Stronger Voices: Social Media Accessibility for Charities
Stronger Voices is a Media Trust programme designed to strengthen the voices of equality organisations. The programme aims to support equalities organisations to strengthen their strategic communications to improve representation of marginalised communities facing inequality.
Accessibility isn’t just about disability – it's about creating content with a range of audiences in mind. Whether your audience includes blind or d/Deaf users, neurodivergent people, or even just someone scrolling quickly on a busy commute, making small changes to your social media best practice can have a huge impact.
This masterclass will give you the tools to create clear, inclusive social media content that reaches more people and focuses on building a great user experience. From improving readability to ensuring good colour contrast on graphics, this session will cover practical steps to remove digital barriers and make your social media user-friendly for everyone.
To book your free place or read more, click here.
Rainforest plants and biodiversity workshop
Come sit with them & tropical rainforest plants and learn more about their environment, how biodiversity loss is affecting them and how connected they are to people living in Scotland. 🌴 🌳 Through an interactive conversation, with origami, painting, smelling and tasting we will allow plants to tell us their stories, and imagine a possible future for both people and our biodiverse world 🌎
Date: Friday 25th April
Time: 13.30-15.30
Meeting Point: Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, West Gate, John Hope Gateway, Arboretum Place, EH3 5NY
Language: English (Polish translation available)
Registration: https://forms.gle/1G1XjJR4NgHunQAu9
Apple Blossom Day Picnic
Apple Blossom Day at Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre
Drylaw Good Apples (a Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre project) is delighted to invite you to their community orchard celebration on Apple Blossom Day, Sat 26th April, 2-4pm.
It will be a family friendly event with free drop-in activities, food, and hot drinks. There will also be some live music from Jed and Jo, of Tinderbox. All welcome to celebrate Spring at Drylaw! For more information, you can contact the Centre directly.
Free Foraging Walk in St Marks Park
Join them for a spring foray at St Marks Park with Johanna (@foraging.gardener)
Their last foraging walk was so successful that they were lucky enough to be able to organise another one!
As you stroll through the park, you’ll discover an array of edible and medicinal plants and fungi beginning to wake up with the season. You'll cover how to identify and use them, as well as any associated folklore.
To wrap up your lovely walk, you’ll gather together to savour some delicious foraged snacks.
You will meet at the police box for 11am before setting off on your walk to the park. Please dress appropriately for a Scottish spring wander, which could potentially be a bit muddy or damp!
You will be walking some woodland paths with light inclines. You’re welcome to bring your own basket.
Drawing workshops in Craigmillar Castle Park with Sarah Gittins
This workshop is running on April 28th, May 5th and May 12th
"Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart." (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
Join Sarah Gittins for one or more of these walking and drawing workshops responding to signature trees in Craigmillar Castle Park. The focus is on drawing but walking will be part of the pleasure. No experience of drawing necessary.
Sarah Gittins is a visual artist and educator, working across a variety of media, with a particular focus on drawing, painting and printmaking. Her work explores issues of social and ecological justice and pays close attention to the wonders of the living world. Sarah is interested in the capacity of image making to enable engagement, conversation and action for change. Alongside making and exhibiting work, Sarah has facilitated creative workshops and taught drawing, painting and printmaking in a wide range of community and educational settings over the course of two decades.
Everyone is welcome. No prior experience necessary.
A collaboration between Art Walk Projects, Bridgend Farmhouse and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Feedback on Heating Edinburgh in 2030s
Join the Conversation: Edinburgh's Future Without Gas
What will our homes and workplaces look like when we move away from gas heating? ECCAN’s Community Heat Group asked people in North Edinburgh, and now they want to share what they heard.
If you're worried about climate change and how Edinburgh will adapt, come along to this next event! Hosted by the ECCAN Community Heat group, they'll be discussing the real-life impacts of transitioning away from gas.
This follows their successful February session, where they explored the different heating options for the 2030s – heat pumps, heat networks, and more. In this session, they’ll delve deeper into what this means for our community.
Be part of shaping Edinburgh's greener future!
AGENDA
ECCAN to present a short introduction about the background of the event
Clean Heat Edinburgh Forum and Eala Impacts CIC report on the outcomes and learnings from the deep dive engagement with pathfinder groups in North Edinburgh
Breakout groups to hear thoughts of participants' views on the what has worked / what was difficult and feedback for the Community Heating group
+ Creative roleplaying to unpack the drivers and the blockersConclusion and plan for the next steps of the sub-network.
This event will take place both online and in-person. Come along, listen in, and find out how YOUR community can benefit from the Clean Heat revolution!
To book your place or to read more, click here.
Nature Finance – Public or Private?
This online event, organised by SEDA Land, part of the Scottish Ecological Design
Association, will explore where the money to finance nature recovery should come from,
and how rural communities can thrive as Scotland’s natural environment is improved.
Should we rely on the public sector to step up to the challenge of reaching Net Zero and
bring socio-economic benefits? If so, how do we raise the taxes to pay for that in a fair and
equitable way, for example on the "polluter pays" principle, through a carbon land tax or
through other property taxes? Which specific tax reforms are most likely to hasten nature
recovery in Scotland? Are Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) an appropriate
vehicle to coordinate public and private investment to deliver landscape and catchment
scale collaboration? Is luring in more private finance the way forward? Maybe it is a
combination of the two?
