- Life in 2040 – Alasdair, Tiree High School
It’s the year 2040 global warming has stopped, I am 31 and the world is a different place. We get all our electricity from wind turbines, Hydro-Power and Solar panels. Greta Thuburg got a job since the world turned around and now we are back to normal, before the industrial revolution. Every car is electric and companies like Shell have gone out of business. Elon Musk is now the richest person ever since he created cars that can self-drive safely. They do this by connecting to the mainframe using 7G and to the other cars.
Now onto the plastic situation.
They have removed plastic from all packaging and have made it stored in paper, cardboard or glass. Focusing more on Tiree they have created a new forest so that they can hold up the dunes with their roots. It made it a lot easier to get fruits like apples since they can grow on trees. People here have started creating fruit and vegetable farms using greenhouses and things like that to heat up the area they’re in to make it like their normal climate. They have made a compost heap in the dump for people’s food waste. They have found a way to destroy plastic without releasing CO2, but it is expensive so they have destroyed every bit they could find, made it illegal to create or use plastic and switched to paper and glass for packaging until they find something better.
Now on to how we generate our electricity.
We have created a wind farm a few kilometres away from the island and have created a kind of ship which is anchored to one spot which has solar panels on it.
They did this because it doesn’t use valuable space which we don’t have much of on Tiree.
Now I will show you what the governments have done.
In the last 20 years the governments started turning themselves around by doing what is good for the economy later instead of now. What I mean is they realised that it would cost more to fix it later then it would now and be able to stop all the disastrous effects of climate change.
Governments around the world bought all of the rainforests and a majority of the land around them that were for cows and are now being replanted with trees so that they can get their ecosystem back. They have also banned the production of petrol and diesel cars in all countries and will have banned petrol and diesel cars from the road by 2050. This has cut ¾ of carbon emissions.
What these changes have done for our planet?
First of all, the amount of cyclones, hurricanes and mass storms have decreased by 20%.
Secondly, heatwaves chances have decreased by 10% and the global temperatures has gone down by .25 degrees. Droughts in Africa are becoming less frequent and countries in the west have started donating money to build thousands of clean water wells in poorer, more vulnerable countries.
Compared to what the world looked like 20 years ago, this new world looks sustainable, not world damaging and healthy for us, the wildlife and the planet.
- A Few Days in My Life – Casey, Tiree High School
The year is 2040 and I woke up this morning to the hens screaming in their little hut and so I got up and got dressed and went outside to feed the animals. Firstly, I fed the cattle and then I fed the sheep and then the ducks, then lastly I fed the pigs. After that I then went to the chicken’s pen, I fed them and got the eggs. Then after that I went inside and fed the dogs and the Cat. Soon after that I got changed and went to my car. I got in my car and headed to the co-op. Once I arrived at the co-op I got a few crates of fruit and vegetables and then I also picked up some Boxes of crisps and also some orange juice.
A while after being at the shop I arrived home and had my lunch. For lunch I had scrambled eggs on toast and a cup of tea. After I finished my lunch I went out to water my plants and seeds and basically everything in my greenhouse. Now that I had finished doing that I had to go to the pier to collect my sister, who is coming off of the boat. It made a weird noise because it was the new electric one that they started making in 2024 and they had just finished making it and this is It’s first run.
Once I got back from picking my sister up from the boat, I had to go out for about an hour to check on the solar panels and go to the hydropower station to check on that. The only reason I am checking on the hydropower station is because my friend told me how to do it whilst they are away. After checking on the wave power station, I went to check on the wind farm. Once I finished doing all that, I headed back home and made dinner.
After my sister and I had dinner, I went out to feed all the animals again and then I fed the dogs and the Cat when I got back.
Later after we had had dinner my sister and I decided to go for a walk with the Dogs. We took them to Gott Bay beach and then we ended up going to the forest as well. Once we got home I turned on the lights and my sister and I sat down and had a cup of tea.
Later on after watching a bit of The British Bake Off, (don’t worry my TV is powered by our solar panels and our lights are powered by batteries) I went to bed and put on my amazing LED lights that are powered by batteries.
I woke up in the middle of the night to the Dogs barking at the Cat because the Cat had the Dog treats. I finished that war and went back to bed.
