The First Green Get-Together

There is untold diversity to be found in community-led climate action in the Scottish Borders. In just over two hours we heard how children are disrupting the mindset of the local community in Stow; the links between health and climate change; how Green Power F24 racing cars are producing the next generation of sustainable engineers; about improvements to active travel infrastructure and waterways in Gala; and salmon’s importance as an indicator species for climate change in the River Tweed.

We hear from Stow Disrupters.

This was the first Green Get-Together, hosted by SBCAN at Cafe ReCharge in Galashiels last Wednesday. The event offered the opportunity for people to hear about several inspiring projects taking place in the Scottish Borders linked to climate action and the environment, alongside networking with others actively engaged in promoting action on climate change in the Borders.

Each of the groups presenting at the event had been beneficiaries of SBCAN funding in the past and it was inspiring to hear how they had put this seed funding to good use, in addition to the other good work that they were doing. Firstly, we heard from Stow Disrupters, a group which encourages children aged 5-12 to think global and act local in their quest to change mindsets in a positive way. 69 children, so far, have benefitted from the project in Stow. There was then the chance for participants to hear about how NHS Borders is developing a new public facing toolkit examining the links between health and climate change. Borders College, presented next, explaining how they were using Green Power F24 car racing as a hook to engage students with topics including sustainability and climate change. Students design and construct battery powered cars using only ethically sources materials before competing against other schools and colleges. This project ties into Borders College’s ambition to reach net zero by 2030, at the moment they believe they will manage to reduce their carbon footprint by 75% of what it was in 2014.

Discussion about the NHS toolkit.

Energise Galashiels has delivered 77 community projects in Galashiels since 2015. They told us how they are supporting the Galashiels Town Team to deliver upgrades to the Black Path, a key active travel link in the town, which is a priority project. They are also considering how they can reopen the silted-up mill lade in Galashiels to improve biodiversity and potentially act as a source of hydro-electric power in the future. Finally, we heard from the Tweed Salmon Fishing Museum about the four week long programme that they are running for 5-12 year olds, which teaches them about the effects of changing climate and habitat on salmonids and other species in the river Tweed. The project will lead to a display in the windows of the museum in Kelso’s town square.

We look forward to bringing you news about the next Green Get-Together which we hope will take place early next year.