Tidal Orchards
Regenerating coastal ecosystems through collective stewardship and intertidal sculpture
To

Leading Organisation

CLIMAVORE Community Interest Company (CLIMAVORE CIC)

Duration

6 months, starting the 1st of September 2025

Location

Loch Eishort, Isle of Skye, Scotland, on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, including involvement from nearby Raasay communities. The site features endangered native species, sustainable mussel farming and extensive seaweed populations. 

 

 

On the Isle of Skye, in the waters of Loch Eishort, Tidal Orchards emerges as a response to environmental degradation caused by fish farming, mass tourism, and the decline of traditional marine stewardship. This participatory public art project blends ecological restoration with cultural re-rooting by creating a sea garden—a living, evolving intertidal installation shaped by local communities.

Community members, including schoolchildren, fishers, foragers, artists and scientists, are co-designers in a process that spans workshops, speculative games, somatic storytelling, and environmental observation. They contribute not only to the form of the garden but to its meaning, participating in foraging and cooking, cultural assemblies, and data collection.

Led by a transdisciplinary team with deep roots in ecological art, marine biology, and community organizing, the project is grounded in:

  • Gaelic marine traditions
  • Matriarchal cooperative knowledge systems
  • Open-source regenerative aquaculture models

Tidal Orchards fosters long-term local governance of the garden, encouraging a slow, sustainable relationships between people and the sea. Its impact reaches beyond Skye through freely available guides, creative toolkits, and a replicable governance model.

Expected Impacts:

  • Ecological: Restoration of intertidal ecosystems through community-maintained regenerative aquaculture
  • Social: Revitalization of local marine stewardship and intergenerational knowledge transfer
  • Cultural: Reconnection with generational Gaelic marine traditions
  • Scalable Outcomes: Open-source design and governance model for use in other coastal communities

 

 

Main Contact Person

Shona Cameron <shona@cooking-sections.com>

Project Manager and Director of CLIMAVORE CIC, based in Skye. She leads all aspects of project planning, outreach, reporting, and delivery.