The next morning, I woke up and today was very much different from yesterday. Firstly, I fed the animals and took the dogs for a walk. (by the way my lazy sister was still in bed). By the time the dogs and I got back from the walk it was already eight o’clock. Afterwards we (by ‘we’ I mean the dogs and I) had breakfast and I had to get my wet and muddy dogs to wake up my sister. After I heard my sister scream I shouted at the dogs to come so I could wash and dry them.
Coincidentally, my sister’s old childhood/all-life friend came to visit. My sister’s reaction was “How did you know I was on the Island?!” I said, “It’s a small Island, people talk”. I thought to myself that was cheeky.
My sister and her friend decided to go and feed the ducks later on after they had a catch up, which was definitely needed. Firstly, they had to go to the shop to get bread that was in paper bags now if we think back to 2022 they had plastic wrappers for the bread. You can also get crates of bread, not just paper bags.
Eventually my sister and her friend came home at around four thirty. As for that, I asked my sister’s friend if she wanted to stay for dinner. They both agreed that that would be an amazing idea.
I made dinner. For dinner we had freshly prepared Meat, Beef if you want to be precise. We had Beef with fresh potatoes and Fresh vegetables. What type of vegetables do you say? We had Sweetcorn, Carrots, Peas, Cucumber and Lettuce.
After dinner I had made a very rich apple crumble made from fresh apples from the apple tree in the garden. We all sat down and ate that whilst talking about the farm and how my sister’s friend’s job was she is an Artist and her art… well, it is OUT OF THIS WORLD! Literally. After we finished that my sister and her friend decided to go out again for a little while.
Once they left I washed the dishes and fed the animals. Once I was finished doing that I decided to go for a nice warm shower.
At around 10:30 my sister came home. I had asked where she had been the whole time? (For your information she left at six o’clock.) She never answered. I asked her again. “Where were you?” This time she said to me “A-at the park”. Obviously I didn’t whether to believe that or not. We then sat down and had a chat and she told me the truth. Somebody had tricked her into drinking alcohol and she…well…yeah. Anyway I told her how to avoid it. She knows now.
A day later.
Today is the day of the sale so I can’t be talking much. Thanks for listening to me last few days. I need to go to the sale now, bye.
- Climate Change Tiree – Eva, Tiree Primary School
Things have changed a lot since 2022 I wanted to become a doctor in 2022 and help the planet and overall it has worked. I have become a doctor and we got the government to help us with it they make a decision that all houses should have solar panels on it and that there had to be at least one little forest in every place.
At my house I have solar panels on the roof and I have a green house in the garden to plant all my own fruit and vegetables so I can save some money. But when I come up to Tiree every summer and there is a big forest and lots of people have now got solar panels and green houses in their garden. We now have lots of turbines and all the new houses now have solar panels.
When I came over on the boat it used to take 4 hours and now it is only 2 and the boat is very good now. When I came off the boat I drove my electric car off the pier and went to the co-op but when I used to live here all the food was wrapped in plastic but now all of the food like avocado, bananas, bread, cucumber, and the co-op bags are now paper.
When I was driving I saw that they had built up the downs. When I was younger this area would flood very Easley. And now there is a little forest near the airport. I was passing everyone’s house and noticed that they all had solar panels on their houses. One more thing I found quite cool was there was a wind turbine between Tiree and Mull.
I got home and unpacked the shopping. After I unpacked the shopping I went into my mum’s greenhouse and watered her strawberries, pineapple, avocados, tomatoes, limes, cucumber and herbs.
When I was younger all the crofts were muddy and wet all the time. Apart from one time in 2021 there was a huge heat wave and all the fields looked like the desert. But now all the crofts are a little drier. There are solar panels in the sheep fields. Not many people use tractors and lots of machinery that they used to drive around. But still some people drive around in big machinery.
Me and my friend from Tiree went on a walk across the beach and we went paddle boarding and it was very fun. The tide was super far out so we were a little bit scared but we paddled out to Hynish and it was super cool. We saw lots of fish, sharks, dolphins and jellyfish. When we came out of the water we had a BBQ and we ate burgers and sausages on a roll and had some coke. We watched the sunset together and we went on a walk when the sunset was going down. We took my electric car to go on a drive around the island and stopped at the co-op for some ice-cream.
