In Islander, the residents of the fictional island of Kinnan are grappling with a vote on whether or not to leave their island and move to the mainland of Scotland. Many of their fellow islanders have already decided to leave, leaving protagonist Eilidh as the last child on the island. All of Kinnan has come to terms with the conflict of staying or leaving. Island depopulation happens for a variety of reasons: in Scotland, it is largely for economic reasons, but in the Chesapeake Bay, depopulation stems from environmental problems
Depopulation of the Scottish islands is caused by a variety of economy-related sources, including the housing market and job opportunities. Many islands, including Bute, are facing a housing shortage: there aren’t enough houses for those who already live on the island, and they can’t accommodate people who would move onto the island. The housing that is available is unaffordable, especially when in balance with the job opportunities (or lack thereof) on islands like Bute. Bute is not the only island facing a cost of living crisis; Orkney is facing similar problems with housing and jobs. People in careers needing higher education are also leaving the Scottish islands because the higher education opportunities (like masters’ degrees) are not commonly available, and therefore, neither are jobs in those fields. All of these different factors are contributing to the depopulation, particularly among people ages 18-45.
Migration from and the disappearance of islands is not an exclusively Scottish problem. In fact, this has been seen in islands in the nearby Chesapeake Bay for hundreds of years, largely because of mass amounts of erosion of these islands. Erosion naturally occurs, but the rate at which this erosion happens has rapidly increased since the Industrial Revolution, and today, sea levels in the Chesapeake are rising at an annual rate that is more than double the global rate. Around 500 islands have disappeared since the 1600s, when they were recorded by English colonists. The islands in the Chesapeake are particularly vulnerable to disappearing under these rising sea levels because their altitude is naturally so close to sea level. As these islands began to lose more and more land, their populations moved away to the mainland.
Several organizations have formed with the goal of protecting the environment of the Chesapeake Bay, including Alliance for the Bay and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Alliance for the Bay focuses on tree planting, stormwater management, and clean water while the Chesapeake Bay Foundation focuses on pollution reduction and general conservation. While these don’t necessarily directly combat the rising sea levels, they help protect and preserve the environment that already exists.
