Message in a Bottle Isle of Barra

Read stories of a carbon neutral future by school pupils from the Isle of Barra.

My Eco Life – Breanna, Castlebay Primary School

Hello, my name is Breanna Mackechnie-Hopkins. I’m going to be speaking about my eco life. I work as a gardener on the Isle of Barra.

When I wake up in the morning at 7:30am, I walk downstairs to my bathroom to brush my teeth. I use an eco-friendly toothpaste to brush my teeth. After that I have a 5-minute shower to save money. I let my hair naturally dry so that I do not waste electricity by drying it. I put my clothes on, and then I eat carrots freshly grown from my garden for breakfast. Then I leave for work, I either walk, ride my bike or take my electric car.

I work as a gardener. My job is climate-friendly because, I grow food for other people in their gardens. This means they can eat their own grown vegetables, to save more food in stores. I also grow lots of trees, which is good for the environment. I reuse all of my supplies that I use for gardening, which means I don’t have to buy new ones when its unnecessary, so more people can buy gardening supplies and grow things of their own. I only buy new supplies when it’s really needed.

My Island is very eco-friendly. It’s powered by Hydro power, Solar power and Wind power. We use lots of wind turbines. Also, most people here have solar panels on their roof. We have beach clean-ups once a week, for adults and children.

After work when I go home, its usually mid-day. I sit and watch TV for only 10 minutes to save electricity. Then I start making dinner. I have potatoes from my garden with some milk from my cows in my garden, along with two eggs from my chicken. I eat dinner and then charge my phone. I only spend 1 hour on my phone each day, to text my friends. We speak about ways to be eco-friendlier.

Before I go to sleep, I make sure all my lights are turned off and that my phone is off charge for the night. Once I’ve made sure everything is turned off, I go to sleep.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Caitlin, Isle of Barra

My name is Nikki and I am 28 years old. I am going to be sharing with you what a day is like on my island in the year 2040.

When I wake up I get dressed in my clothes for my business. Once I am changed I go outside to get some fresh air and to pick some fresh fruit like strawberry’s, a banana and an apple for my breakfast. After that I have to do my hair up in a top knot so that it is out of the way and do my teeth. Then I go to my garage to get my bike to ride to my sales stand and sell my old things and some of my fruit and vegetables that I grew.

Once I arrive at my stand I get off my bike and park it beside my stand and I get to work selling things to people who need them. My job is eco-friendly because I sell old unwanted items to others. This stops old products filling up landfills and cuts down on plastic pollution. I give shoppers paper bags and we do not use any single use plastic.

My island is eco-friendly because it recycles stuff that people don’t use and we don’t use any single use plastic for packaging. We don’t allow anyone to come and visit this island with a car unless it is an electric car. We don’t have any landfills on this island so we have to use multiple use plastic. We have only got electric busses and cars but we have normal and electric bikes, same as scooters. We use solar power and wind power to power our island and everyone has a solar panel on their house and a mini wind turbine in their front garden. We all do a big beach clean-up on Sundays so that there is no litter on the beach but usually there is not a lot of litter because all the litter we get comes from the sea. We also make sure that we don’t over fish.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Caralisa, Castlebay Primary School

Hi my name is Caralisa and I live in Barra. It is the year 2040 and I am a beauty therapist.

When I wake up I go out to collect a fresh egg from my hens. I brush my teeth with a little paste on my bamboo toothbrush. I don’t need a shower today as I had one four days ago. Then I check my vegetables in my garden so I know what I can have for my dinner when I get home.

I go on the electric bus to work. At work I use all natural and local produce on my clients and make sure that all my products are eco-friendly. I do not use anything that has been tested on animals.

My island is powered by wind energy, which does not harm the planet.

After work, I go home. My house is climate-friendly because it is well insulated, I have triple glazing windows and I grow some of my own vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers.

As a community, we look after our island`s environment by recycling and reusing items that we can. We grow and farm as much of our own food as we can. Some of the other ways that we help our island is by making sure we all walk more places or use our bikes.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Ciara, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Ciara Davidson and I am 28 years old. It is 2040 and I work as a teacher.

I am going to tell you about a day in my eco-friendly life.

When I wake up, I get dressed and then I go downstairs to get breakfast. I have fruit that I have planted in my garden. After breakfast I brush my teeth with an organic wooden toothbrush. Then I do my hair and get all my stuff ready for work. I drive to work in my electric car.

In school, I am teaching the pupils about climate change and the pupils are writing a story about climate change. In the afternoon we plant some potatoes and strawberries in our school garden. We are also getting solar panels on the roof that will power our school. Once the kids go I turn off all the lights and switch the plugs off and I drive home.

Once I get home, I go a walk to my mum and dads house. When I get back home I plant some more flowers and then I go to the local shop to buy local produce to make my dinner. After dinner, I plan out my lessons and think about ways that I can teach the children about climate change. After that, I take a quick shower that does not use much electricity and then I was TV which is powered by my solar panels.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Erin, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Erin, I am 20 years old and I live on Barra. I am going to tell you about my eco-friendly life.

