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Outside In: Featured Islands

About Outside In Project:

From Aotea Great Barrier Island, Aotearoa New Zealand – Welcome to Small Island, Big Ideas, an ongoing festival of conversations and events created to take Aotea Great Barrier Island, and possibly the world, forward.

Thanks to input from many of those in our own community, we have scoured the globe to find other small islands, similar in size to our own, who’ve had a big idea that’s led to some sort of radical reinvention.

We are interested in how other small islands are facing the future. How have they acted on a ‘big idea’ that’s transformed their island community in a positive way?

We will be sharing those conversations and learnings on this podcast for the next few months – one small island at a time.

Samsø, Denmark:

First, we set off for Samsø, Denmark. We met Søren Hermansen, Director of the Energy Academy on the island. Samsø, located in Denmark’s Kattegat Sea, had historically relied on imported fossil fuels for energy. However, in the early 2000s, the island launched an ambitious strategy to achieve complete energy independence and carbon neutrality through renewable energy sources. They met their objectives and became the world’s first energy renewable island, and have been carbon neutral for years! They achieved energy self-sufficiency through community-owned wind turbines, solar panels, and biomass facilities. They export 80,000 megawatt hours of natural energy every year back to the mainland, with the proceeds flowing back into their community. We took a deep dive with Søren, a born and bred local, to learn about the island’s energy ownership journey and community involvement. Today, they have 45 electric car charging stations, as well as a new hybrid community-owned ferry and another fully electric one coming next year! Samsø is a real-life example of how small islands can thrive and become global leaders.

Lord Howe, Australia

We visited Lord Howe Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the first human-occupied island to be pest-free. They are committed to conservation and sustainable tourism, and we meet with Ian Hutton, a naturalist, photographer, and tour guide, to talk about how the island accomplished all of this, the successes and challenges along the way, and much more.

Read more about Lord Howe’s phenomenal journey here, as covered by Aotea Great Barrier Island Environmental Trust:

Rodent Eradication Operation
Environmental News: Lord Howe Island

Teshima, Japan

Teshima Island was once home to nearly a million tonnes of industrial waste that was dumped illegally on the island’s western tip. The ever-expanding mountain of rubbish earned the island the nickname ‘Garbage Island’. Then, around the year 2000, an operation to remove the waste and restore the island began. Today, the island has been transformed, as it welcomes tourists keen to not only explore their world-class art museum, but the people and the natural surroundings of the island.

Arranmore, Ireland

Arranmore Island is located about five kilometers off the northwestern shore of Ireland, in county Donegal. This tiny island is 22 square km, is a 20 minute ferry journey from the mainland and has about 500 permanent residents. It has struggled for many years with an aging demographic and de-population, but in 2015 they set up a voluntary community council to try and mobilise action.

Our guest, Adrian Begley, sits on this community council and has been instrumental in what can be considered a digital transformation. He here shares how technology and connectivity was key in reviving their island community.

Fogo, Canada

Historically, Fogo island’s economy was entirely based around fishing cod. But due to the widespread depletion of fish stocks, a few decades ago, Fogo island faced a social and economic crisis. This is a story of how a government initiative, to use the creative arts, specifically film, as an instigator of social change, helped Fogo island realise it’s true potential.

Today, while fishing remains at the heart of Fogo’s identity and economy, the creative arts has been the key to the transformation of the island, which has emerged as an international destination for architecture, art and cultural tourism.

We talk with Susan Cull, Executive Vice President of Shorefast, a charity that was key to the transformation and reinvigoration of Fogo island. Susan is a ninth generation Fogo Islander, and while she moved away ostensibly for a university education, like many of Fogo diaspora, she returned with her family a few years ago to serve her community.

Sandy Burgham is joined by Sandy Callister, the founder of Aotea’s Artist in Residency Programme as our guest interviewer for this episode.

Maui, Hawaii

For years Maui has been known as a tropical paradise, but in 2023, a terrible wildfire raced across the oceanside town of Lahaina, which is home to 12,000 people. The fires claimed the lives of more than 100 people, destroyed almost 2,000 structures, caused around $5 billion in damage.

This is a story about how a community is healing by restoring, remembering, and redefining its legacy using indigenous knowledge and frameworks, as well as the healing power of trees.

We are fortunate to speak with Duane Sparkman, an expert in Hawaiian native trees. Duane is on the board of directors of the Maui Cultural Lands Group, Chairman of of Maui County Arborist Committee and Founder of a new not-for-profit, Treecovery.

For this special episode, Sandy Burgham is joined by Jason Ross, member of Aotea’s Tourism Steering Group.

Eigg, Scotland

This is a story of a tiny island community who had the gumption and wherewithal to actually purchase the island outright from a private landowner. The island had been facing issues around unemployment, infrastructure, electricity, connectivity and dilapidated housing.

But by literally buying the island, and forming a community trust and partnership with the highland council and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, they have been able to navigate and create their own destiny. This is an inspiring story of transformation and what a small number of people are able to do when they work together.

We speak with Maggie Fyffe and Lucy Conway from the Isle of Eigg Heritage Trust about how the community buyout came about and how this has shaped their island.

Sandy is joined by Hannah Gale for this interview, as our resident Scottish lass here on Aotea.

Haida Gwaii, Canada

Haida Gwaii (previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands) is an archipelago of 200 islands off the coast of British Columbia, Canada.

The Haida Nation, indigenous to the islands, has played a significant role in preserving their cultural heritage and protecting the surrounding natural environment.

In 2020 Haida Gwaii introduced a pledge for visitors to sign, through which they promise to respect people and wildlife, ask permission, be mindful of their environmental footprint, and take only what they need there and then.

In 2024 leaders from both the Haida Nation and the British Columbia government attended a ceremony to cement a title agreement which returned the crown land on the Haida Gwaii islands to the Haida Nation. The success of the agreement, which effectively forced the federal government to concede to most of the Haida demands, has pushed the Haida to become fierce advocates for their sovereignty and rights. Today, nearly half of the land base of Haida Gwaii is within a protected area.

This transformation is still in progress, it is a story of the trials and tribulations of decolonization in real time, and how the indigenous peoples – the Haida nation are realizing their vision of reclaiming rights and stewardship of their land.

Palau

Something a little bit different this week, a small island nation.Palau is a small Pacific island country with a population of approximately 17,500 people across 340 islands.

Palau is seen as a world leader in fisheries management. In 2015, they passed a law closing off 80 percent of the nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone to commercial fishing. Palau’s National Marine Sanctuary covers 183,000 square miles of Palau’s national waters. It’s one of the world’s largest protected areas and is larger than California.

In 2018, they also implemented the Pristine Paradise Environmental Fee, which includes an environmental fee for all visitors to the country. The fee is used to fund the Palau National Marine Sanctuary (PNMS) and the Palau Protected Areas Network (PAN).

This is a story of an island nation who are working together within their communities and government to protect their water, lands, and economy while continuing to lead the world in sustainable tourism and fisheries.

Bree and co-host Glen Edney, an Ocean Ecologist, writer, photographer and director of Ahu Moana have the pleasure of speaking with Kevin Mesebeluu, the Senior program implementation manager for Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia at Rare. (https://rare.org)

Up Next:

Tilos, Greece - First Zero Waste Island

Fisheries Management & Marine Reserves

tim@smallislandbigideas.co.nz