Moray student’s butterfly project set to take off after enterprise challenge win
A student who has floated an idea to boost butterfly and moth populations in Scotland has won first prize in an enterprise challenge.
Leòdhas Massie, who hails from the Moray village of Garmouth, is studying for a BSc degree in Environmental Management at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) in Edinburgh, saw the £1000 prize money wing itself his way to take his sustainable business proposal to the next level.
The 30-year-old said: “Entering SRUC’s Enterprise Challenge has been an incredible experience.
“Before taking part, my idea felt like an aspiration for the distant future. Winning the competition feels like an incredible endorsement of what I want to do and brings my idea to life.
“My aim is to supply ethically-sourced native moth and butterfly species for a range of markets that will also work to support biodiversity and conversation efforts.”
Growing up on the Moray coast, Leòdhas found himself surrounded by nature from an early age, where he took a particular interest in lepidoptera and developed a fascination with their forms.
Against a backdrop of moth and specialist butterfly populations in decline across the UK, among other insect types, he sees local solutions as key to tackling national problems. Restoring moth numbers poses a particular issue, not least due to their negative public perception compared to butterflies.
As varied and important pollinators, however, they are also important to a balanced and sustainable recovery.
Coming in a close second in the competition was BSc Equine Science and Management student Eilidh Garrett, who won £750, while Gregory Webzell and Rakshanda Uikey came in joint third, winning £500 each.
Aberdeen-based Stacy Brodie came in fourth, and three highly commended prizes were given, including one to a team of 10 Countryside Management students from SRUC’s Elmwood campus in Fife.
The competition asks students to develop innovative ideas that can develop into potentially transformative businesses, with the winners receiving a seed fund prize to help grow their dreams.
Entries were judged by SRUC Entrepreneur in Residence Jackie Brierton MBE, co-CEO of GrowBiz, Tommy Dale, Managing Director of Forth Resource Management and Dr Lissa Herron, Enterprise Manager at Converge.
Ms Brierton said: “As usual, the enterprise competition at SRUC produced many high-quality applications.
“The presentations were of a particularly excellent standard, and it was a difficult job for the judges to make a decision.”
“We were delighted to see such a range of ideas put forward, and it was great to support this endeavour at the college.”
Funding for the prizes was provided by Anderson Strathearn, Forth Resource Management and GrowBiz, with further support for running the competition provided through Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Funding from the Scottish Funding Council.
Dr Carol Langston, Director of SRUC’s Enterprise Academy, added: “At the Enterprise Academy our goal is to accelerate the uptake and delivery of more sustainable enterprise. We are doing this by developing the enterprising mindsets and boosting the business skills of the next generations.
“Our Enterprise Competition is an annual culmination of this work. It’s been a real privilege this year to work with such inspiring students as they start their entrepreneurial journeys, and we look forward to continuing to support them as they start to test and validate their ideas.”