When I wake up I get ready for work, I have fresh fruit from my garden for breakfast and then I make vegetable soup with vegetables from my garden.

I work as a gardener and I cycle to work. My work is eco-friendly because I spend time planting plants every day. I also plant trees which are good for the environment. The plants and trees that I plant give homes to lots of wildlife and animals.

My house is climate friendly because I have solar panels on the roof. I recycle plastic and mu house has censored lights that do not waste energy.

My island is powered by solar power and we have lots of windmills and lots of trees. As a community we look after our island environment by using wind turbines, solar energy and recycling plastic.

My Eco-Friendly Life – India, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Daisy and I’m from the island Tulip. It is the year 2040 and I am 35. I am going to tell you about my eco-friendly life.

When I wake up I go down stairs. For breakfast I have some homemade yoghurt and fruit that I grow in my garden and some eggs from my chicken. I get water from the lake and I purify it.

I work as an artist. I work at home and sell my artwork online. I use flowers as paint. My job is eco-friendly because I grind the flowers down and then paint. I do it because its nicer to the environment. I paint on little rocks that I find in a little wood near my house. I like painting flowers, woodland animals and fairies.

My island is powered by solar panels, under water turbines and wind turbines.

My house is climate friendly because it has solar panels. I also take less baths so that I do not waste water and take the plug out when they are not in use.

As a community we sell local fruit and veg and we buy second hand clothes. We also keep our island rubbish free and we do not use single use plastic. We are always thinking of ways to help climate change.

A Climate Friendly Day in my Life – Lewis, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Lewis Walker, I am 32 years old and I live on the Isle of Barra. Barra is part of the Western Isles and the year is 2042.

I am going to describe a climate friendly day in my life.

When I wake up I have a fruit salad for breakfast. I grow all the fruit in my own garden. After my breakfast I fill up my reusable, metal water bottle that I use every day. Then I pack my things ready for work. I pack some strawberries that I grew myself in a reusable plastic tub. Then I pack my water bottle with nice, clean water.

My job is a fisherman so I catch crabs, lobsters and fish. I sell them to people on the island or I just give it to them away so nothing goes to waste. I sell them on the island so that less food is being transported to our island. I get to the pier by bike, walking or sometimes I use the new electrical bus.

After I sell my catch to the people I go to my eco-friendly house. My house is eco-friendly because it has solar panels on the roof. It also has a wonderous garden with fruits, vegetables and other plants like trees. Sometimes I even sell my fruits like raspberries, strawberries and blackberries with my fish so people buy my e-friendly food.

The whole island is powered by wind turbines and solar panels. The whole island looks after the island by going on big beach clean ups and we even clean the amazing sea itself. We go to all the beaches on the island with a litter picker and bin bag. We collect so much litter that we fill up our bin bags. We also never waste anything like food, water and electricity because we know others don’t have it.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Maren, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Maren, I am 29 years old and the year is currently 2040.

I am going to tell you about my eco-friendly life.

When I get up in the morning I have breakfast. For breakfast I have eggs from my own chickens and some fruit I have grown by myself. After I have eaten my breakfast I go for a walk. When I am ready to go to work, I turn of all my lights so I don’t waste any electricity. I travel to work in my electric car, or by bike or scooter. I can take the electrical bus but I mostly walk to work because it is good exercise and its good for the planet.

My job is a marine biologist but I only do that job on holidays. My marine biologist job is climate friendly because I get to learn more about sea life which is vital for us. I can also learn about endangered animals and I am always discovering ways to protect the animals that live in our oceans. At the weekends, I work as a gardener. My job is great for the planet because I plant more trees and that is amazing for our beautiful world! Another thing I do as a gardener is I plant flowers. The flowers attract bees and they take all the nectar and bring it back to their hive. This is wonderful because this is increasing the number of bees. I also plant vegetables for the rest of the community.

When I get home from work I spend time in eco friendly house. My house is climate friendly because it has multiple solar panels on the roof, it has a mini forest in the garden along with a vegetable patch. My vegetable patch includes carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes and some fruit trees with oranges, apples and plums. I use all this food when I cook or I use local food that I buy in the shops. I try not to use food from places that are not local. I also have wind turbines nearby my house. I have animals ethat I use for meat or for wool during the winter to make my own clothes.

As a community we look after our island by using all local things. We also host regular beach clean ups at different beaches to make sure they are always as clean as they can be. We also do fund raisers to plant trees. Some ways that we raise money is by doing marathons and clubs. There are bins all around the islands so that nobody litters.

A Day in my Eco-Friendly Life – Micheal, Castlebay Primary School

Hello my name is Micheal, it is the year 2040 and I am 28 years old.

I am going to describe a day in my eco-friendly life.

