Lygra

The original heather moor landscape in Nordhordland covered about a 25 kilometre-wide belt from Øygarden and Fedje in the west to the conifer forest in Lindås to the east. In the whole of this belt, the winters are so mild and relatively snow-free that the sheep can graze on the heather moors the whole year round. The time that was spared by not having to store food and bedding for the animals, was used instead for fishing.

Inside of the heather moor area, there was nonetheless always a division between the fishing gypsies and the fjord gypsies. Toward the sea in the west, fish were the most important source of income. Toward the fjords in the east, agriculture had more to say about the economy. The heather moors northwest in Lindås are a part of the inner area in a functional and economic sense.

Right up until the 1960s, these moors were so heavily exploited that only small areas were forested, either naturally or through planting. Since the middle of the last century we have seen a large-scale agricultural transition in in western Norway. As a part of this process, the heather moors have almost entirely gone out of production. The decline in grazing has led to a strong increase in juniper, birch, rowan and pine. In addition, there are large areas that have been planted with spruce. There is every indication that, within a few decades, the entire heather moor landscape in Lindås will be overgrown by forest.

Perhaps there will only be two island localities left to show how most of this cultural landscape looked along the coast for 4000 years. Over a ten year period, the heather moor landscape at Lygra and Lurekalven has been extensively restored and made accessible to the public. Thicket and bushes have been removed, and the wild heather moors have been re-created and are being used as they traditionally had been through many hundreds of years. These moors are used for grazing the year around by the traditional Norwegian free-grazing sheep, popularly called the "wild sheep", and the heather is burned off in the spring. In the summer, cows and horses also roam freely on the moors. About 30 old traditional buildings have been renovated. Many of these have been put back into full agricultural production.

The background for these comprehensive conservation measures is a large interdisciplinary research project on the heather moor landscape in Nordhordland in the 1970s. As a result of this research, the Lynghei Centre on Lygra opened in May, 2000.

The Lynghei Centre encompasses an area of about 2 km². The five landowners on Outer Lygra have worked together with the University of Bergen, Hordaland county authorities and the municipality of Lindås to present the coastal farming traditions both in the past and present. There are about 4 kilometres of paths with many exhibition points showing how the coastal resources have been put to use. Of the five farms that are included in the project, three are involved with modern milk production, one is operated according to historical cultural principles based on the 1940s and using older breeds of farm animals, and one is currently undergoing a transition to modern ecological production. The Lynghei Centre also has an information building with an exhibit, film and teaching room, and a café. 

The agricultural soil on Lygra is the deepest weathering soil in Hordaland. In modern times, the landowners on Ytre Lygra work together with the Lynghei Centre to operate their farms and manage the landscape. Right: Hannah Wood in the vegetable patch. Lynghei Centre in the background. (Svein Nord)

The farm at Ytre Lygra. (Svein Nord).