The debate will be in the context of Scotland, with its limited devolved powers and wide
regional differences. The panel will look in broad terms at at ways of addressing climate
change and improving the environment – carbon sequestration, reversing biodiversity loss,
flood management – and the benefits this can bring in terms of employment, strengthened
communities, recreation, education, and health & wellbeing.
Without finance, achieving these goals is nigh on impossible, so it comes down to the ageold question: Where does the money come from?
Chair: Nick Drainey, freelance writer.
David Fleetwood, director of policy, John Muir Trust
Graeme McCormick, director, Business for Scotland.
Henry Leveson-Gower, founder & CEO, Promoting Economic Pluralism
Howard Reed, founder & director, Landman Economics
Lewis Ryder-Jones, advocacy adviser, Oxfam Scotland
Rachel Skene, manager, Regional Land Use Partnership NW2045
(Not so) Glorious Failure: how do we make change better? (Day 1)
This is a 2 day workshop for anyone who is feeling desperate about the need for deep social change. It's an invitation to bring your sense of desperation, failure and frustration and, using processes and insights from Forum Theatre, process work, meditation and liberation anthropology, spend a couple of days exploring what's not working and why - and what we could try instead.
‘Failure’ is a loaded word. You’ll pay attention to what you’ve been conditioned to feel about success and failure, and the feelings those generate in us. You’ll be exploring specific experiences of failure in our lives, work or collective struggles. You’ll be using theatre and process work, possibly with puppets, to map and explore this territory, before harvesting what you’ve learned, and rehearsing how you are going to put this into practice.
(Not so) Glorious Failure: how do we make change better? (Day 2)
This is a 2 day workshop for anyone who is feeling desperate about the need for deep social change. It's an invitation to bring your sense of desperation, failure and frustration and, using processes and insights from Forum Theatre, process work, meditation and liberation anthropology, spend a couple of days exploring what's not working and why - and what we could try instead.
‘Failure’ is a loaded word. You’ll pay attention to what you’ve been conditioned to feel about success and failure, and the feelings those generate in us. You’ll be exploring specific experiences of failure in our lives, work or collective struggles. You’ll be using theatre and process work, possibly with puppets, to map and explore this territory, before harvesting what you’ve learned, and rehearsing how you are going to put this into practice.
Drawing workshops in Craigmillar Castle Park with Sarah Gittins
This workshop is running on April 28th, May 5th and May 12th
"Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart." (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
Join Sarah Gittins for one or more of these walking and drawing workshops responding to signature trees in Craigmillar Castle Park. The focus is on drawing but walking will be part of the pleasure. No experience of drawing necessary.
Sarah Gittins is a visual artist and educator, working across a variety of media, with a particular focus on drawing, painting and printmaking. Her work explores issues of social and ecological justice and pays close attention to the wonders of the living world. Sarah is interested in the capacity of image making to enable engagement, conversation and action for change. Alongside making and exhibiting work, Sarah has facilitated creative workshops and taught drawing, painting and printmaking in a wide range of community and educational settings over the course of two decades.
Everyone is welcome. No prior experience necessary.
A collaboration between Art Walk Projects, Bridgend Farmhouse and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Anti-Oppression and Inclusivity Training (Part 1)
Join us for a two-part training designed to support community-led climate organisers to deepen their understanding of oppression, power, and inclusivity in their movements and groups.
This training is offerred by ECCAN (Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network) in collaboration with Tripod.
Over the span of 2 days, this training will:
Support us in building a shared understanding of systemic oppression and anti-oppression frameworks.
Explore how oppression can show up in our initiatives and the common barriers to inclusivity.
Discuss practical ways to navigate and challenge oppression when it arises in groups.
The sessions will be interactive and reflective.
Who is it for?
This training is for anyone involved in ECCAN’s member groups who wants to explore how to make their work and spaces more anti-oppressive and rooted in justice.
It may be especially useful for groups looking to ensure their campaigns, communications, and actions are inclusive and equitable.
Dates:Wednesday, 7th May 10:00 am – 2:30 pm in person (with a free lunch break in between)
Location: Tuesday 8th May online, 10:00-2:30pm. (You will be sent the confirmation email soon after signing up for the in-person event)
Please note you need to be able to commit to both dates to complete this training.
Important – Registration Process:
To register, you’ll need to complete a short pre-training questionnaire to help us tailor the sessions to your needs.
Deadline to complete the form: 23rd April. Please fill this questionaire as soon as you register for this event to help up in making this a swift process.
Note for Racialised Participants: If you are a racialised person planning to attend, the facilitators would like to speak with you ahead of the session to ensure you feel supported during the training. These conversations are optional and confidential. Please indicate this in the pre-training questionnaire form or email info@tripodtraining.org.
Access:Please let us know in the pre-training questionnaire if you have any access needs. We want to do our best to make the space as welcoming and supportive as possible.
If the cost of transport or other financial barriers get in way of your attending the event, please get in touch with the ECCAN team regarding access the participation fund. You can find out more about accessing it here.
We look forward to learning and exploring together!
Supporting Young People in the Face of Climate Change
Join Climate Psychology Alliance on Wednesday, May 7th from 6 - 8pm GMT+1 for an interactive workshop led by Caroline Hickman and Elouise Mayall, experienced in supporting young people’s mental health in relation to climate change. The workshop will explore how adults (educators, parents, and others working with children and young people) can provide meaningful support to help youth navigate the challenges of climate anxiety. The facilitators will be joined by members of CPA’s Student and Young People group who will share their experiences and be on hand to answer attendee questions.