When I wake up, I make myself a delicious breakfast using local produce such as eggs from my chickens. After my breakfast, I get ready for work. I work as a builder. To get to work I drive my electric van.

My job is eco-friendly because I build house that are very well insulated so that heat does not escape. The houses are heated with geothermal energy and I also put solar panels on people’s roofs. I love my job because I am saving the planet.

After work, I come home and work on my vegetable patch in my garden. I planet carrots, apples, potatoes and much more. My house has solar panels on the roof and I have lots of trees around my house

My island is eco-friendly because every house has solar panels on their roof. Every house hold has to plant at least one tree. There are lots of bins on the island so that people don’t drop litter. Everyone uses recycled materials and recycles old products. I love my island, it is the best and the most eco-friendliest island ever because we can work together to help save the planet.

My Eco Life – Miyah, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Miyah MacLean, I’m 31 years old and I work as a lawyer. I will be describing my eco friendly life.

I make sure to wake up bright and early to get ready for the day. First, I brush my teeth with a bamboo eco-friendly tooth brush. Today I will not be having a shower since I had one yesterday and I do not like to waste water. Then I get dressed in to my work uniform. I brush my hair with a eco-friendly bamboo hair brush. Last but not least, I have freshly picked fruit from my garden for my breakfast.

To get to work, I will either ride my bike, walk or take my electric car. Today I will be taking my bike as I am in no rush. When I get to work, I will check that the solar panels at my work are in good condition. Today I will be taking a big factory to court to stop then from polluting the air and using fossil fuels. I was very excited but nervous at the same time. I will be taking them to court soon. I use a laptop instead of paper so I don’t waste paper. I spent a lot of time at work meeting clients online to save them from travelling to my office. After work, I ride my bike back home.

When I get home I pick some peppers, onions and lettuce from my home garden to make chicken fajitas for my dinner. After I eat my dinner I will go to the beach to do a beach clean up with my friends, then I will go home, brush my teeth with a eco-friendly bamboo tooth brush and then I will get ready for bed.

My island is eco-friendly because everyone on the island uses an eco-friendly source of energy. The community do beach clean ups every week and we have lots of bins so that people don’t litter. We have eco-friendly planes so people can travel without polluting the air.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Oliver, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Oliver Daly, it is 2040 and I am 27 years old.

I am going to tell you about a day in my life on a carbon neutral island.

I wake up at 6:59am and I have 1 minute to get out of bed. I go downstairs and I have a cup of tea and feed my dog. After, I go outside and pick some lettuce, some tomatoes and some potatoes from my vegetable patch for breakfast and dinner. Once I have finished my breakfast I get ready for work and I make sure to turn off all the lights before I leave.

I work in a business and I travel between jobs using my bike. My job is eco-friendly because I sell eco-friendly products that use zero fossil fuels. As part of my job, I also have to clean the solar panels behind the building so they keep working. At 11:59am I have my lunch break. For lunch I have some homemade bread and jam. Around 12:30pm, it’s back to work. Since I already cleaned the solar panels my job now is to collect the materials so they can be recycled like old glass and plastic, and then bring them back in the company’s electric pickup truck. At 1:59pm I go home on my bike and feed the birds at my house. Then I go out on a walk and get back home around 3:40pm and have some tea I bought on the walk. At 6pm I have the lettuce, tomatoes and potatoes for my dinner, from my garden and then I go to sleep.

My island is eco-friendly because it has a lot of renewable energy including Hydroelectric, wind, solar and wave power. There is a lot of locally made food that is sold in the local shops and people recycle unwanted items and single use plastic.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Patrick, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Patrick and I am going to tell you what I want the Isle of Barra to be like in 2040.

In 2040 I would like people to walk place to place instead of driving or taking buses around the place. If you are not able to walk between places then I want people to travel on electric buses or use electric cars. I will tell people to take the ferry instead of the plane because in 2040 I want the ferry to be electrical so that it does not produce as many emissions.

I want the electricity on Barra to come from solar panels or wind turbines. I also want lots of hydro power to be available. I want lots of renewable energy to be available on the island in 2040.

I want my home to have solar panels on the roof and the solar panels will power the electrical equipment in my house and I want to have my own vegetable patch to grow my own vegetables instead of getting them far and I’ll buy local produce in shops. I’ll get my eggs from my chickens and some apples from my apple tree. I will have lots and lots of plants around my house and I will have a cat and dog and some cows and sheep on my croft in 2040.

In 2040 I want to be a fisherman. I want to catch fish to sell to locals instead of sending them very far away. I also won’t over fish like people do right now so that’s going to be my job in 2040.

In 2040 I want lots of people to do litter pickups and I want more bins put around the place because right now in Barra there’s lots and lots of rubbish in the bushes, park, pitch around the coop in lots of places.

My Eco Life – Robbie, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Robbie Campbell it is July the 11^th 2041 and I am 31 years old. I live on the Isle of Barra and today I am going to talk to you about my eco life.

