disk’. Save the file to your desktop.

3. Move the downloaded wallpaper file (?????.jpg) into your wallpapers directory. First time users make a directory at the top level of your hard disk called ‘Wallpapers’ and move it there.

4. Click on the Apple menu, then select ‘Control Panels > Desktop Pictures’. A window will appear. On the left-hand side hit the ‘Picture’ button. On the right-hand side hit the ‘Select Picture’ button. If you have a ‘Remove Picture’ button instead of a ‘Select Picture’ button hit this and your current desktop wallpaper will be removed, the ‘Select Picture’ button will now appear. A file selector box will appear, choose your wallpapers directory and then the wallpaper file (??????.jpg). Hit open followed by ‘Set Desktop’.

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Orkney’s Wild Fuchsia

admin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:36:24 +0000

Wherever you go in the Orkney Islands you are very likely to come across fuchsia growing alongside paths and on emankments.

Fuchsia Magellanica Riccartonii is a naturalised alien, thought to be introduced from South America, where it’s native home is Chile. It is one of the hardiest Fuchsias, forming patches of dense scrub along paths, tracks and waterways. It is fast growing and can often be found reaching 3 metres or more in some areas.

This Fuchsia generally dies back with the first sign of frost, but as the Orkney Isles are warmed by the Gulf Stream, it is obvious that it can thrive unhindered for mots of the year, especially in the Western regions.

Leaves are dark green, serrated and are arranged opposite each other on the stem.

The four red sepals which form the outer part of the flower, turn hedgerows crimson in the summer and autumn but the inner deep purple petals are quite short, unlike their showy commercial cousins. Eight long red protruding stamens bear purple anthers allowing easy pollination by local bees and insects.

It is widely used as a hedging plant, because of its vigorous and dense growth and can be found bounding many of the gardens in Kirkwall and Stromness.

Related topics;
BBC Gardening – How to grow hardy Fuchsia
The British Fuchsia Society – Everything you need to know about Fuchsia.

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