Also in the news / Press award nominations, free flights, Lumbister peatland and more …
SHETLAND News reporter Ryan Nicolson is in the running for two prizes at the Highlands and Islands Media Awards.
Nicolson, who joined Shetland News in September, is up for feature writer of the year as well as the award for environment and sustainability writing.
All three of his entries for the feature writing category have come since he joined Shetland News, along with one of his submissions for the environment prize.
Meanwhile The Shetland Times has also been nominated for campaign of the year, with reporter Daniel Shailer in the running for the young reporter gong.
The winners will be revealed at the press ball event in Inverness on 7 February.
LOGANAIR passengers are being invited to win a year’s worth of free flights over the festive season.
The airline released its Christmas advert – Loganair, Actually – with the chance for someone to fly for free for a year along with a companion.
People are being asked to submit a photo or video showcasing a reunion with a loved one from now to the beginning of January.
Whether it is the joy of seeing a family member after months apart, a reunion with a cherished friend, or the excitement of coming home, Loganair said it “wants to celebrate the stories that bring people closer together”.
Two runners-up will be treated to return flights for two on the airline’s Glasgow to Barra route, famously landing on the beach.
Participants can submit their photos or videos via Loganair’s official website until midnight on Monday, 6 January 2025.
Three finalists will be announced on 14 January, with the public invited to vote for their favourite reunion. The winner will be announced at midday on Friday 25 January.
Loganair’s head of marketing Lyn MacDonald said the magic of reuniting loved ones was “at the heart of what we do as an airline”.
DIGGERS are back on the ground as part of a major peatland restoration project at the RSPB reserve at Lumbister in Yell.
The RSPB said local contractors are working on restoring the next section of the site, with 61.5 hectares of restoration due to take place between this winter and spring 2025.
“Historically installed drainage ditches have dried out the peat in areas and caused erosion to occur,” the RSPB said.
“Our aim is to reverse this damage and restart the processes that forms peat.
“So far, at the southern end of the site, we have already successfully restored a section of land, with a second phase already in the process of being restored.”
Lumbister is part of RSPB Yell and is dominated by blanket bog and wet heath habitats with deep peat that is often over one metre deep.
Around 95 hectares of peatland was restored in 2021, supported by Peatland ACTION, with work to block ditches and restore eroding peatland taking place.
The RSPB said that a long period of maintenance, enhancement and monitoring over the next 100 years.
Birds such as the curlew, snipe and whimbrel call the Yell reserve home.
THE SHORT-TERM let sector has supported 217 jobs in Shetland this year, according to the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers.
The group said the sector was generating £6 million in gross value added to the local economy per annum.
The analysis came from Scottish consultancy firm BiGGAR Economics, and also found self-catering tourists spend more than the average visitor to the islands.
Fiona Campbell, chief executive of the Association of Scotland’s Self-Caterers, said this was “yet more compelling evidence” that short-term lets were “turbocharging local economies”.
“Shetland Islands Council should take heed of the report’s findings when considering their approach to planning policies and control areas to ensure the relatively small number of valuable short-term lets are protected.
“The Shetland Islands has the second highest proportion of empty homes as a percentage of total dwellings in the whole of Scotland.
“Unlike valuable short-term lets, these economically inactive properties offer no community benefit and need to be returned to more productive use.
“You can’t solve a housing crisis by producing a crisis in Scottish tourism by decimating local businesses that underpin local economies. Attention must shift to the real causes of the housing crisis.”
SHETLAND Indoor Bowls Club held its annual mixed pairs final on Tuesday, with the match very much a game of two halves.
The pair of Nui Coutts and skip Ian Scott dominated early doors and raced into a 16-0 lead after eight ends.
But in the second half Elma Scott and skip Willie Coutts fought back well, winning 12 points to significantly reduce the deficit.
It was not enough to stop Nui and Ian from lifting the trophy though, with the match ending 17-12.
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