Aims of the Session:
To deepen understanding of how climate change impacts children and young people.
To provide guidance on supporting young people’s mental health during climate-related stress.
To empower adults with tools and strategies for helping youth live with the strong emotions that come with connecting with the climate crisis.
Who Should Attend:
Educators, caregivers, mental health professionals, and anyone working with young people
Young people (16-25) and those interested in climate psychology are encouraged to attend
Ticket Information:
Free for young people (16-25) and CPA members
£15 for general attendees
Secure your place via Eventbrite and share with your networks!
Anti-Oppression and Inclusivity Training (Part 2) - Online
Part 2 of the Anti-Oppression and Inclusivity Training
Join us for a two-part training designed to support community-led climate organisers to deepen their understanding of oppression, power, and inclusivity in their movements and groups.
This training is offerred by ECCAN (Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network) in collaboration with Tripod.
Over the span of 2 days, this training will:
Support us in building a shared understanding of systemic oppression and anti-oppression frameworks.
Explore how oppression can show up in our initiatives and the common barriers to inclusivity.
Discuss practical ways to navigate and challenge oppression when it arises in groups.
The sessions will be interactive and reflective.
Who is it for?
This training is for anyone involved in ECCAN’s member groups who wants to explore how to make their work and spaces more anti-oppressive and rooted in justice.
It may be especially useful for groups looking to ensure their campaigns, communications, and actions are inclusive and equitable.
Dates:Wednesday, 7th May 10:00 am – 2:30 pm in person (with a free lunch break in between)
Location: Tuesday 8th May online, 10:00-2:30pm. (You will be sent the confirmation email soon after signing up for the in-person event)
Please note you need to be able to commit to both dates to complete this training.
Important – Registration Process:
To register, you’ll need to complete a short pre-training questionnaire to help us tailor the sessions to your needs.
Deadline to complete the form: 23rd April. Please fill this questionaire as soon as you register for this event to help up in making this a swift process.
Note for Racialised Participants: If you are a racialised person planning to attend, the facilitators would like to speak with you ahead of the session to ensure you feel supported during the training. These conversations are optional and confidential. Please indicate this in the pre-training questionnaire form or email info@tripodtraining.org.
Access:Please let us know in the pre-training questionnaire if you have any access needs. We want to do our best to make the space as welcoming and supportive as possible.
If the cost of transport or other financial barriers get in way of your attending the event, please get in touch with the ECCAN team regarding access the participation fund. You can find out more about accessing it here.
We look forward to learning and exploring together!
Local Food Connections
Menu for All: Local Food Connections
🗓️ Date: Thursday 8th May
🕥 Time: 10:30 AM – 2:30 PM
📍 Location: Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Edinburgh, EH6 8RG
Are you a food grower or distributor committed to building a better, more sustainable food system in Edinburgh? Join them for a networking event aimed at fostering collaboration, sparking new ideas, and strengthening the local supply chain in line with the Good Food Nation vision.
This gathering will bring together key players from across the food sector - growers, distributors, and food systems advocates - to explore opportunities for collaboration and shared impact. Together, you’ll discuss how we can work towards a food system that is resilient, equitable, and climate conscious.
Drawing workshops in Craigmillar Castle Park with Sarah Gittins
"Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart." (Robin Wall Kimmerer)
Join Sarah Gittins for one or more of these walking and drawing workshops responding to signature trees in Craigmillar Castle Park. The focus is on drawing but walking will be part of the pleasure. No experience of drawing necessary.
Sarah Gittins is a visual artist and educator, working across a variety of media, with a particular focus on drawing, painting and printmaking. Her work explores issues of social and ecological justice and pays close attention to the wonders of the living world. Sarah is interested in the capacity of image making to enable engagement, conversation and action for change. Alongside making and exhibiting work, Sarah has facilitated creative workshops and taught drawing, painting and printmaking in a wide range of community and educational settings over the course of two decades.
Everyone is welcome. No prior experience necessary.
A collaboration between Art Walk Projects, Bridgend Farmhouse and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Climate Bites May: a canal cruise with Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust
Join us for a very special edition of Climate Bites with a cruise along the Union Canal!
Member group Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust will be hosting this special lunch. Join us to meet new people, forge new connections and enjoy a free meal.
To read more or to sign up, click here.
Poetry workshop with Helen Boden
Poetry allows us to see the world in different ways, offering fresh perspectives on our own lives and the lives of others; human and more-than-human. Taking inspiration from the woodlands in Craigmillar Castle Park, Helen Boden will guide participants through a series of tree-inspired poetry exercises. No experience with poetry or other genre writing necessary.
Helen Boden is a poet and educator who has lived by the upper Braid Burn since 2010. Her first collection A Landscape To Figure In, a book about place and identity, was published by Red Squirrel Press in 2021. She also makes poetry in non-print formats for exhibitions and performance. As an independent Literature professional, she specialises in devising and delivering socially-engaged creative activities across a broad range of cultural, community and environmental settings, with particular interests in Writing for Wellbeing, ekphrastic poetry, and poetry walks.
Everyone is welcome. No prior experience necessary.
