COAST ambassador receives handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough
Aspiring young naturalist, Lewis Wilkinson, has been awarded Young Ambassador status by Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) for his work in highlighting and advancing the goals of the marine conservation charity.
Although only 10 years old, Lewis has written to the Prime Minister, advocating for a ban on dredging and trawling, and has also received a handwritten reply from his hero, Sir David Attenborough, who congratulated him on his fossil collection.
Lewis, who has been visiting his family on Arran for as long as he can remember, learned about the effects of dredging and trawling on local marine wildlife during a recent visit to the island and decided to send a letter to the Prime Minister calling for a ban on dredging and trawling.
The letter was forwarded to the department for environment, food and rural affairs which responded with some information on their plans to stop bottom trawling in 41 Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s).
Lewis is also a keen collector of fossils and having grown up watching Sir David Attenborough’s inspiring documentaries, he was keen to share his findings with the fellow fossil enthusiast by writing a second letter. A few weeks later, Lewis and his family were pleasantly shocked and delighted to receive a handwritten response from Sir David Attenborough, congratulating him on his collection.
Pleased to have received the responses, particularly from Sir David Attenborough, Lewis has shared his letters and replies with his school and he is using them to teach his classmates about dredging and trawling and inspiring them to become ocean activists.
Lily Holbrook, COAST’s outreach and communications manager told the Banner: “This is exactly the kind of actions COAST aim to instil in their visitors and at just 10 years old, we were extremely impressed at the lengths Lewis has gone to share his interests, inspire his friends and fight for Arran’s Seas. He is a very worthy recipient of Ambassador status”.
COAST co-founder, Howard Wood, presented young Lewis with his award. He said: “It’s an absolute please to present the COAST Ambassador Award to Lewis. We don’t give these out lightly, but Lewis has gone way beyond what many people are doing, writing his letters. Not only writing the letters but getting replies from the Prime Minister and from Sir David Attenborough. Well Done Lewis!”
Lewis has watched Sir David Attenborough film, Ocean, which includes some of the work undertaken by COAST, and explained why he was inspired to write his letters. He said: “I love to see all the animals and what happens in their lives and what it would be like if no one disturbed them. How they would live happily hunting for food and not having to swim away and escape from dredgers, trawlers, fishing boats or anything that kills [them].”
When asked how he felt when he received the handwritten letter from Sir David Attenborough, Lewis responded: “It was really amazing, the reaction of everyone when I showed them was crazy because no one else in my school has got anything like this before. I remember I was coming home from England when my gran phoned to tell me it had arrived. In the car, everyone started partying and we were playing songs because we were so happy it had arrived.”
Lewis hopes to become a marine biologist when he is older and he is optimistic about the future of Arran’s seas and the conservation work being done by COAST. He elaborated: “COAST have been doing lots of things and since I was young, I’ve been learning more about the sea and I’ve seen that not everything is [bad], not everything is sand and rocks, actually there’s lots of wildlife wherever you go. When we were doing the shore scramble, [I saw] fish, crabs and lots of cool things in the rock pools. You can find more wildlife than you think in one rock pool and under one rock, but the ocean is huge so I would like to see all the animals because no one has seen all of them before.”
Lewis thanked COAST for the accolade that he is incredibly proud of and sent a special message to Sir David Attenborough who turns 100 on Friday May 8. He said: “Thanks for all the things that you do and everyone looks forward to [your shows]! Happy Birthday David!”
Why not try these links to see what our West Coast AI can tell you.
(Please note this is an experimental service)
Latest News
JOBS
Guest Relations Team (Full Time) - Lochaber Accommodation Services Ltd
Sign up to our daily Newsletter
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
You may also like
Arran Banner Golf – week 19, 2026
Latest News
JOBS
Guest Relations Team (Full Time) - Lochaber Accommodation Services Ltd
Sign up to our daily Newsletters
Permission Statement
Yes! I would like to be sent emails from West Coast Today
I understand that my personal information will not be shared with any third parties, and will only be used to provide me with useful targeted articles as indicated.
I'm also aware that I can un-subscribe at any point either from each email notification or on My Account screen.
© 2026 Wyvex Media Limited.