When I wake up I get dressed and go down stairs. I go over to my freezer where the pork, sausages and bacon from my old pig are. I take out some of the sausages and start to fry them in my electric oven. Once they are ready I take them out and eat them. Once I am done I go back up stairs and brush my teeth with a bamboo toothbrush. When I am done I go outside in to my forest, that is where my lab is. In my lab I work on discovering new eco-friendly ways of travel, like the underwater jetpack that uses the wind to go superfast under the water.

My lab runs on solar panels completely. When I am in I continue working on the completely electric passenger plane. I am nearly finished and the plane should hold around 1000 people. A little electric stunt plane has already been made but nothing like my plane. I have three hundred of the best builders and engineers in the world working in my lab and half of them are working on my plane.

When I finish my work, I start to my dinner ready. I am having roast chicken from the chicken that I killed yesterday and I will go out and pick some vegetables from my garden. I am making a fancy dinner to impress my guests from the eco-friendly travel company. If they are impressed by my plane they will start making millions more of them all around the world.

My island is eco-friendly because everyone on it has electric cars and if they have boats they all have electric engines. Nobody travels by plane and every house is powered by the four big wind turbines at the top of the Dune Scurival, except from my house which is powered by my own solar panels.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Ross, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Ross, I am 28 years old and it is the year 2040.

I am going to tell you about a day in my life, life is very different now.

When I wake up in the morning, I have breakfast. For breakfast I have eggs that were laid by my own chickens and milk that was milked from the cows at the other side of the road. I make an omelette on my eco cooker than is powered by the solar panels on the roof of my house.

I travel work on the public electric buses and sometimes I cycle or walk. .

I work at the local shop. At my shop we use less plastic packaging and we have recycling points so we can recycle the plastic packaging and reuse it for the other foods in the shop. If fruits go out of date we use them as fertiliser for trees or to plant more fruit for the shop. The heating system is powered by a fan at the back of the shop and the freezer is powered by hydro pumps. Our food is delivered from hover drones that are power by the sun on their way here.

My home is surrounded lots of trees. It has a wind turbine and on the roof there is a solar panel. I have my vegetable patch with onion, carrots, lettuce, turnups, potatoes, radishes, beetroot, rhubarb and broccoli. I water my veg every day with the rain water I get from the tank in my garden

Every Tuesday we go out and plant trees in a certain place on the island and then the next week we move on to another place. On Sundays we go on searches for injured animal and take them to the local vet. The council encourage all local people to have at least 6 plants in their house. The electricity on the island comes from solar panels, wind turbines and hydro pumps.

My Eco-Friendly Life – Rowan, Castlebay Primary School

I am Rowan Campbell and I live on the Isle of Barra. It is the year 2040 and I am 28 years old

I am going to tell you about a day in my eco-friendly life.

When I wake up I get dressed into second hand clothes that I have bought from a local shop. I do not think that it is good to bin clothes, so I always recycle my clothes and I make sure that I always buy second hand clothes when I need new clothing. Once I am dressed, I have eggs from my chickens and bacon from the local store. After my breakfast I head to work, I work as a lawyer.

To get to work I take the electric bus, it takes a while but I always get there. When I arrive at my work, I work on my laptop, which is powered by my work’s solar panels. I use my laptop to meet clients online, this is eco friendly because it means by clients do not need to travel to my office and it saves money for my client because he doesn’t have to pay for fuel. I spend a lot of my time working hard to make sure companies that use a lot of fossil fuels are taken to court and penalised for their terrible actions. I also type up my notes on my laptop so that paper is not being wasted. When it is lunchtime, I have my lunch in the canteen. All the food here is form the local farm or homemade, such as homemade jam. I also always take water to work in a reusable water bottle. My work is also eco-friendly because they use wind and solar power to power electrical equipment and we do not use much paper. We also recycle products and do not use single use plastic.

My island is very eco-friendly. My island is powered by windmills and solar panels and wave energy. I think we do very good at keeping our island clean and healthy.

After work I go home and feed my chickens then I have dinner. For dinner I have chicken and my homegrown vegetables. I grow carrots, turnips, potatoes, radishes, beetroot, lettuce and more.

My house is eco-friendly because I have 4 solar-panels on each side. I also have a mini windmill and I plant lots of trees whenever I get the chance.

We look after our island by cutting down dead trees so we can plant more new fresh trees. The community works together to build wind mills, we are actually building one right now. We organise beach clean-up 2 days a week. To make our community even more eco friendly we could add more bins and go on three beach clean ups a week! This is our island and we will protect it and the wild life that lives on it today and in the future.

2040 – Sophie, Castlebay Primary School

My name is Sophie, I am from the Isle of Vatersay. It is 2040 and I am an artist.

