As the season begins to turn, we prepare to bid farewell to the thousands of barnacle geese that have spent the winter on the Solway. For a few short months each year, around 40,000 of these remarkable birds make the coastline of Dumfries and Galloway their home before beginning the long journey north to their breeding grounds in Svalbard.
Their migration is extraordinary. Travelling more than 2,000 miles, the geese move together across vast distances, navigating changing weather, landscapes and challenges along the way. Watching them gather, lift and travel in formation is a powerful reminder of what can be achieved through collective movement and shared purpose.
Over the past year, through The Stove Network’s Moving Stories project, we’ve been exploring how people move across our region — and what those journeys mean to them. Listening to people’s stories has revealed just how important everyday movement is in shaping our sense of connection to place and to each other.
Many of the stories share a common thread — whether walking, wheeling, cycling, scooting, or taking the bus, movement often creates opportunities for connection. Whether big or small, these moments of conversation, shared experiences, and encounters bring people together.
During migration, barnacle geese demonstrate behaviours that mirror the qualities strong communities rely on: collaboration, encouragement, shared leadership, commitment and collective strength. Each bird plays its part, and together they are able to travel extraordinary distances.
At a time when many people are experiencing isolation, disconnection, and growing environmental anxiety, the geese offer a hopeful reminder of what becomes possible when we move together.
That idea has inspired a new challenge for our region.
This year, as the geese prepare for their journey to Svalbard, we’re inviting communities across Dumfries and Galloway to take part in Journey with the Wild Geese — a regional community movement challenge inspired by their migration.
Together, we’ll aim to match the incredible distance travelled by the flock. Collectively, the 40,000 geese journeying from the Solway to Svalbard cover around 80,000,000 miles.
By walking, wheeling, cycling or scooting — on your own or with others —you can be part of the extraordinary. Every mile logged moves us closer, as we track our collective progress and imagine travelling alongside the geese on their journey north.
Together, We’ll Fly.