On Thursday it was my last day on Tiree. I loved my trip up to Tiree seeing lots of my friends and family. I did some super cool things that had never done before. But sadly I had to get on to the ferry at 3:00 in the afternoon, before I went on the ferry I went to the co-op to get some last minuet things such as: toilet cleaner, some chocolate, and some oranges. I went down to the pier and it was super windy but I mean what can I say we are one of the windiest places in Scotland. But with the new electric boat it managed into the pier even though it was such bad weather. But when it used to be the Clansman it would have never got into the pier. And I got home safe and sound so that was my holiday.
- A day in the life – Fallon, Tiree High School
When I wake up in the morning I get some toast with strawberry jam spreaded on it and a cup of luke warm lemon tea and look out of my window. When I look out my window I see a luscious, green forest full of insects and shrubs. As I’m admiring the forest I look at the time and realise I need to get ready for work. As I’m getting ready to go to work, I put out my recycling and breathe the crisp morning air. As I’m walking over to my electric jeep I unplug it and turn the plug off at the wall. After turning the plug off, I walk over to the door of my jeep and get in the jeep. As I’m travelling to work on the bumpy road, I see the wind turbine farm in the glistening water. Whilst I’m looking at the wind turbines I realise the kite surfers. All of their kites are so colourful with lots of patterns on them such as zig-zags and stripes. When I enter work I greet my co-workers with a smile and chat to them for a while before seeing my first patient. When I finish work I get in my jeep and drive to my house. As I’m driving to my house I see a small, brown baby otter and a big, fluffy mother otter running down to the salty water. When I arrive home I turn on the plug at the wall and plugged in my jeep and go to my green house. In my greenhouse I grow lots of fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes, lettuce and pineapples. I grabbed my hose and turned it on and walked into the green house watering all of the plants. As I’m walking around watering my plants I look at the ocean and see a yacht sailing peacefully. After I finished watering my plants I turned off my hose and I went inside my house. When I got in my house I put on my waterproof walking shoes. I started to wonder down to the beach with my fabric bag picking up rubbish along the way. When I got to the beach I started looking for litter. Whilst looking for litter I saw curious grey seals playing in the calm water. As the sun started to set I walked home and put the rubbish in the recycling. I took off my walking shoes and went to the kitchen. I quickly prepared vegetable fajitas out of the vegetables from my green house and topped them off with home-made salsa and guacamole. As I ate the mouth-watering fajitas I watched Marvel on Disney Plus. After I finished eating my fajitas I put the leftovers in my fridge and washed the dishes. As I washed the dishes I listened to Adele. After I finished washing the dishes I went for a shower, the water in my shower is filtered rain water from the gutter. After having a brisk shower, I got into my red cotton pyjamas and put on my wool socks. I got into my cold, fluffy bed and went on my phone for 20 minutes. As I turned off my phone, I turned on to my side and fell into a deep sleep.
- A Very Boring Story – Honey-Jane, Tiree Primary School
The weather is very calm today, it’s rainy and when you look at it for a while you would think this weather is definitely better than it was 20 years ago. Back then when I was around 12 years old I loved being in the rain. It felt like heaven but because of climate change the rain got heavier and heavier every time it rained. It was a nightmare, and didn’t feel like heaven anymore so I stopped going outside when it rained.
To start off my day I get out of bed and turn off all the lights that I might’ve forgotten to turn off last night. Then I go outside to wash my face and brush my teeth. I use my massive tub of water to wash and brush my teeth. I fill this, every two weeks to save water and so I don’t have to pay a lot of money to the landlord. Since it’s a Sunday I go grocery shopping, and to get there I walk, the shop is only 3 minutes away from where I currently live so it would be a waste of diesel if I used my electric car. Electric cars have been quite famous nowadays, I mean it’s obviously because of climate change.
The shops right now are very different to what it was back then, like we use paper instead of plastic for different types of fruits, we have glass for the drinks instead of plastic or metal, and we also give out cardboard boxes for the people that go grocery shopping. The shops also have solar panels all over the roof right now and people that live on the mainland you would see if you were on a plane that every single household has solar panels on their roof. Here on Tiree you would see solar panels on shops and you would also see hundreds of windmills in the sea.
I work as a gardener and I plant trees. That is because there were never trees on Tiree when I was a kid. My job is climate-friendly because they give us oxygen, store carbon, they stabilise the soil and give life to the world’s wildlife. They also provide us with the materials for tools and shelter, so we can build houses and other stuff. I have only been planting trees for 2 years and now Tiree looks like a big massive forest just somewhere in Scotland, it’s a good thing that Tiree has trees because we wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for trees.
