Scotland’s Climate Week is here!
This week, private, public and third sector organisations across Scotland are all taking part in the 7-day initiative to increase engagement and drive climate change action. Climate Week is a great opportunity for organisations across all sectors to celebrate and showcase what they’re doing to help tackle the climate emergency. Last year we heard from a wide variety of organisations who held staff awareness events, offered bike workshops, ran repair and recycle events and swaps and encouraged both their own employees and teams as well as the wider public to get involved and find out more.
We’ve been talking to some of our SSN members to find out what they are up to this Climate Week.
Edinburgh Napier University
#TimeForChange
This year, Edinburgh Napier University are bringing a range of initiatives and awareness raising activities to their community. They see Climate Week as an opportunity to celebrate success so far and show commitment to further action. Edinburgh Napier University are hosting public activities including a Climate Conversation with Richard Dixon, Director of Friends of the Earth Scotland. With a panel of staff, students and social enterprise owners, there will be a wider discussion on the role of large public sector institutions in influencing change as well as driving individual actions.
Using #TimeForChange, Edinburgh Napier University are encouraging the whole university community to engage on social media and share their own #ScotClimateWeek activities!
Check out the full event programme on the Edinburgh Napier University website.
Falkirk Council
Small actions make a big difference
With 21 events planned across the Council, Falkirk are stepping up this year! Covering everything from travel, food, waste, water, biodiversity and energy, their jam-packed week aims to engage both Council employees and members of the public. Claire Marion, Climate Change Officer explains why Falkirk Council are taking part in this year’s Climate Week:
"Unless immediate action is taken to reduce our emissions, we'll see more severe weather events such as fires, floods and droughts, heat waves, health impacts, disruptions to the food supplies and rising sea levels.
We're trying to help educate and make people think about the benefits of living greener, and that's what Climate Week and our events are all about."
For each day of Climate Week, Falkirk will focus on a different climate issue. Their weekend events look at biodiversity with a conservation action day at Carron Dams and a family friendly Hedgehogs and Hibernation session with the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
For more information on Falkirk Council’s events and to register, please visit their website.
Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park
Nature's role in the Climate Emergency
For this year’s Climate Week, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority has a week full of climate-related activity for its staff and its social media followers. The week kicks off with a focus on the important role taking care of nature plays in tackling the global climate emergency. On Tuesday there’s an extra incentive for staff to make active travel or sustainable transport to get to work instead of the car…a tasty breakfast on arrival at Balloch! A number of will cycle into work together from Glasgow, local staff will walk to work, while other will commute by train or bus. The National Park will also host Home Energy Scotland to talk to staff about different ways of saving energy at home.
A big focus for the organisation is on waste reduction so two activities over the week will relate to this. A swap-shop where people bring in items they no longer need but may be useful to others, and a Bin Audit – where staff get the chance to rake through the workplace bins and audit everything, to see whether things are being put into the right bins (to minimise waste going to landfill) and how much can be recycled. This exercise usually provides some interesting results and is a great way to get people thinking!
Throughout the week, the organisation will be sharing ideas to help tackle climate change from making active travel choices and reducing waste on visits to the National Park or even volunteering within the National Park.
Chief Executive, Gordon Watson said:
“Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park is more than just a beautiful place to visit, it contains vital natural tools we can we can better manage and improve to tackle the global climate emergency. Scotland’s Climate Week gives all of us a focus to share what good work is already happening, and importantly, how much more we all need to do to help Scotland achieve its ambitious climate change targets. We are certainly up for playing our part.”
Historic Environment Scotland
Scotland's historic environment at the heart of climate change actions
This Climate Week, Historic Environment Scotland (HES) will be launching their Our Place in Time - Climate Change Impacts Guide. This first of its kind guide will be launched on 8 October at Glasgow City Chambers. The event will celebrate putting Scotland’s historic environment at the heart of climate change actions and showcase the guide’s collaborative sector approach.
The guide itself details climate change impacts on all aspects of the historic environment, the climate hazards they face, their vulnerability, and potential adaptation measure that can be applied. To find out more about the guide, speak with those involved in producing the guide and browse stalls.
Register for the free launch event and find out more about the guide.
It’s not too late!
There is still time to get involved in #ScotClimateWeek. Greener Scotland have lots of ideas and digital assets available on their website for you to use. From running your own Big Climate Conversation with staff to promoting sustainable travel initiatives, there’s plenty for your organisation to get involved in.
If you’re not running your own event this year, don’t worry, you can still make the most of Climate Week! With so many great events taking place across Scotland, you’ll have plenty of options to choose from.
Whether you are running your own or attending one, don’t forget to tag @SSNscotland and share your event using #ScotClimateWeek!