One of our key values is about working together.
Not only do we work with and support all the climate and environmental groups in the Highlands and Scotland, but we also work with various community groups, businesses, the Highland Council Climate Change Working Group, the Sutherland Community Partnership, Zero Waste Scotland, The Highland Good Food Partnership, Peas Please, and the Highland Third Sector Interface. And we have created a Highlands Environmental Group Directory.
Working together means that we benefit from each other’s knowledge and skills, helping to spread the word about what’s going on. It also helps towards building a solid Highland Community, ready to collaborate on projects, delivering a more sustainable future.
One of the benefits of Covid has been the explosion of on line meetings. Whilst not as good as meeting personally, this has provided the opportunity to meet many new friends and colleagues without travel restrictions. We’ve also had the opportunity to attend meetings that we may not have known about otherwise. It’s been very exciting to see the increase in the number of people taking action and the growing variety of new projects.
Climate / Carbon Cafes
This was the first of our projects. Here we meet up and chat about environmental and climate issues, share news and view and helpful tips. This is where many of our community projects are formed. These fun events help to bring us all together, ease our climate anxieties and help us to unravel the best tracks to take on issues such as plastic and plastic replacements etc. Of course these have stopped due to covid. We are striving to restart and are looking at topics and speakers to focus our chat.
Educational Film and Discussion Evenings
Our first film discussion evening was in Dec 2019. We watched The Climate Race followed by a very interesting live video call with Paul Maple, the film maker, ending the evening with a group discussion on various climate related topics.
After a pandemic induced break, we are happy to announce that our film club restarted in Sept 2020. We pick a film, watch it at our leisure over the course of a week or so, discuss the film on our private forum and then organise a zoom session to discuss further.
You can read more about our film and discussion group and some film reviews here.
Working With Schools and Children
Before Covid we had commenced several projects with schools and children from crisp packet collecting to film making and school gardening, and running events to help us talk with children about climate change.
Click here to see more information about our children and climate change projects
One of the best resources to for teachers is here – Highland One World – looking at world wide collaboration for schools and children.
Highland Environmental Groups and Businesses
We frequently discuss topics with other Environmental Groups throughout the Highlands and Islands. We also attend each others events to build our network and share resources.
Click here to add your details and to see the Environment and Climate groups and businesses in Sutherland, Highlands, Scotland (and nearby friends).
Specifically, we also work with some of the Sutherland Community Partnership sub groups to help discuss and develop opportunities to help climate change.
Working with all Generations
Together
All of our projects are fully inclusive and we’re very happy to be a member of Generations Working Together.
Community growing projects, recycling, and active travel, and our carbon cafes and film nights, for instance, all help to pull together the young and the elderly.
Working with Business
Our business survey was released in Feb 2020 and we delivered successful real and zoom workshops to help businesses understand the steps that can be taken to save money and save the planet.
Read more about our survey, workshops and how to Green Your Business and save money here. Please do get in touch if you would like to attend our next Greening Business event. Alternatively, please get in touch directly with Zero Waste Scotland to benefit from their detailed business resource reviews, improvement planning and grant advice.
Working with the Highland Council
The Highland Council have a very active Climate Change Working Group and we have regular meetings with their Project Manager. The initial remit considered their own estate, but during 2020 significant work has been done and there are now many more staff working on both internal and community initiatives. You can read more about what the Highland Council are doing here.
Highlands and Islands Climate Hub
The Highlands & Islands Climate Hub is our central hub where all community groups can go for information and advice on how to go about incorporating or increasing climate action. The group also provide education, workshops, ideas, networking, funding help and help groups to understand how to seamlessly incorporate climate action into their plans. Join The Highlands & Islands Climate Hub and find out more here.
Highland Adapts
Highland Adapts is a Highland Council initiative which pulled together business, community and Third Sector organisations to develop the plans and actions that we need to ensure Highland becomes a thriving, caring and resilient region, dealing with the changes that are coming as a result of climate change and biodiversity loss. We are in the Highland Adapts Community Climate Advocates Group. Find out more about Highland Adapts here and sign the Highland Climate Charter here to join with the many others showing their support for climate action in the region.
Highland Community Waste Partnership
This is an amazing collaborative orchestrated by Keep Scotland Beautiful with eight key partners all working on different parts of the action plan to reduce waste in the Highlands. We’re looking at composting, repair cafes, education and reducing all sorts of waste including, of course food waste.
Find out more about the Highland Community Waste Partnership here.
Highland Good Food Partnership
Another collaboration of many businesses, community groups and individuals coming together to create initiatives to increase Good Food for all in the Highlands.