A collaboration between Art Walk Projects, Bridgend Farmhouse and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Speculative fiction workshop with Sandy Bennett-Haber
Good science fiction can simultaneously take us into a new world and help us see our own world more clearly. How might the trees in Craigmillar Castle Park lead us towards a better future? Guided by Sandy Bennett-Haber. No experience with fiction or other genre writing necessary.
Sandy Bennett-Haber is an Edinburgh based Australian. She received a BA (Hons) in Creative Writing from Monash University (Melbourne) and blogged her way around the world before making her home in Scotland.Her writing has been published in Dear Damsels, Coin Operated Press - Earth Zine, Waymaking: an Anthology of Women's Adventure Writing, Poetry and Art, For the Love of Trees, and in the upcoming anthology North Bridge: Where We Traveled. Sandy is currently writing a speculative fiction novel, and is a founder member of the Women Writers Network. Previously selected for the Creative Scotland Our Voices program and long-listed for the Primadonna Prize, Sandy fits writing in around motherhood, clothes mending and wild swimming.
Everyone is welcome. No prior experience necessary.
A collaboration between Art Walk Projects, Bridgend Farmhouse and Edinburgh & Lothians Greenspace Trust
Dr Bike at the Farm
The brilliant Dr Bike mechanics will be back in the farmyard to check and fix your bike for free. They can do maintenance and many types of repair on the spot with their mobile workshop. And if your bike needs something more than they can do there and then, they’ll tell you how to get it sorted.
If you’d like to get rolling for spring and summer, bring your bike along and put it in their capable hands.
Drop in (no need to book) on 27th May 2pm-4pm in the farmyard, through the South Gate entrance behind Toby Carvery car park.
Edinburgh Canal Festival
Residents and visitors are invited to explore the Union Canal between the Lochrin Basin and Harrison Park and to meet some of the great organisations that operate year round on and near to the canal. There will be loads of free activities and entertainment as you travel along the canal in the heart of Edinburgh.
Edinburgh Climate Festival
This summer, the Edinburgh Climate Festival returns to the Meadows Park on Saturday, June 28th, 2025 from 12:00 to 19:00 BST. The festival is free for all to attend and offers a wide range of activities including live performances, stalls, and activities for both kids and adults. The aim of the festival is to raise awareness about climate change and to increase public knowledge about the importance of adopting a more sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle, while also inspiring and empowering individuals to take action on the current climate crisis.
Register your interest with the facebook event, and follow ELREC’s social media to stay up to date with all their latest news!
DTAS Annual Conference
Join Development Trusts Association Scotland for a day of workshops and learning!
On August 26th and 27th they will be holding their annual conference and DTAS can offer a limited number of bursaries to groups that, without the financial support, would otherwise be unable to attend conference.
Because they are in the first stage of bookings, once the workshops and study visits are secured, they will contact attendees so that they can choose their preferred sessions.
Ticket sales will end on the 8th of August. Your ticket can be cancelled up to 14 days prior to the event at no cost.
For more info or to book, click here.
Underground Fungi: Learn to Grow Mushrooms in a Nuclear Bunker
Experience a unique mycological workshop within the historic Barnton Bunker, Scotland's preserved Cold War nuclear shelter. This immersive session offers participants the opportunity to learn practical mushroom cultivation techniques applicable for culinary enrichment.
Workshop Highlights:
Oyster Mushroom Log Inoculation: Participants will inoculate logs with oyster mushroom spawn, initiating growth within the controlled environment of the bunker.
Straw Pellet Fruiting Block Creation: Learn to construct straw pellet fruiting blocks, enabling at-home oyster mushroom cultivation.
Lion's Mane Hardwood Pellet Inoculation: Master the inoculation of hardwood pellets with lion's mane mushrooms, a gourmet variety, enhancing your cultivation skillset.
As an ECCAN member, you get £5 off the total workshop price with the promo code ECCAN!
To read more and book your place, click here.
Why Not Scotland?
We are at a vital crossroads in the future of our land and seas, Why Not Scotland? explores the Scottish landscape through the eyes of Flo, a young Scot from Glasgow. Seeing the depleted state of nature across her own country, Flo feels dispirited and increasingly fearful about an uncertain future like many of her generation. However, on a journey around Europe, Flo encounters a different story, finding places where nature is making a dramatic comeback, revitalising human communities. Encouraged by these stories of hope and renewal, she is prompted to wonder: if this is possible elsewhere, then why not Scotland?
Find out more: https://www.scotlandbigpicture.com/why-not-scotland
Climate Action Event
Climate Action Event! What you’ll find:
Swap Shop
Climate games & energy stalls
Energy saving & efficiency advice
Free light lunch!
At Open heavens Edinburgh, 75 harvesters Way, Wester Hailes, EH14 3JH
Go Deep Scotland- Website Launch & Meet the Team
Go Deep Scotland are a community-building team that promote connection, inclusion and empower all by facilitating activities and engaging with communities. They engage participants in transformative actions that build resilience, address challenges, and promote collaboration. By creating spaces for dialogue and action, these projects have contributed to stronger, more connected communities.
They’re launching their new website and are inviting people to join them online to get to know their team and how to get involved.
Sessions are free and open to all. You can join April 9th from 6-7.30pm or April 12th from 11.30-1pm.
To read more or to book your place, click here.