I grew up watching Tiree change in just a second. Not just Tiree though, every single country has their own ideas on how to stop climate change, and that’s definitely a good thing.
Right now the UK is one of the top hottest country and the reason to that is because we have the smartest ideas to stop climate change, like we have more solar panels, windmills etc. than any other countries there.
Climate change definitely changed Earth and also some people, but we can get through this together. We will have a better world once all of this is over.
- Climate Change – Jemma, Tiree High School
“There will be change.” Said the president.
A roar of boos were heard from the crowd.
And just like that war broke out.
Fires. Everywhere. buildings ablaze, gunshots, ground shaking from bombs.
I stood In the middle of the panicking crowd as I watched the world slowly fall apart.
I went home to my apartment and stared out the window as chaos spread over the city.
I turned on the TV to hear the news reporter reciting everything that had happened and what was currently happening.
I turned off the TV and packed my bags and headed back to my birthplace, Tiree.
As I was locking my apartment door I overheard someone panicking about terrorists armed with guns approaching the white house.
I ran outside to see what was happening when there a gunshot and everything went quiet for a minute before even more chaos broke out.
As I made my way to the airport as fast as I could, I heard another person say that the president had be assassinated.
So that’s what the gunshots were…I thought to myself.
As the plane took off I looked back at the ablaze city and wondered if I ever wanted to come back.
When I finally reached my destination there was an odd feeling, I had forgotten how different Scotland was to America.
I was excited to go back to my old home when my heart dropped.
My house had been abandoned and was a wreck.
As I stepped over the rubble that used to be walls I saw a younger version of me running around me on the grass and chasing after my cat who had caught mouse.
Seeing my home in this state was sicking but it just got worse when I turned around.
As I turned I saw that all the houses in this area had be knocked down and were wrecked.
“what happened.” I asked a woman walking by.
“its not safe here anymore…sea levels are rising and this part of the island is going underwater first.” She said sadly.
“what but-“ I started.
That was the moment I decided I was going to do everything in my power to stop that from happening.
Time skip 2 years later.
When I arrived back at Tiree everything had changed.
There were trees everywhere, more windmills than I had ever seen and wild flowers covering the greener grass and to my surprise there were no cars to be seen, but there were still people but they were all walking or cycling.
There also seemed to be a massive increase of people.
As I sat on the soft healthy grass with the flowers all around me and the bees buzzing near my hands I looked up at the sky and felt a feeling of satisfaction.
I did this…no…we did it.
- Tiree in the Future – Lewis, Tiree High School
It is the year 2040 and Tiree is still alive and is a lot better. We have lots of solar panels on most of our houses and we grow all of the foods that we can. We also have lots of wind turbines three miles of Tiree Tilley is still there don’t worry. I Work as a fisherman and my boat runs on water and I have an electric car.
Tiree has lots of solar panels because they are better than what we used to use. Because solar panels use energy from the sun for power and the hydropower and wind turbines in the sea. We also have another group of wind turbines and hydropower on the opposite side of the island.
Tiree has had lots of new advantages. Since about 2025 we have a new boat instead of the clansman. It is powered by water and it takes over 1500 people and only takes about 2 hours + 45 minutes to get to Tiree. We have one every day if the weather is nice.
Everyone grows their own food so that we don’t get that many foods in plastic like bananas, bread, and other foods. Everyone grows different foods like potatoes, carrots, beetroot, oranges, radishes, lettuce, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumber and corn. We also grow apples from the trees in our forest of all different kinds of trees. I just bring in all of the fish.
Most people on Tiree have electric powered cars because they are better than diesel cars. Like we did use fuel cars like fifteen years ago but powered cars. Powered cars are better for the environment and the planet because the fuel that cars use like diesel and petrol which isn’t good for the planet and our environment.
Fuel cars burn the fuel and fumes. Fumes come out of the other sides of the cars like black smoke and electric cars runs on batteries and all you have to do is charge your battery. The batteries can last for up to two to Three weeks. And it has no fumes which is just better for the environment and the planet which is good.
