The Scottish Wildlife Trust has joined forces with alternative rock band Sea Power to raise awareness of the urgent need to tackle the nature and climate crises.

The Trust worked with the BAFTA winning and Mercury nominated band to produce a beautiful new video for classic track The Great Skua featuring striking footage of seabirds on Handa Island Wildlife Reserve off the coast of Sutherland.

The video draws attention to the perilous state of Scotland’s seabirds and the vulnerable state of the country’s wildlife. It aims to generate support for the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s #HelpNatureHelpUs campaign, which highlights how greater investment in the natural environment is needed to solve the interlinked nature and climate crises.

The Trust has also launched an online petition calling on the Scottish Government to urgently scale up action to restore the country’s land and seas.

Our Head of Policy Dougie Peedle said: “Climate change is already having a serious impact on Scotland’s seabirds. Numbers have fallen by almost 50% since the 1980s and this decline can only be halted by effective action. And it’s not just seabirds that are under threat. One in nine species in Scotland is threatened with extinction and the country is close to the bottom of the international Biodiversity Intactness Index.

Restoring our land and seas is vital to tackling climate change and halting biodiversity loss.

Dougie Peedle, Head of Policy

“Nature is our life support system. There has never been a greater need to recognise its importance to our everyday lives, and the need to act to protect and restore ecosystems at a landscape scale. Restoring our land and seas is vital to tackling climate change and halting biodiversity loss.

“We’re delighted to have support from Sea Power to highlight our #HelpNatureHelpUs campaign and bring greater attention to the need to tackle the nature and climate emergencies together.”

Sea Power guitarist Martin Noble said: “The great skua is a piratical seabird but our track is a beautiful soaring instrumental named after a majestic bird that is also a thief. That’s just the way it is. It’s all part of the incredible global ecosystem we live in which can be both glorious and brutal.

“We‘re always happy to work with people we feel aligned with. The Scottish Wildlife Trust helps to restore and maintain important spaces for nature, and works to make sure our ecosystems and wildlife are protected. Scotland has such amazing wildlife, much more needs to be done to protect it.

Scotland has such amazing wildlife, much more needs to be done to protect it.

Martin Noble, SeaPower

“We should all respect and try to look after the planet, the natural world and the ecosystems that support us all. It drives me mad that this is not the case, and we need to all work together to try and make people aware and care more about it.”

Vocalist and guitarist Jan Scott Wilkinson added: “On a personal artistic note, I get quite a buzz seeing our music intertwined with nature in a sensitive and effective manner. Most of all I find birds and the animal world fascinating. Any small help we can provide to other species has got to be a good thing.”

Sea Power are well known for their strong connection to the natural environment. Their songs cover themes including disappearing ice shelves (Larsen B) and Scotland’s biodiversity (Scottish Wildlife Experience).

Handa Island Wildlife Reserve is owned by Scourie Estate and managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust. It is one of the most important sites for seabirds in Europe, hosting internationally important breeding populations of species including guillemots, razorbills and kittiwakes each summer.
Find out more about the #HelpNatureHelpUs campaign and sign our petition calling for urgent action to restore nature