Highland Council is geared up for Earth Hour 2017

The Highland Council is once again proud to be taking part in WWF’s Earth Hour and is leading the way in supporting the event throughout the region.

Now in its tenth year, the Council will join thousands of people across Scotland and millions from around the world in switching off their lights for an hour on Saturday 25 March at 8.30pm.

By joining the celebration, the Council is helping highlight the issues facing our brilliant planet, such as climate change, and to remind us that, together, we have the power to make change happen. MacTavish, the Highland Earth Hour panda, has been raising awareness on Twitter with adventures throughout the area raising awareness of climate change and promoting local events.

To celebrate Earth Hour 2017, local events and activities include:

• Switching off floodlights for the weekend at landmarks throughout the Highlands including Urquhart Castle, Ruthven barracks and Inverness Cathedral.
• Screening of How To Let Go in celebration of Earth Hour at Eden Court Cinema starting, at 8.15pm on 25th March
• High Life Highland Libraries will have climate change displays during the week and other events such as talks and storytime
• A local volunteer stargazing event in Culloden between 8.15 pm - 10.30pm. More details at: www.spacegazer.com
• Local beach clean event between 11am - 1.30pm at Caroy Beach, Northwest Skye – contact Council Ranger Ellie at ellie.maclennan@highland.gov.uk or on 01471 820527 for further details.
• Nocturnal wildlife walk In Ullapool  7.30pm - 9pm with Council Ranger, contact Jenny to book 01854 613904 or jenny.grant@highland.gov.uk
• Switching off all non-essential lights in Highland Council offices.

Local schools have already participated in Earth Hour by submitting posters and videos  on how they plan to help tackle climate change. These can be seen on the council’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/highlandcouncil  and through the @Carbon_CLEVER twitter feed.

Stuart Black, Director of Development and Infrastructure at The Highland Council said:  “We’re proud to once again be taking part in WWF’s Earth Hour.  It’s important to be able to show that by working together, we can make a difference and help protect our planet.

“I hope as many people in the Highlands as possible get involved and make the tenth anniversary of Earth Hour one for us all to remember.”

Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said:

“We’re delighted that The Highland Council is again taking part in WWF’s Earth Hour.  It’s an opportunity for us all to demonstrate in a simple way that we care about our planet and the impact climate change is having on people and nature across the world.”

Since 2007, WWF’s Earth Hour’s unique display of darkness has become a global phenomenon with hundreds of millions of individuals coming together each year.  In 2016, 178 countries and some of world’s most famous buildings including Edinburgh Castle, The Kelpies, Big Ben, Hong Kong’s skyline and the Sydney Harbour Bridge joined the global celebration.  In Scotland thousands, of people took part, including schools, businesses and organisations.

Everyone can join the celebration for WWF’s Earth Hour on Saturday 25 March 2017. For more information and to sign up please visit wwfscotland.org.uk/earthhour  Local events can also be found on: http://whatsonhighlands.com/