Tiree is one of the sunniest places in Scotland and one of the windiest places as well that’s why we have lots of solar panels. And lots of wind turbines the lodge has five and the biggest one is up at the golf ball. and the biggest wind turbine is at the golf ball it gets the most energy it took 1 year to build.
In 2030 we upgraded our airport by replacing the two runways with two new ones and we bought 2 new electric fire engines and we have an electric ambulance helicopter and we have our own plane. That stays here and goes to Glasgow Barra Mull and Coll. The plane as well as the electric cars the plane also runs on a battery that lasts for 150 miles. And it takes half an hour to get to Glasgow 10 minutes to Coll 1 hour to Barra and 2 hours to Mull unless it is windy then it takes longer by about 10 minutes
And that is all the things that Tiree has upgraded in 2040. The End.
- The Future of the Isle of Tiree – Max, Tiree High School
The year is 2043 and on Isle of Tiree (the island that was doomed a few years ago due to climate change). But the island persevered through the tough times and managed to stop climate change destroying the place they love.
At first it was minor changes like growing carrots, lettuce, potatoes, cucumber, and many more fruits and vegetables in greenhouses installed in everyone’s gardens to bring down our carbon footprint. Then the electric car chargers were put in, this made people with electric cars (lots of people) more comfortable to live here because of the great accessibility to charging stations. After that the production of plastic was incredibly decreased, meaning there was no more plastic water bottles so everyone bought a metal water and the co-op made water dispensers that charge you by the millilitre. After that the beaches were completely cleared and when I say cleared I mean cleared, I am talking about electric diggers being there to dig up the pieces of plastic that are under the ground. They even made beach cleaner a full-time job that pays well. They made people with electric boats patrol the perimeter of the island to feed animals that don’t get food often or in case any animals were hurt by plastic (if they swallowed or were sliced by a sharp piece).
Then the trust came in with the big guns. The western isles managed to persuade Calmac to make 2 electric ferries that can go through all of the islands because there is less demand of food because of the crops people were growing. Then the trust bought 2 fields at the back of Gott, (the part of gott where there wasn’t anything there). There were talks about a wind farm, solar panel farm or a forest, everbody thought it would be a nice thing if we put a forest there to try and add some colour to the map naturally.
After we made the forest we were thinking on what renewable energy would be more efficient for the place we live, solar power or wind power? The trust came to the decision that solar power would be the most efficient because of the sun Tiree gets, the production of the solar field took over 2 years to make and now it has the sun to power the whole of Tiree, Gunna and a piece of Coll! Now Gunna is an island that people new to the renewable farming go because all the crofts on Tiree are taken.
The airport also got a little upgrade too by getting a new electric plane and a new electric fire truck. The reason we didn’t completely get rid of the airport is because we still need to restock the co-op and other people need food to feed there cattle.
After this they thought it would be a good idea to give Tilly a few mates for when the weather is windy and bad or if Tilly is under maintenance. This made tourism go wild, now there is around 1000 people living on Tiree now compared to the measly 600, just because they love the way we have improved the way we live.
- I’m 33, now – Molly, Tiree High School
I started worrying about climate change when I was around 11, back in 2020, 22 years ago. Embarrassingly, it took quite a while for me to actually do something to help against it.
We always wake up very early in the morning so my partner can prepare dinner for the coming night, as the power goes out for a few hours – four at most – because it’s better for the environment (and to save money). Though all houses have solar panels.
To prepare, I go outside into the garden where my crop lives and pull up some potatoes, carrots and beetroot and rub off most of the dirt. My partner then goes and chops them all up and readies them for eating.
Since it’s good for the community, there’s a building called the Trading Centre, behind Ben Hough, where you can either buy, trade for things like meat, roughs (beans and nuts, stuff like that), materials and animals or work as a cook (my partner’s job, because they can’t be at home all the time, doing nothing). This is where I take some of the other things we grow: gooseberries, chives, blackberries, plums, cherries, kale and conkers. You get really good deals as well. I usually get things like pears, raspberries, blueberries, onions, garlic, meat and sometimes clothes. Not very many people go to the co-op now. Too expensive compared to what we get from trading. If you’ve not got anything to trade for something, you can still use money. We have jobs, you know, we’ve not fallen apart.
