Tracking Native Oysters Over Time: Their Use as Gaelic Place-names
In August 2023, Campbeltown Museum hosted Tracking Native Oysters Over Time: Their Use as Gaelic Place-names.
CHARTS Gaelic Culture Officer Àdhamh Ó Broin and the Campbeltown team join Anna McGregor, Carly McNamara and Alsadair Whyte, who shared their knowledge and research of native oysters' role as place names and presence in Gaelic.
This talk aimed to raise awareness about the value of coastal environments within Scotland, both to ecosystems and people, by presenting a session on oyster-related placenames and mentioning these animals in stories and songs.
During the session, speakers shared:
- A share bite-size oral summaries about the origins of several nature-based Gaelic placenames.
- Performed Gaelic songs based around shellfish harvesting.
- Demonstrated their interactive story map that showed the extent to which Gaelic placenames involve oysters and shellfish across the west coast of Scotland.
- And share the benefits of healthy oyster habitat to people and current activities to enhance coastal ecosystems by encouraging re-establishment of these animals.