Visual Storytelling workshops for children
Join storyteller and researcher Joana Avi-Lorie in a series of free workshops for children. Your child will learn new illustration and story-making skills using a variety of techniques from an industry professional and have the opportunity to have their art exhibited. Plus, you will both have the chance to learn more about some of the science behind eco-anxiety!
These workshops are part of a study aiming to explore how fictional stories can affect the way children think and feel about climate change and its effects on human and animal lives.
Dates: April 11th - 16th
Locations & Times:
April 11th & 12th: Stockbridge Library, 12:15 PM - 2:15 PM
April 13th - 16th: Lister Learning and Teaching Centre, 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM
For more information or to sign up, click here.
The Most BEAUTIFUL WORLD - that your Mind can change
Free drop-in activity for families with writer & artist
Joana Avi-Lorie
Create a picture of your beautiful Edinburgh and your community!
An invitation for parents and children to imagine, create, and think together of how to care for the places we live in and love
Go Deep Scotland- Website Launch & Meet the Team
Go Deep Scotland are a community-building team that promote connection, inclusion and empower all by facilitating activities and engaging with communities. They engage participants in transformative actions that build resilience, address challenges, and promote collaboration. By creating spaces for dialogue and action, these projects have contributed to stronger, more connected communities.
They’re launching their new website and are inviting people to join them online to get to know their team and how to get involved.
Sessions are free and open to all. You can join April 9th from 6-7.30pm or April 12th from 11.30-1pm.
To read more or to book your place, click here.
Intro To Grow Your Own Veg
By buying a ticket for a workshop with them you are supporting their young social enterprise to survive and thrive, making it possible for them to offer more community activities in the future. However, they know times are tough, and we don't want their ticket prices to be a barrier to you taking part, so if you do find the ticket price a challenge at the moment please contact them. To learn more about their work please visit https://www.earth-in-common.org/soilidarity
Join them on the croft for a hands-on, beginner-friendly workshop designed to help you get started with growing your own produce.
Tom will guide you through the essentials of vegetable growing, including planning how to use your space, choosing the right soil and containers, mapping out your growing calendar, and caring for and maintaining your edible garden.
Whatever space you have available, whether it's your own allotment or croft plot, a shared garden, a balcony or even windowsill, you will leave with skills to identify suitable plants to grow and the confidence to get started on your growing journey.
While the session is suitable for beginners, growers of all abilities will benefit from the tips and advice, and the chance to meet other keen gardeners from the local community.
A Song for Granton Gasholder
Join Pianodrome’s Tim Vincent-Smith at the Gasholder Park opening and take part in a community song!
Tim has written a song for the official opening of this epic new public park, and Pianodrome are inviting you to sing it with them. You can join in for a short group practice and perform it straight after for the community.
There will be ice cream, face painting, and more wonderful piano sharing and piano dismantling activities run by Pianodrome.
Free event, and all welcome!
To read the song lyrics and for more information, click here.
Digital Trustees Matchmaking Event
Through matchmaking events and sharing resources and experiences, Third Sector Lab are making it easier than ever to connect charities and professionals from tech, data, design, IT and other digital backgrounds.
They hold regular online matchmaking events which are a fantastic opportunity for third sector organisations to meet a variety digital professionals.
The session will include an introduction by the founder of Third Sector Lab, Ross McCulloch. This will be followed by a series of rotating breakout rooms to let participants meet in smaller groups.
To read more or to book your place, click here.
Scotland Beyond Net Zero - Rural District Heating Symposium
Scotland Beyond Net Zero- Rural District Heating Symposiu
Heating Granton / Trinity in 2030s: How?
This online workshop is for community organisers and residents interested in the issues. It will inform future funding applications and support for community organisations looking to take control of their journey to a low carbon future.
DRAFT AGENDA
What is coming down the tracks? See background info HERE
Breakout groups to share participants' views how to respond
Capturing the main concerns arising for sharing more widely.
Come along, and chip in your views so that YOUR community can benefit from the Clean Heat revolution! An exhibition giving background to these issues is now available.
For more information and to book your place, click here.
The Art of Noticing - March Workshop: Regeneration
Join them for a spring exploration of their Orchard and an introduction to the arts of noticing. Their theme for this month is regeneration.
The Art of Noticing
Throughout 2025 and early 2026, join them for a monthly exploration of the Leith Links Community Orchard - learning to notice what is usually overlooked, diving into the worlds of the plants, animals and fungi we share this city with and understanding how key natural processes relate both to them, the wider ecosystem and to us as individual humans.
In these times of ecological and social struggles, constant distractions and a cultural focus on endless productivity, practicing the arts of noticing is a radical and nourishing act of slowing down, tuning in and paying attention, of reconnecting to our role within our communities and ecosystems.
The sessions will combine identification practice, discussions, practical nature-based tasks and caring for the orchard, storytelling, reflection, observation and tastings, and are open to everyone - no prior knowledge required, just curiosity!
They particularly invite participants who find themselves in need of hope, who feel disconnected from nature, or who are seeking peace in the natural world. Come and put down roots in the orchard and find your place in this ecosystem.
March Workshop: Regeneration
With the spring equinox just past the days are now longer than the nights, the sap is rising, fresh new leaves and flower buds are unfurling and the soil is warming up encouraging the seeds to sprout. For many of us the return of colour and birdsong to our green spaces also marks the return of more of our own energy.