Since I’m a postie and there’s four of us, me and Vern – one of the other posties – only work at the west side of Tiree. I work on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and we split Sunday (I start at Ben Hynish, he does the other side). I don’t start work until 9:50am, so I like to use my time doing other important things. I cycle over to Crossapol where I’ve been helping out with reinforcing the dunes because they’re collapsing. I’m able to cycle because it’s warm out and there’s no wind. There’s no wind because there’s a massive structure called The Dome covering the island so that our trees and other plants can grow. The Dome is opened every now and then to let more oxygen in. There’s also windmills, which are inside The Dome. They’re the wind farm.
Because of The Dome, no one can windsurf (one of the main tourist attractions that went down) in the loch. And with no one coming on holiday specifically for that, the holiday houses are not being used, which means that people who depended on tourists had to get other jobs. Though some people are saying that once all the trees are sturdy enough, The Dome’s going to come off. We’ll have to adapt to the weather, again.
To reinforce the dunes, we use a plant called ‘reeds’, which are easily found in ditches, ponds and lochs. Reeds are what we use because their roots are really strong and knot together, hence, keeping the dunes from falling. I only collect the reeds, though, I don’t fix them to the dunes. I leave an appropriate amount to keep the loch from overflowing. Another problem we’ve faced.
Then I go over to the post office (I use the one in Crossapol, the old one in Scarnish is for Foxer and Parsley – the other posties – because they do the East side of the island) where the parcels are outside, waiting for me to load them into my electric postvan. The parcels are all wrapped in paper with string tying it together, like back before they started using all the duct tape and plastic.
We get the mail from the plane and not the boat, now. Down at the pier, it’s gotten pretty overgrown and beaten up because no one uses the boat or lives there anymore. That part of the island (Gott, all the way to Caolas) isn’t even in The Dome.
Because The Dome’s on our island it:
- Distanced us from everywhere, even Gunna and Coll, so we’re now sort of fending for ourselves.
- Stopped birds from migrating here as much. There’s still the occasional flock of geese that come and stay at the pier where there’s a few buildings that supposedly have entrances somewhere in them.
I’ve not left the island for 15 years. No one has left, really.
I live next to my parents’ house, where I grew up. The plane is only used for things that we can’t get on the island. And parcels. They’re all only important things, though.
Once I’ve gone round the houses on the South end and I’ve waited for Vern to finish, I go over to the Trading Centre to trade the plants I pulled up this morning. As I said before, the deals are really good there. There’s two people that make sure they’re good: Ultar and Foxer. They’re pretty much the bosses of the Trading Centre. They also use the building to trade things, too.
Ultar has lots of animals and trades the meat (and horns if there’s any). Sometimes, they trade the whole creature when it’s Spring so that other people can then go and either trade them, use them for their milk or eggs (depending on the animal) or just to eat them.
Foxer doesn’t like the idea of killing the creatures. He says he’d get attached to them and then wouldn’t be able to kill them. I understand. Instead of killing, he gets the animals for what they produce, then trades it. He grows things, as well. He’s got the most land out of everyone on the island so, to be honest, I don’t see a better way of using it. And, because he’s got the most land, he’s got the most plants growing.
So, that’s life here. Yes, there’s been a few arguments about land and whatnot, but they’re all over, now.
- What if we hadn’t… – pupil at Tiree High School
“Carbon dioxide, Greenhouse Gas, Emissions, Fossil Fuels, Sea-Level Rise”
These were the only words you heard just 15-20 years ago. It is now 2040. But now you hear nothing about them. All you hear about is how well we humans have done to protect earth and that we should be proud of ourselves. They all think we are heros. Don’t get me wrong, we worked hard to get where we are today. Life might seem amazing but we should have acted much sooner than we did. I’m going to tell you what my life is like now and what it could have been like if we did nothing. Some people just don’t understand how terrifyingly close we came to a point where the damage we had done would be irreversible.
I am an artist and a florist. I enjoy my job very much and living on the Isle of Tiree there are so many beautiful flowers and it provides incredible scenes for me to draw and paint. But if we had done nothing I could have been sitting on a tiny last bit of land, drawing the ocean.
I wake up in the morning to the sun shining or the pouring rain. We have a long way to go yet, but the weather is getting back to normal. There are less extreme weather disasters and seasons and starting to look like their normal selves. I grow my own vegetables and fruits and have loads of flowers growing everywhere for my floristry. I try to be as eco-friendly as possible . I do this by having different bins and recycling all the rubbish that I can. I have several compost bins. In addition to this I have solar panels on my roof.
