Aikerness Walk
Where: Meet at Broch of Gurness car park, Aikerness, Evie, West Mainland
When: 10am - 2pm approximately Tuesday 16 May
With: Orkney Field Club
Cost: Free event
Booking required: Yes. Email to book.
Contact: Graeme Walker - Email: [email protected]
We will explore the nearby aeolianite outcrop in search of Cowslip and Dune Pansy, and wander along the beach in the company of terns and other seabirds. With favourable weather there are good views across Eynhallow Sound to Rousay.
The walk will last 3-4 hours, depending upon what we find, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the conditions. Bring a packed lunch if you wish.
Stromness to Brodgar Bike Ride
Where: Leaving from Stromness Travel Centre 
When: 11.30am Tuesday 16 May
With: Cycling UK Orkney
Cost: Free event
Booking required: Recommended. Book here
Contact: Magdalena Choluj - Email: [email protected]
For Orkney Nature Festival, we would like to invite everyone to join our daily bike rides from Stromness Travel Centre to the Ring of Brodgar, and take part in the FREE nature walks delivered by Historic Environment Scotland and RSPB Scotland Rangers.
We will meet daily, from Tuesday 16th May until Friday 19th May, at 11:30 am outside Stromness Travel Centre (next to the Bike Hub), and ride together at a slow pace, to join the walk (start at 1pm). We will cycle back together after the end of the walk. Simply bring your roadworthy bike with you and dress for the weather. Don't forget to bring a packed lunch with you. Please note that participants under 16 years old must be accompanied by an adult of 18+. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with [email protected]
Hope to see you all there!
Brodgar Guided Walk
Where: Meet in Ring of Brodgar car park 
When: 1pm Tuesday 16 May
With: Historic Environment Scotland & RSPB Scotland
Cost: Free event
Booking required: No. Turn up on the day.
Contact: Historic Environment Scotland - Email: [email protected]
HES rangers will be joined by RSPB Scotland staff to help you learn more about the ring and the wider landscape in which it sits. Find out just how much effort went into creating this wonderful site and the birds and animals you can see at it.
Shoreline Ramble
Where: Stromness Museum 
When: 2pm Tuesday 16 May
With: Katy Firth, Stromness Museum
Cost: £10 adults; £5 child; £25 family
Booking required: Yes. Book here
Contact: Katy Firth - Email: [email protected]
See some of the Museum’s natural history collection, then set off to the Point of Ness and beyond to look at seashells and stromatolites, granite rocks and wildflowers. On the way there are stories about famous naturalists such as Hugh Miller and Robert Rendall, and views across the harbour from the cannon and over Hoy Sound.
Ness Point Shorewatch for Whales and Dolphins
Where: Ness Point, Stromness 
When: 6pm - 8pm Tuesday 16 May
With: Whale and Dolphin Conservation
Cost: Free event
Booking required: Drop in any time during the session
Contact: Emma Steel - Email: [email protected]
Join Whale and Dolphin Conservation for a Shorewatch evening at Ness Point, Stromness. Shorewatch Coordinator, Emma, will be positioned on the coastline with binoculars, tea and biscuits so pop along any time between 6-8pm to look out for whales, dolphins and porpoises.
Living on the Edge: The Changing Fortunes of Red Deer in Orkney
Where: Friends Room, St Magnus Centre, Kirkwall 
When: 7pm Tuesday 16 May
With: Kath Page UHI PhD student, Historic Environment Scotland
Cost: Free event
Booking required: No
Contact: Historic Environment Scotland - Email: [email protected]
Throughout history people have bestowed cultural and economic meaning onto many animals, but particularly red deer. Zooarchaeological and Archaeobotanical evidence from Orkney appears to suggest that red deer held a unique status across the archipelago in prehistory, one that changed over time. This talk will discuss introductions and extinctions and investigate their economic importance as a source of food and secondary products. Finally, this talk will also explore the changing cultural significance of red deer over time, and their curious role as "soul animals", whose death was required to assist the human living and human dead at times of societal crisis.
Oceans of Value Film Screening and Workshop
Where: Cromarty Hall, St Margarets Hope 
When: 7pm - 8.30pm Tuesday 16 May
With: Scottish Wildlife Trust
Cost: Free event. Donations welcome.
Booking required: Yes. Book here
Contact: Rebecca Crawford - Email: [email protected]
Come along and watch our Community Voice Method film featuring some weel kent faces. Topics explored in the film include Orcadian traditions and dialect related to the sea, how people use the coasts and seas, the key issues and hopes for the future. At the interactive workshop we will discuss topics raised in the film and you will have the opportunity to share what your priorities are for planning how we use and protect Orkney's marine environment in the future. All welcome.
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