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As Sir David Attenborough once said “No one will protect what they don’t care about, and no one will care about what they have never experienced.”, and we agree!

Between 2016 and 2024, the Scottish Wildlife Trust embarked upon a journey to establish a network of snorkel trails around Scotland, to help connect people with our beautiful and varied Scottish coastline and encourage sustainable tourism. This was part of a Living Seas project, funded by the Esmée Fairburn Foundation, which combined marine advocacy and engagement to bring about positive change for nature.

The result was a network of passionate organisations and resources, which can help people plan their self-led snorkel adventure and help people on their journey of discovery.

We still use our snorkel trail network in our current Sea the Connection project, and we look forward to hearing from everyone who uses them!

Oceans of Value Project

Our work

This video from our earlier Oceans of Value project shows some of the values that interviewees across the Orkney Islands place on their local marine environment. It’s a beautiful watch or listen and the 30 minute film has even been broken down into smaller bite-size chapters for easier viewing while on the go. Do you agree or disagree with any of the values shared? Use the film to prompt discussion with others and let us know your thoughts.

 

 

Sea the Connection

Our new project, Sea the Connection runs from now until October 2027 and aims to increase ocean literacy across Scotland, giving lesser heard voices accessible, inclusive and meaningful opportunities to join marine decision-making conversations. Together with communities, we’ll be co-designing activities that enable people to share their values, expertise and insights at a policy level. By doing so, we’ll emphasise the appetite for, and impacts of, authentic community-led marine management approaches, that put communities at the heart of the decision-making processes which affect them.​

Keep an eye on our channels in the coming months for opportunities to get involved as the project develops. Don’t hesitate to contact us if you’d like to get involved! Find out more here:

Sea the Connection

Share your snorkel stories #ScottishSnorkelTrails

We have worked hard with coastal communities and organisations across Scotland to create these snorkel trails, to:

  • make Scotland’s seas more accessible to more people
  • support responsible, local eco-tourism and community-led coastal projects across Scotland
  • encourage people to better understand, value and protect our precious marine ecosystems

We would therefore love to hear your feedback on how you’ve found using them! From photos, videos and artwork to posts, blogs and more – every piece of little or large feedback will be read and valued! You can share them with us via email (livingseas@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk), Facebook (@Scottish Wildlife Trust) or Bluesky (@scotwildlife.bsky.social) – use the #ScottishSnorkelTrails

Snorkelling can be dangerous and is done entirely at your own risk.

Information is provided free of charge; it is your responsibility to check the conditions present on the day and assess whether it is safe to snorkel.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust strives to provide accurate information but cannot accept responsibility for changes, errors or omissions.

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