The government gave different parts of Scotland money, to help buy things that would produce renewable energy. Everyone on Tiree helped raise money as well. I had a pop up shop with bouquets of flowers and my art work and managed to raise a good amount of money. Some people bought their own things, for instance most of the islanders have got electric cars. Many of my friends have got their own windmills or solar panels. I have an electric car and solar panels but the island bought six more windmills and I get electricity from them. On top of this the island also invested in wave energy.
I can go to work in a field or on the beach but there is always going to be the part of me that knows if we hadn’t given ourselves a shake and started making a change, I for starters wouldn’t be living on an island doing what I love. I certainly wouldn’t be drawing fields of wildflowers. They said that by 2050 the whole island could have been underwater. So it’s weird to think that right now I would be seeing no beaches and boggy fields and that in just a decade’s time there would be no Tiree left.
I know for myself I’m very lucky to be in such a beautiful part of the world but things could have been so different. To answer the question that was asked many years ago to many people. What do you think life will be like for you in 20 years? It is great. But that is only because we acted and made a change.
There are many things that we humans did that we cannot possibly undo but we can make things better still. I hope that when the next generation comes to live on Tiree and the rest of the world see and are able to understand what damage just humans alone can do and that they adapt to the lifestyle we managed to get to the point we were forced into. I hope this doesn’t happen again because the safety of earth is in our hands.
The End
- Artwork by Katie-Jane, Tiree High School
- Olivia, Tiree High School
‘S e a’ bhliadhna 2040 air Eilean Thiriodh a th’ ann agus tha mi trichead sa aon. Chaidh an cloc agam dheth aig sia uairean sa mhadainn ach tha m’ obair a’ toiseachadh aig ochd uairean sa mhadainn, feumaidh mi dusgadh dá uair ro m’ obair air sgáth feumaidh mi co-dhiu leth uair a thíde airson a rothaireachd dhan obair.
Tharraing mi mo chuirtearan agus chunnaic mi an coille mhór, chuimhnich mi nuair a chuidich mi na Tirisdich airson na craobhan a phlanntadh air ais ann an 2022 nuair a bha mi san Árd Sgoil.
Choisich mi síos na staidhre dhan taigh-bheag agus chuir mi air an solas a tha air obrachadh le cúmhachd na gréine. Chaidh mi a null dhan frasair agus tha an t-uisge às a’ coille-uisge agus a-rithist bith mi a cleachdadh panail na gréine airson an uisge a bhruich.
Anns a chidsin bhruich mi an coire dealain agam agus rinn mi cupa tí. Choisich mi a-mach as an taigh agus phut mi an bútain agus chaidh doras a garaids. ‘S e doras dealin a th’ann. An- diugh, tha an aimsir uabhasach, mar sin feumaidh mi draibheadh dha m’obair. Nuair a tha an aimsir brèagha bith mi a’ marcadh dhan obair agus bith mi a’ cleachdadh an aoileach aca airson na cnámhagean aig duine eile air an Eilean Thiriodh.
Anns a’ chuan, tron a chéo chunnaic mi cumaidhean mór geal. Ghluais a chéo agus bha e nas soilleir a-nis. ‘S e roth-uidhean a ghaoth! Tha an roth-uidhean ag obair cruaidh an-diugh air sgáth gu bheil an aimsir cho cho dona. Nuair a bha mise nam phàiste bha stoirmean a tachairt faisg air a h-uile seachdainn, bidh na fasgaidhean na seadaichean agus na mullaichean de taighean a’ tuiteam agus bidh a ghaoth gan toirt air falbh dhan chuan agus bidh cuid beathaichean a bhásachadh air sgáth gu bheil an aimris cho dona. A-nis tha taighean tórr nas láidaire agus nas earbsach, mar sin cha bhith na taighean neo seadaichean a’ tuiteam agus cha bhith sinn déanamh uiread de cron air beathaichean a chuain agus beathaichean a fearann.
Nuair a fhuair mi dhan obair bha leth fichead caraichean dealan taobh a-muigh. Chaidh mi a-steach agus bha tòrr beathaichean ann, le diofar meud agus dath. Bha duine fàilteachaidh a’ sealltainn gu math bhrùite.
