'Climate Beacon' to be set up in Fife town ahead of COP26 UN Climate Change Conference

The Leven Programme, ONFife and Levenmouth Academy are coming together to inspire public engagement and positive action in Fife in the run up to and beyond the conference.

The partnership will be one of seven hubs across Scotland known as ‘Climate Beacons’, funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Change and Culture Divisions, Creative Scotland, and Museums Galleries Scotland. Six other Beacons are taking form in Argyll, Caithness & East Sutherland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, the Outer Hebrides, and Tayside.Bringing together shared resources and knowledge from cultural and climate organisations, the Beacons will provide a welcoming physical and virtual space for the public, artists and cultural sector professionals, environmental NGOs, scientists and policymakers to discuss and debate COP26 themes and climate action specific to their local area.The Leven Programme, ONFife and Levenmouth Academy are coming together with others to channel the arts and build on climate action in the area. They are eager to share stories of the proud industrial heritage and show the world how we can transform to a resilient low carbon community of the future.

Pauline Silverman, SEPA senior manager Partnerships and Places and The Leven Programme Manager, said: “Climate change requires immediate action if we are to adapt and live with its effects. We are so excited to use our collaboration to bring science and the arts together to develop the story of change from a carbon intensive past to a low carbon resilient community of the future.”

Duncan Zuill, teacher and EIS representative, Levenmouth Academy, added: “We want to show how rewilding unused campus areas gives a home for nature, a space for outdoor learning and improved health for our communities! We are connecting with other schools around the world to think about what else we should be doing about the Climate Emergency.”

The seven Climate Beacons will operate in the lead-up to, during, and after COP26, each utilising their own expertise and responding to the needs of their local area and communities with planned themes including Scotland’s temperate rainforests, industrial heritage, water, adaptation to climate change, land use, biodiversity, green jobs, and the recovery from COVID-19.

Scottish Government Culture Minister Jenny Gilruth said of the project: “This pioneering work from Creative Carbon Scotland ahead of COP26 makes a powerful link between culture and climate action. Climate Beacons will play an important role in ensuring that the history-making COP26 negotiations are not only felt in Glasgow but across the country, helping everyone in Scotland to better understand climate change and how to contribute to becoming a net-zero society.”

Creative Carbon Scotland, an arts and sustainability charity, is overseeing the project. It is connecting the seven Beacons and offering support throughout, alongside co-ordinating partners Architecture & Design Scotland, Creative Scotland, Edinburgh Climate Change Institute, Museums Galleries Scotland, Scottish Library and Information Council, and Sustainable Scotland Network.

To find out more, visit the website – www.climatebeacons.com.