The importance of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Whale Track project cannot be over emphasized and to be shortlisted as a finalist in the national lottery awards is an accolade the HWDT team very much deserve. We were very proud to have been associated with the development of the Whale Track App. Our Wildlife Guide Lynsey Bland tested the app on board our boats prior to its launch, giving feedback on how it worked and suggestions on tweaks that could be made. We attended a further detailed feedback session in Oban in February 2017. We are a passionate believer and supporter of Whale Track - in our 2017 season we were in the top three organisations to refer sightings and currently in 2018 we are in the top two - referring 58 separate sightings in one week!
Read the HWDT press release below which gives a great insight into the Whale Track project.Most important - can everyone please VOTE HERE for HWDT Whale Track and share far and wide!
HWDT Press Release
We're excited to announce that Whale Track has been named as a finalist in the 2018 National Lottery Awards – the annual search for people’s favourite National Lottery-funded projects – and your vote can help us win!
Whale Track, a first-of-its-kind smartphone app that allows anyone to submit marine mammal sightings off the west coast of Scotland, is competing in the Best Environment project category.
Whale Track uses the technology we all carry in our pockets to quickly and easily record sightings of marine mammals in the Hebrides. Rather than simply educating, the project actively involves people in tracking the movements of coastal species like bottlenose dolphins and unravelling the mysteries of more elusive species like killer whales, helping everyone become ‘citizen scientists’.
A killer whale, one of the more elusive species on the west coast
Whale Track is free to download and uses GPS to accurately track excursions at sea and record locations of sightings. Crucially, the app works without phone signal or Wi-Fi, meaning sightings can be recorded in the most remote areas.
Since its launch in August 2017, the uptake of Whale Track has been incredible. With now over 500 users, over 2,500 sightings, and over 250 excursions, 15,000 animals have been recorded so far, including common dolphin super pods recorded from aircraft, and multiple records of John Coe (the most famous member of the UK’s last remaining killer whale pod).
Hebrides Cruises Wildlife Guide, Lynsey Bland showing guests their sightings on Whale Track. Copyright: James Fairbairns, Hebrides Cruises."
The project beat off stiff competition from over 700 organisations to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, which celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things with National Lottery funding.
The project with the most votes will be crowned the winner and receive a £5,000 cash prize to spend on their project, an iconic National Lottery Awards trophy and attend a star-studded glittering awards ceremony to be broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2018.
Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Science Manager, Dr Lauren Hartny-Mills, says winning a prestigious National Lottery Award and having their work showcased on national television would be an honour:
Liz Bonnin, wildlife presenter and patron of Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, is excited to be supporting Whale Track:
Or Call: 0844 836 9689
You can also follow the campaign on Twitter: hashtag #NLAwards and cast a vote by tweeting #NLAWhaleTrack
Voting runs from 9am on 27 June until midnight on 27 July.
Dear Emma - I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our holiday. Our hope was that we would visit some of the more remote and inaccessible islands of the Outer Hebrides, and you certainly achieved that. We visited 11 islands in our 10 day trip and of the 2 where we had been before we saw parts not previously explored so were delighted. The crew were professional and attentive. Chris, Craig and Nigel have lots of trips under their belts. Our chef Lulu was a superb cook and a delight. Her enthusiasm was magnetic. Nigel was very happy to share some helpful photography tips and lessons for those of us who wanted to use the opportunity to expand our photography skills. Composition and use of the camera functions were explained and were eagerly applied and the resultant photos perhaps a little better than might otherwise have been achieved by the keen pupils, but still a long way short of Nigel's inspiring images. We came to see more islands, we achieved that in spades. We also had great fun, walked and hiked miles, saw some amazing sights and landscapes. Watched wildlife in action, learned to recognise the wildlife we saw, developed a healthy respect for the sea, had a sense of awe at the remoteness and resourcefulness of the far flung communities. Altogether we came away with a refreshing outlook on life and warm memories shared with 12 fellow shipmates that is hard to believe 10 days previously had never met each other. Wishing you every success for what is left of this season and next and the forthcoming awards on 22nd November.
Stuart & Gillian Sandilands: 1 September 2018Far-flung islands: Mingulay to the Shiants