Their theme for this month is regeneration both in the natural world and within ourselves and our communities. Through reflective prompts, creative plant ID and a wee bit of spring foraging we will get to know the plants and animals returning to activity in the orchard, learn about regenerative foraging practices, reflect on what this time of year means for us and our place in the ecosystem, and discuss the smaller and larger-scale ecological restoration projects happening around us.
Dress for all weather conditions and bring a mug for a seasonal herbal tea tasting.
No experience necessary, all materials and tools provided.
Location: Leith Links Children's Orchard (next to Seafield Place)
Tickets and more info via: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-art-of-noticing-march-workshop-regeneration-tickets-1272506504209?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
Spring Assembly - SAVE THE DATE
Please SAVE THE DATE for our next Assembly in the Spring. The event is Food themed and all the network is welcome. We will publish more information here in early February, including an Eventbrite sign up link.
Clean Heat 2025
Clean Heat is Scotland’s largest annual event dedicated to the delivery of clean, renewable heat to buildings in Scotland. Its purpose is to generate interest in the clean heat supply chain by showcasing the opportunities that exist within it.
They will be bringing together public, private, and third-sector organisations to share their knowledge and expertise.
The event will address the barriers to Scotland’s heat decarbonisation targets and look at how we can overcome them.
For more information and to book your free place, click here.
Defending Environmental Democracy
Join them for a panel discussion on how we can best mobilise in defence of environmental democracy, hosted by the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland (ERCS) and Planning Democracy.
How did newts and bats become public enemy number one under the UK's first self-professed 'green chancellor'? Why is a Labour government swallowing industry spin, and accommodating private developers' every whim - with public participation in environmental decision-making now dismissed as NIMBYism, rather than a fundamental pillar of a democratic society? And how will Scotland's government respond - will it stand firm against the erosion of our environmental rights, or will it surrender legal protections for people and nature to the new false narrative of 'blockers' versus 'builders'?
They’re delighted to welcome their guest speakers:
· Lesley Riddoch, writer and broadcaster
· Laurie McFarlane, Co-Director, Future Economy Scotland
· Malcolm Tait, Professor of Planning, University of Sheffield
· Kiera Chapman, Research Fellow in Nature, Attention and Biodiversity, Oxford University
Come with your questions and join the conversation on how to respond to the screeching hostility to planning and environmental concerns, and combat the rise of right-wing populism coinciding with the UK government's embrace of a deregulatory, growth-at-all-costs agenda.
---------------
The event is free to attend and will be hosted on Zoom.
Zoom details will be emailed to all attendees before the event.
They want this event to be accessible to all. If you have any particular accessibility requirements, please contact Jack (email: events@ercs.scot, tel: 0131 358 0038) as soon as you can so that they can make any arrangements required. BSL users can contact us via an online BSL/English interpreter.
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About ERCS
Their vision is of a Scotland where every person’s right to live in a healthy environment is respected, protected and fulfilled.
Their aim is to assist everyone, especially people who face the biggest barriers, to exercise their rights in environmental law and to protect the environment. They do this through:
• Awareness-raising of legal rights to increase confidence in using our rights
• Advice to increase access to justice and holding public authorities to account on the environment
• Advocacy in policy and law reform to improve environmental law
• Public interest litigation to tackle systemic environmental problems.
Find out more about us on their website
Subscribe to their newsletter
Follow them on Instagram | LinkedIn | Bluesky | YouTube
About Planning Democracy
Planning Democracy is a community-led organisation campaigning to strengthen the voice and influence of the public in the planning and development of Scotland’s land. We aim to deepen democratic control and promote environmental justice.
They campaign to rebalance power in planning so that citizens can better shape the way their environments change.
They promote ways to enable civil society and the general public to understand and engage effectively with policy and decision making.
They bring together individuals and communities to share information and provide support for each other.
They carry out community-based research to provide a community perspective on the impacts and outcomes of planning and development.
Find out more about them on their website
Subscribe to their newsletter
Energy retrofit of traditional buildings in Edinburgh
Edinburgh World Heritage invite you to a free event focusing on the energy retrofit of traditional buildings.
This session will provide valuable insights into the methodologies and strategies for enhancing energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions within traditional architectural structures. Mr. Yasser Battikha, Energy Retrofit Specialist, and Mr. Yann Grandgirard, Head of Climate Change at Edinburgh World Heritage, will present on various approaches, interventions, and practical considerations involved in undertaking energy retrofit projects. They will also offer a detailed case study of a comprehensive whole-house retrofit project conducted within a listed tenement on the Royal Mile.
The session will encompass information regarding Edinburgh World Heritage's Climate Emergency Grant programme, forthcoming initiatives, and a dedicated question-and-answer segment. The event will conclude with the provision of tea and coffee.
For more information and to book your place, click here.
Costorphine Hill litter pick with Barnton Bunker
Barnton Bunker is kickstarting this year's Keep Britain Tidy with a litter pick #GBSpringClean!
They’re inviting the local community to go down the lane to the Bunker entrance in the quarry (behind the currently under reconstruction Corstorphine Hill car park) on Clermiston Road, to meet at 11am sharp.
All equipment provided will be provided, but please wear sturdy footwear to help you climb the Hill and search for litter in nooks and crannies.
For more information, click here.
