Uploaded April 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Salt winds can deter many plants, but not sea buckthorn. It thrives in poor sandy soil by the sea, and it can stabilise dunes and build up shelter – and it is nutritionally rich. Vitamins and amino acids, minerals and essential fatty acids, are abundant in its berries, and their juice is a healthy drink and an intriguing flavour ingredient.
Kirstie Campbell first came across it when she was working as a humanitarian aid worker in Pakistan, where the berries were used in winter by remote communities. Returning to Scotland, she was surprised that the berries growing prolifically around the east coast were little used and sometimes destroyed. Concerned by the challenges for Scotland of food security and nutrition, she decided to form Seabuckthorn Scotland as a community enterprise, with the berries harvested by hand and turned into juice.
She told an audience in the 2024 Orkney International Science Festival the story of a plant that grows in many places, from the Himalayas and China to Eastern Europe and Arctic Finland, and explores its potential from food and drink ingredients to natural dyes, medicine and cosmetics.
This event was made possible through the kind support of Orkney Islands Council’s Crown Estate Community Led Development Fund.
Salt winds can deter many plants, but not sea buckthorn. It thrives in poor sandy soil by the sea, and it can stabilise dunes and build up shelter – and it is nutritionally rich. Vitamins and amino acids, minerals and essential fatty acids, are abundant in its berries, and their juice is a healthy drink and an intriguing flavour ingredient.
Kirstie Campbell first came across it when she was working as a humanitarian aid worker in Pakistan, where the berries were used in winter by remote communities. Returning to Scotland, she was surprised that the berries growing prolifically around the east coast were little used and sometimes destroyed. Concerned by the challenges for Scotland of food security and nutrition, she decided to form Seabuckthorn Scotland as a community enterprise, with the berries harvested by hand and turned into juice.
She told an audience in the 2024 Orkney International Science Festival the story of a plant that grows in many places, from the Himalayas and China to Eastern Europe and Arctic Finland, and explores its potential from food and drink ingredients to natural dyes, medicine and cosmetics.
This event was made possible through the kind support of Orkney Islands Council’s Crown Estate Community Led Development Fund.
