Friends of Largo Bay, (Largo Communities Together), Pennant 649

Friends in Largo Bay

I grew up on the Firth of Forth, but moved away in my twenties; in my retirement, I have moved back. Largo Bay is a beautiful wild space with no commercial development and a large tidal range of diverse habitats and species. It has volcanic rocks, sandy stretches and, strangely, its own microclimate within a very protected bay. This does, however, create odd tidal swirl patterns which funnel pollution into our bay in certain places necessitating frequent beach cleans.

Our gorgeous bay has attracted a number of residents many of whom are members of Friends of Largo Bay, a volunteer group who love the area and wish to see it become pristine and remain wild. Within this group are a wealth of people who collaborate to be caretakers of our wild environment. While originally connected by the bay, we are now connected by ever-blossoming friendships making everything we do much more sociable and fun - creating memories of our times together. Our diverse interests have led us to various courses where we can develop and share our citizen-science skills.

Unfortunately, pollution and other environmental issues are affecting our rivers and bay. We found that many other groups around the Firth are experiencing similar problems creating collaborations which, hopefully, alleviate some of the major problems. At the moment, we are monitoring a sea grass bed with Fife Ecology Centre; sharing data on seaweed species with the Natural History Museum and collaborating with Edinburgh Seashore on the ‘Show Us Your Mussels’ project where, currently, we appear to be the only area which actually has mussel beds. We have to work hard to protect these valuable resources - although it is a great excuse to put on your wellies and splash about in puddles!

Looking to the future, we worry that the water quality may deteriorate detrimentally to the ecosystems of the bay. In this vein, Friends of Largo Bay believe that, by working together and taking action, we can make a positive difference in protecting and preserving Largo Bay.

As members of Friends of Largo Bay we pledge to work together with other individuals, groups and organisations to protect and preserve the ecosystem and environment of Largo Bay for current and future generations to enjoy.