Mapping Edinburgh -The Meaning Map Project
The Meaning Map Project is a new public art project which creatively maps memories, hopes, and concerns for Edinburgh in the context of the climate crisis.
They work collaboratively with Edinburgh's diverse communities to create participatory maps of Edinburgh, and the myriad of meaningful places and community assets in our city.
They are running a community-mapping session at the Southside Community Centre’s Open Day. Free and all welcome -they look forward to seeing you and creatively mapping together!
For more information, write to them.
Bridgend's Spring Fair
Join Bridgend Farmhouse for their Spring Fair on Saturday 22nd March from 11-3pm.
You can expect a fun-filled day, with lots of cycling sessions and community-building and nature-based activities for the whole family.
ECCAN will be co-facilitating a family friendly drop-in with activities focusing on our love of nature and the environment.
To book on to other activities happening on the day, visit Bridgend’s Eventbrite collection here, and for more information contact info@bridgendfarmhouse.org.uk
Learn to Grow in Your Community
Come along to a FREE one-day community-led workshop at Saughton
A community-led workshop for LGBTQ+ people (aged 16+) to come together to connect, learn skills and build confidence around learning to grow
Park and Gardens for LGBTQ+ people (aged 16+) living or travelling to Edinburgh, to come together to connect, learn skills and build confidence around learning to grow.
We will be looking at how to grow lots of things in small spaces, which simplifies what we want to eat and we can grow. Moving away from mass agriculture, the event aims to focus on small-scale community growing. The event is being planned in collaboration with members of local LGBTQ+ community group, Queer By Nature. The workshops will be delivered by two skilled facilitators, with a background in leading community growing spaces, who also encourage body connection and work to reduce climate anxiety.
We are thankful to ECCAN for their support in funding this event. With additional thanks to support from the The Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society (The Caley)
Workshop / activity titles and facilitators:
• Land Connection & Building Foundations for Sustainable Growing with Nuria Lopez (Gracemount Community Gardens)
• Nature Connection Walk with Nic Saunders (Queer By Nature)
• Learning to Grow: What, Where, How? With Sylva Atkins (Muirhouse Community Garden Project)
Additional event info:
• Bring your own lunch - some light snacks provided. Saughton
• Teas / Coffees provided
• Venue, workshop space and garden area is step-free and
wheelchair accessible
• All-gender toilets available for our event
Tickets are FREE, booking essential:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1115373244399?aff=oddtdtcreator
Community Litter Pick
It's Spring Clean Scotland this March and April, and groups all over Scotland are tackling litter.
Join in for a Community Litter Pick of Leith Links!
Let's keep our amazing greenspace clean, green and beautiful!
Under 16's must be accompanied by an adult
Please let them know you are taking part by filling in this Google form or emailing events@duncanplace.org
Green Futures Festival
Green Futures Festival, Saturday 22nd March
Queen Margaret University, Musselburgh
East Lothian Climate Hub are thrilled to announce their Green Futures Festival 2025!
This festival will be a space of connecting and learning skills, with themed zones from food, energy, biodiversity to circular economy. There will be spaces focussing on the political landscape and campaigns and collective wellbeing, as well as stalls on green businesses and youth engagement.
There will be a climate gathering to look at what work we can build together, as well as music and climate activities for kids throughout the day.
This festival looks to be a dynamic and energising day for people new to climate action and for people who have been involved for a long time.
If you have any ideas for the festival, including if you want to have a stall and or volunteer, please contact them: hello@eastlothianclimatehub.org
The event is free and you do not need to register. Please read more about the event here.
Edinburgh Remakery Session: Willow Lantern (Part 2)
A two-part series of workshops for LGBTQ+ people (16+) featuring an exciting range of guided crafts and activities led by Edinburgh Remakery.
Dates and times
Thursday, March 6th, 6 - 9pm
Thursday, March 20th, 6 - 9pm
Location
Edinburgh Remakery in Leith, 13A Newkirkgate Leith EH6 6AD
About this event
• Workshops last 3 hours
Join our friends at Edinburgh Remakery in Leith, for a series of in-person creative workshops inspiring new skills and the chance to make some exciting 'take-home' projects whilst building new social connections in a safer space.Kat from Edinburgh Remakery will guide these Willow Lanterns sessions. With support from LGBT Health staff and volunteers.
About the Willow Lantern sessions (part 1 and 2)
In this two-part workshop you’ll learn to make a beautiful lantern out of willow and how to decorate it, ready to take home with at the end. Together we will learn how to work with the willow to make some amazing shapes and will decorate them with various crafty techniques to make each of them completely unique! All materials, equipment, and tools will be provided, as well as all-important refreshments to keep those creative juices flowing. These workshops can get a little messy so appropriate clothing is highly recommended!
Full Series Programme:
Thurs 6th March, 6-9pm - Willow Lanterns (Part 1) with facilitator Kat
Thurs 20th March, 6-9pm - Willow Lanterns (Part 2) with facilitator Kat
Tickets are FREE, booking essential:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1230238288839?aff=oddtdtcreator
And there are more workshops to come…
Thurs 3rd April, 6-8.30pm - Paper Jewellery with facilitator Isabell (book separately)
Thurs 24th April, 6-8.30pm – Tote-bag Stamping with facilitator TBC (book separately)
Access
We will send more information about the venue and how to access the event after you register.
