Under a month to go until the Highland Climate Festival
Issued on behalf of Highland Adapts
With less than a month to go, the opening of the very first Highland Climate Festival is fast approaching.
Excitement is starting to build across the region with local communities, businesses and the public sector all beginning to get on board and play a role in addressing the climate emergency.
The festival is supported by Highland Adapts, a partnership which brings organisations including Highland Council, NHS Highland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise together to facilitate transformational climate action, and the North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub, which is part of a network funded by the Scottish Government supporting community-led climate action.
Various online and in-person events will take place to highlight the significance of adaptation and mitigating measures that can be made to tackle climate change, whilst celebrating and engaging with the climate action that already exists across Highland.
The festival will take place Highland-wide between Saturday 25 June and Sunday 3 July 2022. The overarching theme of the festival is #LoveLocal, #LoveHighland, incorporating the importance of the climate emergency in the love for all things local and Highland.
The public are encouraged to attend local events to engage with their community and the ongoing celebrations. Any community groups are welcome to get involved and submit their festivities to be included.
If you already have scheduled events during the festival, or have any in the pipeline, please submit your event via the North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub website so your event can be publicised on our social media platforms and included in the festival programme.
The Highland Council, along with other key organisations, are supporting the festival and encourage communities, businesses and public sector organisations to get involved in the first Highland Climate Festival.
Bethany Lawrie, a Development Officer at the North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub said: “Highland Adapts and the North Highlands & Islands Climate Hub are delighted to have received a great response to the Highland Climate Festival 2022, with many different communities and organisations getting involved through events already in planning.
“The festival will host activities including active travel days involving treasure hunts, sustainable fashion shows, guided biodiversity walks, climate conversation cafes, community markets, online webinars, information sessions on important topics like energy saving and net zero, as well as film screenings to name a few.”
She added: “We are pleased to welcome the attendance of groups like Transition Black Isle, Ullapool Sea Savers, HLH Rangers, Zero Waste Scotland, Highland Green Health Partnership, Eden Court and the Thurso Community Development Trust; alongside many others soon to be confirmed.”
Katie Andrews, Climate Change Coordinator at the Highland Council and Project Support for Highland Adapts said: “It has been amazing to see so much enthusiasm and excitement from communities and organisations, all coming together regionally to support the Highland Climate Festival.
“The festival will be a great starting point to build awareness of climate change and biodiversity in Highland through fun events.”
She added: “We have a great support team, including the Climate Hub and Chloe Sinclair, Communications Intern for Highland Adapts, working hard behind the scenes to try and make the festival a success. This will hopefully be the first of many climate festivals going forward, proving to always be pivotal for inspiring community led climate action.”
To find out further information about the festival and what’s on, please visit https://www.nhclimatehub.co.uk/aboutthefestival.
Highland Climate Festival poster