When I wake up, I go down stairs and have a quorn and egg sandwich. I get my eggs from the local farm. After breakfast I pack my paints and cycle down the canal path and look at where water used to run freely. I sit down and do my artwork in the wonderful outdoors. My paints are homemade. I usually paint wildlife such as bees and flowers. When I am finished, I cycle back home.

My island is powered by solar panels, wind turbines and solar energy, which doesn’t harm the planet. My home is climate friendly because I have sensory lighting which means the lights go off when I am not in a room.

As a community, we look after our island’s environment by growing fruit and vegetables. We plant trees and crops and look after the animals and bees.

My Eco Life – Thomas, Castlebay Primary School

Hello my name is Thomas Kearney, I am 20 years old and I work as an artist on the isle of Barra. I will be speaking about my eco life.

When I wake up bright and early in the morning I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth with my electric toothbrush and wash my hands. Next I go to the kitchen and make a delicious healthy egg from my chickens in my garden and then I drink a fresh glass of milk from my cows. After my breakfast I go to my room and get dressed then Itake my electric car to work and make sure its fully charged.

I work as an artist so I make lot and lots of paintings that I sell to people all over the world. I make sure I don’t use tons of paper and the paper that I do use is fully recycled. My word is powered by two windmills and twenty solar panels that are on the roof. The lights in all the rooms are censored, which means they automatically go off when people leave the room.

After work I usually go home and do some gardening. My house is powered by wind energy so there are mini wind turbines around my home. I also have a lot of censored lights in my home. I plant trees which are good for the community.

As a community, we look after our island by using reusable cups, we don’t litter and we defiantly don’t use fossil fuels that damage the planet.

Monday 3^rd October 2040 – Alanna, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

My name is Alanna MacNeil and today I woke up, got ready and then had some cereal. I drove my electric car to work at the Polytunnel. I passed by some wind turbines and solar panels. I finally arrived at the Polytunnel, parked my car and I planted some vegetables and watered the rest.

Barra has changed so much since I was a girl. I am delighted that we saved our island. Our island was full of plastic, animals were dying and plastic was destroying our beautiful Barra beaches.

My house has solar panels and some mini wind-turbines. I have an electric fire and we stay in Borve an extremely sustainable area. We do not have a coal fires anymore because it was bad for the environment.

I come home, pick up Scruff, my dog, get changed and meet up with Niamh and Summer. We go for a beach clean and take Scruff for a walk at the same time, most days.

I am a vegetarian now, it started off with meat-free-Mondays and I continued it one week and I never stopped! This has been fantastic for my environment and quite a few of my friends are now adopting that life-style.

I understand the importance of keeping our beaches clean and although we no longer use plastic on Barra, sometimes plastics wash up on our beaches. We check our beach every day and immediately clear any rubbish away because they remind me of sad times when our planet was in trouble.

I am so glad we all worked so hard in 2021. Our planet and our beautiful island are safe.

Dear Diary – Ealasaid, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

Today was a fun filled day. I woke up, had my cereal. Then watered my plants as usual.

I drove to my work in an Electric car. I feel happy to breath in the fresh air on Barra. Every morning, I drive past our amazing hydro-station and it makes me feel happy that we have worked hard to save our island. Barra was not like this when I was at school.

Back in 2021, the world was in a panic because sea levels were rising, plastic was killing animals and polluting our seas. There was an event called COP 26 on in Glasgow where world leaders were trying to agree on ideas to help turn this around. Thankfully they made the most amazing choices to save our planet and that is why Barra is as nice as it is today.

I teach in a small school called Eoligarry and my class can’t believe the climate crisis. They find it really difficult to imagine such a different island to what we have today.

Barra is a beautiful place to live. The sea levels are not rising anymore. We are plastic free, use electricity rather than fossil fuels. Nearly every house has solar panels and wind turbines, which work well on such a windy island. Most people grow their own fruit vegetables and try to buy locally. Even our plane is electric and Calmac use sustainable fuels on their boats too.

I am really happy that we saved our planet and our island.

Dear Diary – Eilidh, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

From when I was a kid, Barra has changed a lot. There are Electric cars, Wind Turbines and Solar Panels everywhere. People live sustainably and from our beautiful land. We have lots of shops that sell local produce too.

I cycle to work every day but if I am late I can catch the Electric bus. Let me tell you a little bit about the bakery where I work. It is a lovely place to be. My cakes taste scrumptious. I try to use local produce as much as possible. My carrot cake and oat cookies are the favourites.

Now let me tell you about my lovely garden. I grow rows and rows of fruit and vegetables. I have to tell you they are divine! I feel so happy to smell the fresh fruit and vegetables every day.

After an amazing day at work my family and friends go for a walk walk on the beach and do a litter pick at the same time. Our beaches are lovely and clean. We love to spot sealife such as Seahorses, Sea lions and Dolphins

Barra was not like this when I was a kid. Now there are Wind turbines and Solar Panels so people make their own electricity for their Electric cars. When I think back to when I was a kid I feel extremely awful because of all the litter and gases. Now everyone is an Eco Warrior.

