Highland Climate Network to be established at gathering for community groups in Inverness
Scotland's environment charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, is inviting community groups from across the Highlands to attend a meeting in Inverness to establish a Highland Climate Network.
The meeting will be held at Highland Council offices, Glenurquhart Rd, Inverness on November 17th, between 9.00 and 11.00 and then again between 16.30 and 17.30 to fit in with the Carbon CLEVER Conference 2014, which will run at the same venue between 11.00 and 16.30.
The inaugural Highland Climate Network Meeting in Inverness is one of 12 taking place across the country to create peer to peer networks of community groups and is funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF).
Community groups attending the Highland Climate Network Meeting in Inverness will be able to learn more about the work of local CCF funded projects, share available resources and will be invited to design and organise future meetings to provide mutual support.
Keep Scotland Beautiful manages and develops the Climate Challenge Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government. Since its launch in 2008, 78 projects across the Highlands have been awarded more than £4.67 million in grants to run projects that reduce carbon emissions and make community improvements. Funded projects have included energy efficiency improvements in community owned halls and provision of energy efficiency advice, lower carbon transport schemes, initiatives to reduce, reuse and recycle waste, and community growing projects.
Derek Robertson, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “We are delighted to have arranged this first gathering of the Highland Climate Network and look forward to attendees establishing a community-led network which provides mutual support for local community groups taking climate action.
“We are extremely pleased to work in partnership with Highland Council and the Carbon CLEVER initiative which is supporting the move towards a low carbon Highlands.
“Keep Scotland Beautiful looks forward to helping many more community groups make positive connections to take action on climate change as part of our work to help make Scotland clean and green, today and tomorrow.”
Leader of The Highland Council, Councillor Drew Hendry said: “The Carbon CLEVER Conference and the Highland Climate Network meeting will bring together organisations to reflect on progress, share good practice and identify opportunities for future collaboration in the city and beyond.
“Carbon CLEVER is a Highland Council led initiative with an ambitious target of a carbon neutral Inverness in a low carbon Highlands, a vital first step in reaching this goal will be enabling organisations and individuals to act locally.
“Support from Keep Scotland Beautiful and the Climate Challenge Fund will help communities across the whole Highlands implement projects that are important to them, while reducing carbon emissions and supporting the goals of Carbon CLEVER.”
Kendra Turnbull, Director of Highland Environmental Network (and a CCF Project Manager at Lochaber Environmental Group) said: “The Highland Environmental Network aims to co-ordinate and enable the sharing of information for the benefit of the environment in the Highlands.
“A climate focused group will support HEN’s ‘working together’ project and enhance networking between established and aspirational groups and projects. Ultimately it should encourage more groups to take action, provide peer-to-peer learning and increase community participation in the Highlands.”