Life’s a beach now for SAMS grad Shannon

Shannon Lafferty, 22, has been appointed as the new beaches and marine litter education officer for Oban and Lorn.

Her role is to raise awareness and understanding of littering and its impact on the area.

‘The project is about education and the community,’ she explained, ‘working with schools, community groups and societies to keep Oban and Lorn clean.’

Although the programme was founded 20 years ago, Shannon has fresh ideas for her Group for Recycling in Argyll and Bute (GRAB) Trust role.

‘I come from a science background,’ she said, having studied at the Scottish Association for Marine

Science at Dunstaffnage when she moved here in 2015. ‘I’ve learned a lot of skills that allow me to speak in an informative but clear way.’

Marine conservation is

Shannon Lafferty studied at Dunstaffnage.

something Shannon, from Fife, has always wanted to talk about. At eight years old, on a Florida beach, she saved a starfish stuck on land and from then on has wanted to be a marine biologist.

Through this passion and scientific knowledge, she believes she can put a new spin on the role.

‘I want to take the scare factor away and make it more about encouragement to change,’ said Shannon.

‘Making the education a bit more straightforward, while teaching people exactly how it is, will give them a bit more hope.’

A lot of this teaching takes place in schools, but GRAB also targets community groups in Argyll and Bute.

‘It’s all about getting the community involved,’ said Shannon, and letting them know what GRAB can do, including offering grants for beach cleans.

‘Making these links is essential ‘as that’s how we can push forward into making industry changes’, she explained.

‘Having a project like this puts us at the heart of it and we really can make a difference. Whether it’s a single person, or the whole of Oban and Lorn, or the whole of Argyll and Bute.’

Shannon believes having this unified voice will allow their message to eventually influence national politics. ‘It won’t change overnight, and we know that, but Scotland itself is changing.

‘It seems like a horrible situation, and it is a horrible situation, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something about it.’