I am extremely happy we saved our beautiful planet back in 2021.

Dear Diary – Lewis, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

I woke up and had breakfast with my family. We love having toast and some fresh bananas from the Polytunnel. They are really yummy!

I drive to work each day in my electric car, passing the amazing wind turbines and I love seeing the litter free beaches on my way.

I work on the ferry which has changed over the years and it is now powered by a hydro-plant and all of the food is local produce, which has helped our Island businesses.

After my work, I have dinner with my family and all the food is locally sourced. My favourite food is fish which is caught by the local fishing boats which are also powered by small hydro plants. I like eating potatoes which we grow in our garden. We are also growing strawberries in our greenhouse. They are so tasty!

At the weekends we sometimes go for walks on the beach to admire our gorgeous plastic free beaches. If we see any rubbish we pick it up and take it home to put in the bin.

I am glad we saved the planet!

November 4^th 2040 – Ellis, Primary 5, Eoligarry School

I woke up really early today. I drove my electric car and set off to work on my fishing boat, which is called Carlisle CY91.

I love my journey to work because I pass all the beautiful sights. I can see the smooth sea wav-ing at me. The air feels so clean and clear.

I pass all wind turbines spinning in the wind. It is a lovely sound. Most people on Barra have wind turbines in their garden and Solar panels on their houses.

My job is climate friendly because my boat is powered by a hydro pump and solar panels and we are only allowed to catch fish of a certain size. I have to sell my fish locally at the local market.

Fish is one of my favourite things to eat. I grow lots of vegetables in my garden and I have a small greenhouse to grow some strawberries and raspberries.

My family and I like to go for long walks on our beautiful beaches at the weekend. Lots of people do litter picks when they go to the beach so we don’t see any plastic on our beaches and shores anymore!

I am so glad we worked so hard back in 2021 to save our planet. Our beaches are clean and sea animals are not in danger anymore.

Dear Diary (14-2-40) – Ethan, Eoligarry School

Dear Diary,

Today I snoozed my alarm three times, serves me right for watching a whole series on Netflix last night. I almost ran out of time to scan round the beaches for any plastic or waste, thankfully there was only one plastic bottle. When I was younger there was plastic all over our beautiful Barra beaches. Residents of Barra have been directed by the government to do weekly beach checks to insure that there is no plastic. We have come a long way since 2021!

In the afternoon after having my delicious lunch locally sourced salmon and vegetables, I turn on my wind turbine, make sure all of my windows are closed and my lights are off. I hop into my electric BMW and drive to work, admiring the litter free streets and our sustainable houses. I am an engineer and part time footballer for Barra Fc. My job involves making sure that our citizens have working, sufficient and renewable energy sources such as solar panels, wind turbines etc.

I live with my girlfriend Stephanie, she is from Russia, I met her at COP26 back in 2021. We were both passionate about saving the planet and we were part of the climate change initiative. We live a happy, sustainable life in Horve with our child Lisa. We love growing plants and I am delighted to be surrounded by many trees. Sometimes we fly on the electric plane to Glasgow for a holiday. We are vegetarian like many other people on the island.

I love my beautiful island life with my family and I am happy that I helped save the planet!

Friday 29^th October 2040 – Innes, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

I woke up to notice I was late, so I skipped breakfast, got ready and jumped on the electric bus to work. On my way to work I enjoy seeing the progress Barra has made to save the planet, I adore seeing the solar-panels, hydro-stations and wind-turbines, this makes me realise how far we have come and the progress that we have made so that generations to come can enjoy a climate change free world.

When I arrive at work my colleagues are waiting for me at the door, they are happy to see me and I’m happy to see them. In the building there are several floors, lots of windows and fan-powered computers, the plants are watered everyday and Barra is proud to be an air-pollution free Island.

As I sit at my computer, the sun is dazzling my eyes, blinding bright! That’s normal now, since there is no air-pollution to block the sun out!
After work I go home to see the mini wind-turbines I ordered had been set up and wired! Now we have even more sustainable power, which is exciting! Once a month I organise a beach scan, just to make sure there is no litter. This makes me feel happy because the beaches used to have loads of litter that crossed the Atlantic, and we would often find dead seals and dolphins that were washed up on our beaches after consuming plastics. I could have cried the day I found a sperm whale washed up on our beach. I am delighted now to see dolphins and other sea animals thrive so that generations to come can enjoy them.

October 3^rd 2040 – Niamh, Primary 5, Eoligarry Primary School

When I woke up this morning I was so excited to teach my class about the history of Barra. My class could not believe their ears! On my way to work in my electric car, I pass the cool hydro-station which always makes me really proud of our climate change journey back in 2021 at COP 26, in Glasgow – we really did make a difference!

After work I usually go for a walk on the beautiful Barra beaches with my dog Daisy. The beaches are now plastic free and the animals are safe. This was a very different story 20 years ago.

