Action plan empowers islands to tackle climate change
Islay and Jura have come up with a unique way to address the climate emergency through local environmental action.
With support from environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful, the Isle of Jura Development Trust, South Islay Development and Islay Energy Trust have developed a bespoke community climate action plan, setting out how the local community can improve the environment and tackle the challenges everyone faces.
The collaborative plan sets out specific actions people can take in their area to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, boost the local economy and make Islay and Jura cleaner, greener and more sustainable places to live.
It is designed to be updated regularly, can be contributed to by anybody in the community – and everybody can play a part in tackling climate change through the activities it sets out.
‘Working with Keep Scotland Beautiful on our first community climate action plan has helped us think about what action we can take locally to tackle climate change in Jura, how we can combine it with work already being done locally and our community-led action plan, and how we can make it accessible and achievable for everyone here,’ said Sarah Compton-Bishop, volunteer director of the Isle of Jura Development Trust.
‘We’re using the joint Jura and Islay plan as a positive starting point for us to go on and make a user-friendly plan for Jura which will support us in keeping Jura beautiful, active in tackling climate change and a great place to live.
‘Taking part in Keep Scotland Beautiful’s community climate action plan programme helped show us all that there are things that we are already doing, and that we can start taking action on, to make a difference.
‘The best thing is that we can tailor it to work for our island and make it achievable.’
Funding from the Scottish Government, as part of Scotland’s COP26 community engagement programme, has allowed Keep Scotland Beautiful to work on community climate action plans with seven communities across Scotland – Islay and Jura; Arbroath; Newcastleton; Knoydart; Pollokshields; Ferguslie Park; and Shotts.
Each community received support from a community climate facilitator, to help their community to develop its unique plan.
Keep Scotland Beautiful has also highlighted inspiring ideas from across Scotland and beyond, and provided guidance about further potential funding.
Keep Scotland
Beautiful’s communities
manager Katie O’Donnell said: ‘I am delighted to announce that, thanks to further funding from the Scottish Government, Keep Scotland Beautiful will be able to continue to support the communities for another year – until March 2023 – as they progress through their plans.’