Vigur Island Foundation

Icelandic Kennitala: 00325-0430 (Established 2025)

Board: Felicity Aston, Spencer Aston, Gisli Jonsson

The Vigur Island Foundation is an Icelandic registered not-for-profit NGO that works to support historical, cultural and nature conservation, preservation and study on and around Vigur. This work includes projects to restore historic structures, research the heritage and social history of Vigur and the study or monitoring of wildlife on and around the island. The long term goal of the Foundation is to forge a sustainable future for Vigur in which its considerable cultural and natural value is cherished and preserved for future generations.

Having visitors appreciate the wild beauty and unique heritage of Vigur makes all our efforts to preserve and protect the island so much more worthwhile. However, your visit and any purchases made in the shop while you are here directly contributes to the work of the Foundation. In addition, any money received in the form of donations made in-person or online during a summer visitor season is pooled to create a small fund used for specific conservation projects the following year.

The fund resulting from the 2021 season was used in 2022 to fund a project to construct nesting sites for black guillemot. The uniquely dense ‘super-colony’ of black guillemot on Vigur are currently nesting intensively under buildings and even in the rhubarb plants as a result of an acute shortage of suitable sites. Four designs using natural materials were trialled in a number of carefully selected locations where existing nesting can be extended. The designs also include provision for unobtrusive observing of eggs and chicks.

The fund resulting from the 2022 season was used to purchase a specialised incubator and brooding equipment for the hatching of eider eggs that had either been abandoned or removed from nests due to there being too many eggs in the nest or, sadly, the death of the incubating duck. We had three ducklings successfully hatch in this first season and released into ‘creches’ soon after. We intend to expand this activity in the next season.

Monies donated during the 2023 season was used to purchase equipment necessary to begin a bird ringing programme, initially focused on eider ducks. In May 2024 we were visited by experts from Háskólasetur Snæfellsness in Stykkishólmur who provided training in the ringing of common eiders on Vigur for research. The information gathered about the eider will contribute towards projects already ongoing as well as providing potential for new projects investigating the unanswered questions that remain about common eider.

The conservation work on Vigur is very broad, ranging from island clean-ups and protecting seal haul-outs to outreach activities raising awareness of conservation issues or the maintenance and restoration of historic buildings, structures and boats. As well as our own projects we are also keen to support visiting scientists and students who wish to carry out their own research projects.

Visitors have been kind enough to ask where they might contribute to the Foundation and its ongoing work to protect and conserve Vigur. We are very happy to offer the facility to make online donations here via the Stripe platform which receives 1% of the donated amount, the remaining funds being received by the Vigur Island Foundation.

Thank you for your support - we are both touched and grateful for this validation and recognition of our work here on Vigur.