Chaidh mi a-steach dhan oifis agam, bidh beathaichean a tighinn an am mionaid. Dh’fhosgal neach-cuideachaidh a’ bheat an doras. Bha nathair na làimh. “Cha eil e a cadal agus cha bhith e ag’ ithe”.” Chuir i an nathair air a’ bhòrd leigheasadh a tha air a bhith air ath-chuairteachadh bho rudeigin eile meatailt. Bha an nathair a’ dèanamh fuaimean neònach. Bha e a’ sealltainn mar gun robh bhioras aige. Feumaidh sinn ga chur air anti-beòtaigs, tha anti-beotaigs agam air a’ dheanamhn a-mach a rudan math a tha a’ fàs air an eilean. Cuideachd, tha na bannan againn air an dèanamh a-mach à cloimh-chaorach glan. Thug mi an nathair agus na anti-beotaigs dhan an duine.
Bha mi a’ draibheadh dhachaigh agus aig taobh an rathad bha coille mòr ann. Chuir mi romham a dhol ann airson coiseachd. Bha mi cho beag an coimeas ri na craobhan mòra, àrda.
As dèidh an cuairt agam chaidh mi air-ais a-staigh dhan char agam. Air an rathad dhachaigh bhon choille stad mi arison biadh a thoirt dhan each agam. Bha i anns an fasgadh aice, le solais à panail na grèine. Thug mi biadh dhi, air a’ dhèanamh a-mach a uailean agus currain a bha grod, mar sin cha robh gin de na measan a’ dol a dholaidh.
Nuair a bha mi draibheadh suas an biadh utraid agam chunnaic mi cat-seachrain beag. Cha robh mathair aige mun cuairt mar sin tha mise smaointinn gun do bhuail cuideigin i air an rathad. Thug mi i a-steach dhan taigh agus thug mi biadh dhi. ‘S e cat beag dubh le suilean mòra uaine, agus spògan mar lèomhann.
Chaidh mi dhan leabaidh as dèidh latha trang.
It is the year 2040 on the Isle of Tiree and I am thirty one years old. My alarm clock goes off at exactly 6 o’clock. Although my work as a vet starts at 8 o’clock I will need half an hour to cycle.
I pull my curtains and see a big evergreen forest, I remember helping the Tirisdich to plant it when I was in High School in 2022.
As I walk down the stairs I turn my lights on, powered by wind power. As I get to the bottom of the stairs, at my bathroom door I push the switch that turns on my bathroom lights which are also powered by wind power. I turn on my shower which collects rainwater and uses solar-panels to heat the rainwater up.
After my shower I head down the hallway and boil my electric kettle in the kitchen and made a cup of tea like I do every morning. I look at the clock and realise I only have half an hour left. I run out to the garage and press the button to open it, I hop in my car and drive away! When I have more time and the weather is nicer I will sometimes ride my horse to work and use her manure and give it to other locals to help fertilizer their crops to grow more fruit and vegetables.
In the sea through the fog I see large white shapes, the fog moves, now it is clear, it is a windfarm! They are working very hard today as it is very windy.
When I was little there was storms every other week, the shelters and sheds would always collapse and the roofs of houses would blow of because of the severe wind. Some of the sea animals would be hurt because the metal would give them cuts. Now the shed and houses are a lot stronger and reliable and the sea and land animals are safe from them.
When I got to my work, there was about 10 electric cars parked in the car park, when I went in there was animals different shapes and sizes. The receptionist was looking very stressed out with all the noise and people surrounding her. I head into my office and wait for my first patient. The assistant enters with a large snake in her hand and tells me he is restless and has stopped eating. From his symptoms it looks like he has a snake virus. I give the owners environmentally friendly anti-biotics. After I treated the rest of the pets, my shift was over.
As I was driving past the forest I decided to go for a walk. I felt tiny in comparison to the trees.
After my walk I went on to go and feed my horse. She was in her shelter, with solar-panel lights. I head over to make her food, her food is made out of fruits that the crofters have grown that are unable to be given to people to eat.
When I was driving up my drive I saw a small black shape on the ground. When I went out to see what it was I found a small kitten, I took him in and gave her a bath in case he had any skins conditions or illnesses. He was a small black kitten with big green eyes, he had paws as big as a lion.
After a long busy day I hop into my bed with Ebony the kitten on the pillow next to me.
