“The Coast that Shaped the World” is a new, three-year project that is being led by the University of the Highlands and Islands, funded by NatureScot’s Natural and Cultural Heritage Fund with match funding from UHI and Calmac. This project will honour the diverse geography of the area and the cultural impact the coastline has had on communities and the lives of west-coasters for over 8000 years, and also their wider impact on the world.
Over the course of the project, the team are looking for people from across the West Coast to share stories with them to contribute to a West Coast story bank. Some of these will be then digitalised and brought to life through an interactive app that will be used to promote the lesser-known areas of the coast. There will also be exhibitions displaying some of the stories in different locations across the West Coast.
They are looking for well-known tales and individual memories, saying “Nothing is too big or too small, too detailed or too vague”. Every story will go towards contributing to a layered, multi-dimensional picture of what it means to be connected to the West Coast
Carron Tobin, from ruralDimensions, who is the Project Co-ordinator and leading on the gathering phase says: “We are eager to capture well known stories as well as the hidden gems from across the West Coast and to understand more about local folklore. When we embarked on this project, we envisaged mainly face to face activity but have had to adapt a lot in light of the pandemic. The silver lining is we know a lot of people have been reminiscing and also do have time - and will have stories from recent months that need to be captured along with those from times gone by. Collectively these stories are what has shaped the west coast to be what it is and will continue to shape it through time. If you have a story to tell, please do share it with us.”
To find out more about the project, and submit a story, click here.
You can also follow the project on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
