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In this episode we start a conversation about how community organisations can benefit from collaborating with creative practitioners. We talk to Claire Durfour, Climate Creative Producer for Creative Dundee, about their CULTIVATE project which has been partnering creative practitioners with Tayside community organisations working in climate justice. We also chat to members of one of the partnerships, Pauline Lockhart and Carol Malone from Community First based in Forfar, Angus and their creative partners, Kirsty McKeown and Jenny Reid.
And to start us off you, will hear work by another one of SCCAN mini-grant recipients, Studio Youth Theatre in, Dumfries and Galloway. They show off a pilot episode of their brand new podcast, Blank Generation.
We will continue conversations about the value of creative collaborations in the next episode, due out in a couple of weeks.
Production and edit: Kaska Hempel
Resources:
Community First projects
Studio Theatre, Moffat https://thestudiotheatre.co.uk/
Tayside Climate Beacon events in May and June: https://creativedundee.com/2022/05/2022-tayside-climate-beacon-event-series/
CULTIVATE https://creativedundee.com/cultivate/
Culture Collective https://www.culturecollective.scot/
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Today’s storytellers, Mary Troup and Hazel Darwin-Clements, share personal reflections on how they were inspired to act on climate with their local communities. And on the often random, unplanned, messy and sometimes personally exhausting nature of what we all are trying to do. They both make a powerful case for working together with others so that we can spread our burdens, and so that we can keep ourselves motivated and sane in making a real difference.
We start with Mary’s brief piece, which she created during one of our Stories for Change workshops on finding and telling your climate action story. Through story and song she tells us about her involvement with COP26 and inspirations to set up a climate café.
Next, we hear from Hazel, one of the 8 recipients of our storyteller collective mini-grants. Her honest, first hand documentary about the first few months of setting up the Porty Community Fridge. What is a Community Fridge? How do we create projects that aren’t dependent on one person? Will coming face to face with food poverty divert a mission to reduce carbon consumption?
The Porty Fridge has a Facebook page.
You can connect with Hazel @HazelDarEd on Twitter or find her at www.hazeldarwinclements.co.uk.
The episode starts with a recording of a story “From fossil fuels shirt-and-tie to fossil-free hippie guy” shared by Bruce Donald, a net zero researcher for Thurso Development Trust. He was one of the participants in Paul Bristow’s January workshop on finding, writing and telling our climate action stories to better engage others in our communities.
It's followed by Phillip Revell’s uplifting story from Pilgrimage for COP26, with a couple of conversations about hope and coming together, beautifully illustrated with poetry and song. Philip spoke to two Pilgrimage participants David Gee about his book, ‘Hope’s work’, and to Olga Bloemen, one of the Pilgrimage organisers and a poet.
Pilgrimage songs were performed by Freedom of Mind Community Choir and written Karine Polwart. The Pilgrimage poem was written and performed by Olga Bloemen.
Recording and editing: Kaska Hempel and Philip Revell
Production: Kaska Hempel
Resources:
Now that it's all over, Kaska Hempel talks to SCCAN members about their participation in COP26, their most memorable moments and thoughts on what it all means for community climate action in Scotland.
Our guests included:
We also feature a wee teaser of another fab pod in our Scottish climate family - Local Zero. Check out their feed from last year for some excellent coverage of the events on the ground.
Credits
Episode recorded and edited by Kaska Hempel.
Includes excerpts from film about Tayport Climate Festival, shot and edited by Alex Caldow. Music from performance by Essa Flett.
Resources
Joana Avi-Lore
Philip Revell
Cornell Hanxomphou
Alison Stewart
Andrea Elder
Lynsey Penny
Kaska Hempel
Climate Cafés are open, inclusive spaces for people to get together to talk and act on the climate emergency. Community-led, the movement has emerged from the heart of Scotland and there are now sister cafés around the world.
In this episode, and following the recent launch of the Climate cafe website, we chat to Jess Pepper (Dunkeld and Birnam), Alison Stuart (Aberdeen Climate Action), Carol Aitken (Pitlochry) and Ruth Hunter Pepper (Sustaining North Berwick) to learn more about the value and importance of creating these spaces in our communities and how to go about setting one up.
Better Bike Share: Stories of Scotland’s community bike share schemes
CoMoUK and Scottish Communities Climate Action Network are excited to present a new joint podcast, exploring the impact of community bike share across Scotland. It features:
- Harriet Cross on CoMoUK’s work to help develop low-carbon and low-cost transport options
- Tim Hughes on how his passion for cycling led to Dunblane Development Trust’s e-bike loan scheme for residents
- Jude King discussing how Arran Eco Savvy’s bike-share project supports the island’s businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprints.
As we emerge from our hibernation, we reflect on the challenges the last year has presented for social isolation, and hear about social enterprises who are 'Collaborating in Communities to Improve Mental Health' with the support of the Pockets and Prospects fund. And we have two stories of personal climate action from our recent storytelling training day.
A conversation with Ross Ahlfeld of Inverclyde Community Development Trust, discussing the development of the community pantry the organisation is running in partnership with Inverclyde Council. In 3 months, 400 members have signed up for the new service which addresses food insecurity and food waste.
