Highlands & Islands Climate Hub

We are thrilled that the Hub's Sustainable Spaces Programme is now open for 2024-25! But what is a Sustainable Space? Our programme helps lead those who run community buildings to establish their own environmentally friendly practices. By signing up to the Programme you gain access to resources around waste, recycling, environmental policy, energy efficiency, sustainable travel, ethical considerations & more! Find out more here - https://lnkd.in/eGWVfhqD #LetsDoNetZero

Taking the future into the community's hands. In Nairn, the monthly Climate Cafe looked a little different in October, they were inspired by Detriot Soup to host a Nairn Soup! We were thrilled to partner with The Highland Weigh and Green Hive to host. How does a soup work? Community organisations each deliver a pitch on a project they are seeking funding for. Community members pay £5 to come along, hear the pitches, ask questions, enjoy a bowl of soup, and have a crucial vote on which project to give the money to. The project with the most votes wins all the money collected. In Nairn, it was Nairn Men's Shed, Nairn Food Nest and Highland Cycling Ability Centre all pitching for £500. The presentations were super, and it was a tough decision with only 1 vote in it. . . but ultimately Nairn Food Nest was voted as the winner. Well done all! Community soups are a great way to engage the wider community in the work being done by local organisations and leave everyone feeling really good about the future! Photo Credit: Alexander Williamson #LetsDoNetZero

The best Halloween costume award goes to Highland Council's youngest Refuse Collector - Frankie! This morning Frankie was ready to recycle, with his mini lorry & recycling bin out. He's has been getting excited for his first day of work all month, filling up his bin & taking it to the door. If Frankie can recycle, we all can. Don't throw away your Halloween costume - keep it for another year or donate it to a local second hand shop. Pumpkins don't belong in landfill, add them to a composter instead. #LetsDoNetZero

What's a Community Planning Partnership? Across Scotland, CPPs bring together public agencies to collaborate to assess community needs and deliver better services. During our November Members Networking, Gail Prince, Highland CPP Development Manager, will delve into the Highland CPP - discussing their work and how communities can get involved. Throughout November, local Community Partnerships across Highland are hosting their own Gatherings. Our Development Officers are looking forward to heading along, we hope to see some of our members there too. Find out more about our Members Session with Gail - https://lnkd.in/eP5KJ82q Find your local Community Partnership - https://lnkd.in/g-tgWWrd #LetsDoNetZero

A few weeks ago we gathered the whole Hub Team in Inverness for a rare Team Meet Up, these are always super to connect in person. But this one was especially great as we got out and about in Inverness to visit some of our members taking climate action. Raigmore Community Residents Association gave us a tour of their incredible award-winning Food Forest, highlighting all the home grown food they offer their community and planting a very special tree dedicated to a member of the Hub family! We had an ace Zine Making Workshop hosted by Iona from the Cut Out Club at the Highland Zine Bothy, inside Circus Artspace's impressive art venue. We had a brilliant evening getting creative & bonding as a team. Zines are such a powerful communication tool and it's safe to say we are very much fans now. Up in Milton, we headed to Cromarty Firth Men's Shed for a tour of their site and a brainstorm of energy solutions as they look to bring renewables to their sheds. Not only were their facilities and creations grand, but the sheer buzz of the site showed what an asset the Men's Shed is to the community.  We also caught up with the Highland Council's Climate Change Committee to talk about the intersection of our work. The whole team left the Team Meet Up feeling very inspired. For now, we've added our highlight pictures but more insights to come soon :) 

Happy Funding Finder Day! Over 7 Funding Finders, we've signposted our members to funding worth over £15 million, and we are celebrating October being our biggest Funding Finder to date - over £4 million included. The work we see from across Highland, Orkney & Shetland never fails to inspire us at the Hub, it pushes us to strive to shine an even brighter spotlight on our communities. We hope our Funding Finders allow our members to source funding to sustain their future work. Check it out here - https://lnkd.in/e9_AHmmQ

Looking forward to this event with Circular Communities Scotland on 21st November. Hope to see you there!

The Highlands & Islands Climate Hub is absolutely thrilled to announce that our film 'Climate Action: Highlands & Islands' has been nominated as a finalist at the Big Syn International Film Festival 2024! It's an incredible testament to the work of our members to tackle the climate emergency and recognises the invaluable impact they have on their communities. We are hugely proud to have worked with Cameron Mackay on the film, who brought our vision to life & tells the story of our people's connection to place so well. Big Syn is the world's biggest sustainability film festival, and our nomination is part of their commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Thank you for the recognition! Haven't seen it yet? View the film here - https://lnkd.in/epzKDwRh #BigSynFilmFest24 #LetsDoNetZero

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Challenge Poverty Week 2024 - a campaign very pertinent to the Hub's values as the climate emergency continues to disproportionately affect those living in poverty. We'll be taking the week to shed light on the intersection of climate injustice & social injustice, to forge a path forward in which we can use community climate action to address the issue of poverty. During Challenge Poverty Week 2023, Hub Manager Joan reflected on the importance to the Hub of standing up for change, and one year the sentiment remains the same. We'll be continuing to work with our members across Highland, Orkney & Shetland to use climate action to create more sustainable & prosperous communities. Read Joan's insight ahead of this year's focus - https://lnkd.in/eid5KFen #ChallengePoverty #CPW24

Absolutely delighted our film has been nominated as a finalist. Real recognition for our Members who took part in the film and of course Cameron Mackay. If you haven't seen it yet, you can catch it here https://lnkd.in/epzKDwRh or get a sneak peak from the trailer here: https://lnkd.in/eYe4pQHV