Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is warning of an ‘EXTREME’ risk of wildfire is in place across Scotland's west coastal and island areas.
Despite snow and freezing conditions across central / eastern Scotland, fuel conditions are very different on the west coast. 
Please exercise caution.

Did you spot our Loch Craignish mollusc-lovers on BBC Scotland's Landward?  If you missed their report on how the Craignish Community is rewilding our sea loch with native oysters, it's still available to watch on BBC iPlayer.  

And if you're interested to know more about this incredible initiative - the only community-led native oyster restoration project in the UK - then ​you can get a full update on all the latest seawilding activities in the Loch in their latest newsletter: https://bit.ly/33tfCUm

From this Friday, 3rd July, both Ardfern and Craobh shops have asked that customers wear a face covering while they are in the shop.

Covering your face shows that you do not want others to be infected; it protects our vital shop workers from infection as well minimizing the indirect risk to vulnerable members of the community.

Both shops have some masks available if you forget to bring one, but there may be considerable demand at first, so if you don’t have one already please try to make sure you get a face covering of some sort by the end of the week. We should make it clear by our behaviour that protecting our community is still our highest priority.

Latest Guidelines: https://www.gov.scot/…/coronavirus-covid-19-scotla…/pages/2/
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Please get in touch if you need advice; email cov@ardfern.net 

Thank you for your continuing patience and care.

About the Coordination Group
Our group includes representatives from the Community Council, Craignish Village Hall, Craignish Community Company and other local organisations. We are working with a team of local volunteers to help vulnerable and disadvantaged members of our community and make sure everybody works together and is kept reliably informed.

Issued on behalf of Craignish Community Council Coronavirus Coordination Group
We would like to draw your attention in particular to two new local services you can call on if you are stuck at home:

Pick-up & Delivery
If you are in the vulnerable category, and/or you don’t have transport, contact the Craignish deliveries and pick-ups team by calling or texting Simon Bevan who will call back to get details: 07808 276944

Prescriptions
In addition to all the offers on Facebook (not instead) we also have a team doing regular trips to pharmacies in Oban and Lochgilphead. Contact Chrissie Saunders with details (and don't forget to give your number, specify the pharmacy, give your address+postcode and the number of items) and they will pick up and deliver. Medical info will be kept completely confidential: 07900 286936

Issued on behalf of the Craignish community council Coronavirus (COVID-19) – local coordination group 

In order to be prepared for any developments in the situation, and to make sure we are doing all we can to protect and reassure vulnerable members of the community, we have set up a working group which includes representatives from the Community Council, Craignish Village Hall and Craignish Community Company.

This group, which met today, will be conferring every week, and as the need arises, and will work with other local groups and businesses to make sure that any actions we take are coordinated and everybody is kept well informed.

In the meantime, if you have any questions our advice is to use official sources and be wary of rumours or speculation.

https://www.nhsinform.scot/coronavirus gives comprehensive information.

There is an official helpine for general enquiries on 0800 028 2816.
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The NHS advice for avoiding contracting this or other infections is
· avoid direct hand contact with your eyes, nose and mouth
· maintain good hand hygiene – wash your hands with soap and water or alcohol hand sanitiser before eating and drinking, and after coughing, sneezing and going to the toilet
· avoid direct contact with people that have a respiratory illness and avoid using their personal items such as their mobile phone
· cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing with disposable tissues and dispose of them in the nearest waste bin after use.

Scotland’s Argyll Coast and Islands have been declared a Hope Spot – the first in mainland United Kingdom – by international nonprofit Mission Blue to shed light on the immense beauty, rich history and vibrant life along the country’s west coast and to recognise the four community networks (CAOLAS, CROMACH, Friends of the Sound of Jura and Save Seil Sound) that have banded together under the Coastal Communities Network, Scotland, to raise community awareness of the need to encourage protection of Scotland’s unique marine ecosystems. We couldn't be more proud.  Read all about it

Members of CROMACH community group introduced a thousand juvenile native oysters in cages near Ardfern on the shoreline of Loch Craignish in an important first step to restore this essential keystone species to a sea-loch where it was once abundant. The project, funded by Sea-Changers, and supported by Scottish Natural Heritage, is the first community-led native oyster restoration project in Scotland.

The project has been grant-aided by Sea-Changers, and supported by Lochnell Oysters based in North Connel which has donated a proportion of the oysters and helped with the equipment and stock.  Care and monitoring of the young oysters will be conducted by CROMACH members in conjunction with schoolchildren from the local Primary School in Ardfern. This will include keeping the oysters predator-free as well as measuring growth rates, weight and water quality using Sea-search data recording sheets. ​