Social Values Assessment Report: Staffa and Treshnish Isles

Abstract

This report is based on the findings from a rapid, qualitative assessment of the social values associated with the Isle of Staffa and the Treshnish Isles, a group of islands that are all in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. The main body of the report provides a brief context to the assessment, outlines the research process and methods, summarises the findings, and considers their potential implications. It also notes the gaps and limitations of the study, suggesting future research directions. The research found that participants saw the Treshnish Isles as a distinct group, separate from Staffa, and also differentiated between individual Treshnish islands, because of their varied character; however, there are many common themes in terms of social values. The assessment reveals that these uninhabited islands are embedded in complex networks of relationships with surrounding island communities - a wide range of social values arising from the ways the islands are connected to people’s lives and livelihoods. The islands also draw special interest groups from further afield (such as archaeologists, geologists, speleologists, nature conservationists and ornithologists), members of which can develop intimate relationships with the islands, generating social values and strong group identities rooted in their experience of place. The findings are illustrated with material from interviews and participant observation. This assessment was undertaken as one of the case studies for the collaborative research project, Social values of National Trust for Scotland heritage places: Towards an organisational approach.