Be part of Bathgate’s climate plan

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Residents and businesses in Bathgate are invited to a summit to help formulate an action plan for climate change. The event will be at Boghall Church Hall on Tuesday, 3 September, 6.30pm-9pm. We want Bathgate to help decide the climate priorities for the town, and WLCAN will use the action template for other locations across the region to formulate plans tailored to each area.

WLCAN is also helping to gather stories to map evidence that shows the impact of climate related events on communities.  We’re collaborating in Climate Ready South East Scotland with the charity Sniffer and five other climate action hubs. We’ll have materials on the night showing how adaptation measures can significantly increase communities’ resilience to flooding and other climate change impacts. Stories are being collected onto a national map – you can add yours here: Climate map.

The event is free. To reserve your place, please RSVP to [email protected] and mark the email Bathgate Summit.

*We will be using an audience interaction app to gather responses on climate priorities. Please bring a smart phone or tablet to be able to participate. If you don’t have one, we can help record responses, but to increase efficiency are asking for participants to bring their own smart devices on which to access the interactive website.

 

Eco Development Fund 2 is live!

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Can you come up with a project that takes local action for the good of the planet? We’re launching our second Eco Development Fund, aimed at grassroots organisations whose activities help to address climate change in their local area. You must be a member of WLCAN to apply. To join, scan the first QR code to complete the form. The second QR code will open another document containing guidance notes and application form. Deadline for submissions is 29 September at 5pm.

Last year we distributed funding to 17 organisations across West Lothian whose efforts are what local climate action is all about. Examples include community woods volunteers who are improving biodiversity, gardeners who are contributing to local produce and helping to reduce food miles, and repair/reuse workshops whose efforts are reducing waste and promoting the circular economy. Volunteers working to conserve water and promote cleaner rivers also benefited from the fund, as did groups working for their community’s environment and well-being. See the full list of those who received funding and highlights so far of their work here.

Food and climate event success

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Our first themed event took place on Monday 24 June, at West Lothian College. We were delighted to welcome 33 organisations connecting 56 participants for a day of discussion and workshops about the impact of climate on food growing and supply. Presentations came from the charity Sniffer, the Craigshill partnership Growing Together, Nourish Scotland and the biodiversity specialists from West Lothian Council. These covered how best to address food inequality, health, poverty, and the future of food supply nationally and globally as climate change impacts crops. Save the date for our next event on the theme of Water, on 28 September at Low Port Centre Linlithgow.

Free Climate Fresk workshops in West Lothian

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Interested in climate education workshops? We have materials to deliver sessions for younger children, and we can offer Climate Fresk workshops.

Fresk is a collaborative workshop designed to teach the fundamentals of climate change and empower you to take action. The name Fresk is from fresco as the participants work together to arrange 42 specially designed cards in a fresco which explains the causes and effects of climate change and empowers you to take action.

The session lasts 3 hours and can be for 6-20 participants. Adult and child versions are available.

We can provide these sessions for free to hub members (staff, trustees and volunteers) around West Lothian. If there is a space suitable we can deliver this at your venue, or you can join with one hosted by another organisation. If you are interested in getting this for your community please get in touch [email protected]

You can learn more about this here:

https://climatefresk.org/world/

DYW West – Developing the Young Workforce event

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What a busy morning yesterday meeting over 160 S1-3 pupils at St Margaret’s Academy, Livingston!

This was part of DYW West – Developing the Young Workforce “Career Speed Dating” event with various employers, including ourselves at WLCAN Hub.

With quickfire sessions involving nearly 30 groups across the 3 year groups, we talked about the dozens of jobs that support our growing ‘climate industry’ from scientists to installers; IT specialists to development workers!

We talked about skills, pupils’ own career interests, qualifications, what climate means to them, briefly introduced them to and used items from our Climate Education Kit to stimulate discussion and more.

It was great to hear from some budding young social/environmental entrepreneurs already formulating ideas for reusing and selling on refurbished gadgets, others interested in nature and science, and those who wanted to be trades people doing apprenticeships at college or go onto to study at university.

What a memorable morning!

We are going back to deliver a young Climate Fresk workshop to 20 or so pupils involved in the school’s Climate 1.5 Max Real World Climate Education group. Watch this space . . . 😁

If any schools or other groups are interested in climate or climate action related training, please get in touch as we have several options for different audiences. Or we can tailor this to your needs.

Media campaign on retrofitting homes and buildings

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A media campaign on retrofitting homes and buildings for insulation and other energy saving measures launches from mid-May.

The Integrated Employer Engagement Team under the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal is looking for content to help improve understanding of adapting the ‘old into the new.’ Video clips cover industry and domestic case studies including WLCAN’s own Neil Barnes, who chats about his own home’s retrofit.

The campaign will include a website and the team is looking for individuals who can help improve understanding of the work. They’re interested in any information that would encourage tackling climate change through retrofit, for example local initiatives, jobs, volunteering, case studies or education materials.

To contribute contact: [email protected]