The Argyll Beacon is a partnership between Cove Park and Argyll & the Isles Coast & Countryside Trust (ACT). The Beacon is one of seven Scotland-wide Climate Beacons launched in advance of the COP26 Conference, bringing artists, cultural practitioners, and organisations together with climate change specialists, activists, scientists and researchers. The focus of the Argyll Beacon is Scotland’s rainforest, the majority of which is found in Argyll, and our collaboration over the course of a year involves a public programme of events, workshops and commissions of new work by artists, writers and filmmakers in response to Scotland’s rainforest.

This Café held on 15 February 2022 focused on local biodiversity, and featured guest speakers Marina Curran-Colthart, Local Biodiversity Officer for Argyll & Bute Council, and Angharad Ward, ACT’s officer for the Collaborative Action for the Natura Network, a consortium of 11 partners working to save peatlands and wetlands across Ireland, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. The Café, hosted on Zoom and at Cove Park, provided a wonderful opportunity to learn about key environmental projects in Argyll and facilitated an informal conversation about the impact of climate change on our region.