I planned the most amazing dinner for my friends like I do every Tuesday night. All of the ingredients are fresh and locally sourced. We love the fresh fruit and vegetables from the Poly-Tunnel and sometimes we order Joan’s Barra pizza as a treat! We always dance and have lots of fun.

A few years ago, I grew trees in my garden and they are so high now, I love reading in my garden with the fairy lights glistening on the trees, along with the stars that I can see clearly in the night sky.

I am ecstatic that planet earth was saved and generations to come will thank us for combatting climate change!

A Day in my Life, 2040 – Owen, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

My name is Owen Macneil and this is a day in my life – 2040.

I woke up with my everyday routine in mind, I would usually be getting dressed up for work and making breakfast for my children. Much has changed from dressing because throw-away fashion had been an issue when I was in school, now people share and re-use clothes. Cereals have had a critical change too, as our community has outlawed the use of single use plastics. Which includes the packaging in the cereal boxes. With these new rules there comes other ones. They include fines for the usage of coal, oil and gas and also for littering. Anyway, back onto what’s happening next. After breakfast I get myself ready for work. Gathering all my new tools powered by electricity, including a blowtorch that doesn’t use gas.

Each day, I drive my electric car to work. I look out the window and see wind farms, house roofs littered with solar panels, and a couple of hydro stations too. Barra has changed over the last 18 years, for the better. Most of the electric cars on Barra are the same model right now so my job is quite straight forward. We no-longer use notes or coins as currency, everything is by card.

Scotland has made a rule to keep species alive. On Monday, Wednesday and Saturdays we are not allowed to eat meat. This helps to save our animals lives, reduce emissions and balance peoples’ diets. I think this was a good idea to enter our region because our diet can change a person’s mentality. Today I’m making spaghetti with slices of butter through it with a side of some broccoli from our local poly tunnel.

I am delighted that we have had many COP meetings over the years to combat climate change. We now have a beautiful world full of colour, that will be admired for generations to come!

Dear Diary – Rachel, Primary 5, Eoligarry School

Dear Diary,

My name is Rachel. I woke up this morning excited to bake something new. I made some pancakes and put fresh strawberries on top of them. We buy our strawberries from the local Polytunnel.

After breakfast I went on my bike to the small building where I work. I bake lots of delicious cakes to sell to people in the community. My produce is all locally sourced and residents love the flavours. I try to include local produce as much as possible and use local fruit and vegetables. The Pumpkin Oat Cookies are everybody’s favourite.

After work when I was cycling back home and I had a look around me and saw how different things are from when I was a kid. Lots of people have Wind Turbines and mostly everybody has Solar Panels. People are making their own electricity and most cars are electric now.

When I got home I made dinner. We eat a lot of fish which is caught locally by fishermen and prepared in Barra Atlantic, we also grow our own vegetables. We don’t go to the Coop very often but we do need to buy things like Fair-trade butter, milk & cheese.

I love going for walks on our beaches. Our beaches are very clean now because lots of people do litter picks to make sure they are plastic free.

I am really happy that all the hard work we did in 2022 has helped Barra and the rest of the globe! There are less cars on the road, people buy their food locally and there is very little waste of food. I am very happy about the beaches being clean and delighted that our animals can swim safely in our seas without the threat of being tangled in plastic bags.

Thursday 23^rd September 2040 – Robbie, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

I woke up today in my eco house, went downstairs, had some toast and went fishing. Today was the fishing competition. I have a 30-meter boat called McScorpio, CY93, and it is powered by a mini Hydro power plant on board and a solar panel on the roof of the Wheel house. Me and my crew caught an extremely rare rainbow mackerel which was discovered in New Zealand in 2034. We took a picture of and returned it back to the sea since it is endangered.

There are shorter numbers of crab and lobster now, because in 2037, The Scottish Government increased the sellable lobster and crab sizes by 1cm. Throughout the last 25 days I earned £19,374. This means I can get more solar panels and extend our garden by x10, so my children, Harry, 9, Emma, 6, and Elijah, 1, can have their own vegetable patch!

I returned home in a happy mood, partly because of my new electric car. I passed all the wind turbines whirring in the breeze. I made Brunch for my family using eggs from our hens and vegetables from our garden. Afterwards, I had to go to Castlebay Primary School to tell them how climate change effects my job, such as changes like bigger crab sizes needed for sale, and my enormous electric boat.

I just watched the news, and loads of interesting stuff was being said, such as there is now 0% fossil fuels and carbon emission worldwide. The UN has also prevented any country from going to war, due to the pollution it would cause and they want a peaceful world.

We are very lucky that we changed this world around before it was too late.

Barra in 2040 – Summer, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

My life is very different to the way it was years ago! I was part of the save the planet generation when I was at school. The beaches were full of plastic and our wildlife was dying, it was really tragic and we felt helpless until we decided to take action and make a difference. I feel happy every morning, I wake up, sit in my gorgeous garden with my breakfast and my herbal tea, breathing in the fresh air and admiring my fruit and vegetables that I planted last summer.

I live in a sustainable house with my family, we are happy, we have beautiful solar-panelled roofs and the amazing wind-turbines remind us, how far we have come to save our planet. I admire gardening and I think it’s important that I pass that knowledge onto young people. That’s why I volunteer in schools, helping children to maintain their garden and growing fruit and vegetables. I am letter and plastic free like many of my friends. I plant trees yearly and I enjoy sharing my expert advice with the younger generations!

I drive an electric car, cycle or walk to the schools on the island. When I go to Glasgow on holiday, I travel on the electric plane that only comes to Barra once every fortnight! We don’t need the plane and ferry so much because we live more sustainably off the island.

I enjoy my meat-free lifestyle and I adore my family and surroundings, I am really lucky.

Thank goodness we made a difference at COP 26 in 2021!

My Eco Life – Thomas, Castlebay Primary School

Hello my name is Thomas Kearney, I am 20 years old and I work as an artist on the isle of Barra. I will be speaking about my eco life.

As a community, we look after our island by using reusable cups, we don’t litter and we defiantly don’t use fossil fuels that damage the planet.

Monday 3^rd October 2040 – Alanna, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

Barra has changed so much since I was a girl. I am delighted that we saved our island. Our island was full of plastic, animals were dying and plastic was destroying our beautiful Barra beaches.

I come home, pick up Scruff, my dog, get changed and meet up with Niamh and Summer. We go for a beach clean and take Scruff for a walk at the same time, most days.

I am so glad we all worked so hard in 2021. Our planet and our beautiful island are safe.

Dear Diary – Ealasaid, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

Today was a fun filled day. I woke up, had my cereal. Then watered my plants as usual.

I teach in a small school called Eoligarry and my class can’t believe the climate crisis. They find it really difficult to imagine such a different island to what we have today.

I am really happy that we saved our planet and our island.

Dear Diary – Eilidh, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

Now let me tell you about my lovely garden. I grow rows and rows of fruit and vegetables. I have to tell you they are divine! I feel so happy to smell the fresh fruit and vegetables every day.

I am extremely happy we saved our beautiful planet back in 2021.

Dear Diary – Lewis, Primary 4, Eoligarry School

I woke up and had breakfast with my family. We love having toast and some fresh bananas from the Polytunnel. They are really yummy!

I drive to work each day in my electric car, passing the amazing wind turbines and I love seeing the litter free beaches on my way.

I work on the ferry which has changed over the years and it is now powered by a hydro-plant and all of the food is local produce, which has helped our Island businesses.

At the weekends we sometimes go for walks on the beach to admire our gorgeous plastic free beaches. If we see any rubbish we pick it up and take it home to put in the bin.

I am glad we saved the planet!

November 4^th 2040 – Ellis, Primary 5, Eoligarry School

I woke up really early today. I drove my electric car and set off to work on my fishing boat, which is called Carlisle CY91.

I love my journey to work because I pass all the beautiful sights. I can see the smooth sea wav-ing at me. The air feels so clean and clear.

I pass all wind turbines spinning in the wind. It is a lovely sound. Most people on Barra have wind turbines in their garden and Solar panels on their houses.

My job is climate friendly because my boat is powered by a hydro pump and solar panels and we are only allowed to catch fish of a certain size. I have to sell my fish locally at the local market.

Fish is one of my favourite things to eat. I grow lots of vegetables in my garden and I have a small greenhouse to grow some strawberries and raspberries.

I am so glad we worked so hard back in 2021 to save our planet. Our beaches are clean and sea animals are not in danger anymore.

Dear Diary (14-2-40) – Ethan, Eoligarry School

Dear Diary,

I love my beautiful island life with my family and I am happy that I helped save the planet!

Friday 29^th October 2040 – Innes, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

October 3^rd 2040 – Niamh, Primary 5, Eoligarry Primary School

After work I usually go for a walk on the beautiful Barra beaches with my dog Daisy. The beaches are now plastic free and the animals are safe. This was a very different story 20 years ago.

I am ecstatic that planet earth was saved and generations to come will thank us for combatting climate change!

A Day in my Life, 2040 – Owen, Primary 6, Eoligarry School

My name is Owen Macneil and this is a day in my life – 2040.

I am delighted that we have had many COP meetings over the years to combat climate change. We now have a beautiful world full of colour, that will be admired for generations to come!

Dear Diary – Rachel, Primary 5, Eoligarry School

Dear Diary,

My name is Rachel. I woke up this morning excited to bake something new. I made some pancakes and put fresh strawberries on top of them. We buy our strawberries from the local Polytunnel.

I love going for walks on our beaches. Our beaches are very clean now because lots of people do litter picks to make sure they are plastic free.