The venue and our event features:
♿️ Wheelchair accessible with ramp access to main space
🅿️ Accessible all-gender toilets
- Relaxed setting, take breaks when needed
If there is anything you need to talk to us in advance of the event, please
contact Jules:📧 email jules@lgbthealth.org.uk
📞 0131 564 3970
Fit to Grow: Fitness for Gardeners
Celebrate Spring Equinox by preparing for the growing season ahead – two hours to learn how to keep yourself in tip top condition, so you can spring into gardening with energy and fewer aches and pains.
Gardening is not only good for the environment, it also has numerous health benefits, both physical and mental. However, it can be hard work. There’s lots of bending, lifting and digging that can be tough on the body and on the joints. By focusing on your own fitness, you’ll be able to grow more - whether on the allotment or in your garden. By growing more of your own food, you can work to reduce waste, as well as your waistline at the same time… It's a win win situation.
Learn practical exercises that will help you be strong for outdoor tasks. Personal Trainer Tracy Griffen teaches gardeners’ specific strength and flexibility exercises to aid recovery and maximise time in the garden. In addition, we’ll look at the prevention of common injuries. She’s also qualified in horticulture, and there will be a Q & A session at the end where we can exchange growing and fitness tips whilst enjoying some healthy snacks.
We welcome gardeners of all ages and abilities, you definitely don’t need to be fit to do this workshop.
What’s included:
· Gardening for functional fitness.
· Specific gardening strength exercises for core, legs and balance.
· Mindfulness for gardening, remembering our connection to the earth and the importance of growing.
· How to improve grip strength.
· Learn stretches to recover from heavy digging and weeding, and to prevent injuries.
· ‘Gardeners back’ specific exercises.
· Ideas for healthy snack ideas on the plot and eating for energy.
· Live snack demonstration and healthy vegan nibbles for the group.
· Q & A at the end. Meet new friends and swap stories.
· All exercises emailed to you after the session.
A fun and interactive workshop suitable for all ages and abilities. Seniors especially welcome.
What to wear / bring:
- Wear warm layers of clothing – we’ll be outdoors for an hour continually, with some movement, but nothing high intensity.
- Shoes, preferably waterproof. Hiking boots or study shoes.
Basically, wear what you’d wear in the garden, no fancy lycra required.
Please contact Tracy if you have any questions about the workshop content.
If you have any questions about the venue, location or ticketing please contact Earth in Common directly.
This workshop is possible with support from ECCAN Greenlight Fund.
Climate Bites -March
Feeling hungry for climate action? And actual food?
Join us for a relaxed and informal Climate Bites networking lunch, a fantastic opportunity to connect with fellow ECCAN members and anyone passionate about driving positive climate change in Edinburgh.
Whether you're already deeply involved in community climate projects or just curious to learn more, this is your chance to:
Enjoy a delicious, free lunch! (We'll have plenty of tasty options to keep you fueled.)
Meet and chat with like-minded individuals who are making a real difference.
Connect with leaders from Edinburgh's community climate action scene.
Learn about ECCAN and how you can get involved.
Share ideas, spark collaborations, and build a stronger network.
This is a perfect opportunity to find inspiration, share your own experiences, and expand your network in a friendly and supportive environment.
Who's invited?
Existing ECCAN members
Anyone interested in joining ECCAN and contributing to Edinburgh's climate action
Spaces are limited, so booking is essential!
Secure your spot now: click here
We look forward to seeing you there! Let's share some food and climate action ideas!
Earth’s Gift: Musaceae Family (ELREC/C3R)
We're excited to launch a series of free workshops for you to learn about nature, be inspired and share the different actions we can take to support biodiversity on Earth 🌳🌼
🌸Remembering Miseonnamu’s Story | 5 March (Wed) 11:00-13:00
🌏Earth’s Gift: Musaceae Family | 19 March (Wed) 11:00-13:00
🌿Finding features of myself in nature | 26 March (Wed) 11:00-13:00
Language: English (Cantonese/mandarin Interpretation Available)
Venue: Botanic Cottage, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (Arboretum Place, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ)
Please register here (link in bio): https://forms.gle/A45bBhk9kibRf48q8
Bike Station - Moving Sale
🚲SAVE THE DATE - MOVING SALE ALERT!
We're making moves—literally! As we prepare to move into our new space (more on that soon), we’re clearing out loads of cycling gear, including second-hand parts, clothing, accessories, and more! 🛠️👕
📅 15th of March
📍 The Bike Station, 250 Causewayside, Edinburgh
📲 Follow us on social media for updates and behind the scenes looks!
Bargains, hidden gems, and maybe even that one part you've been hunting for—don’t miss out! First come, first served. See you there! 🔥
Basic sewing : A Lifetime Skill
Remode Collective has designed this workshop to quickly walk you through the basics, build your confidence and get you started on the exciting journey of sewing and mending!
The small workshop size ensures valuable one-to-one teacher and participant time, allowing maximum engagement and assistance. It is an easy to follow class with clear simple instructions.
Using a sewing box or sewing machine, easily creating new garments as well as mending or altering existing items is a sustainable and eco-friendly way of reducing garment waste and extending the life of our garments.
We will cover:
introduction to sewing with the sewing machine
looking at the different types of seams and finishing techniques
how to make basic alterations and the hem
introduction to mending: hand-sewing technics, dry felting, and many more.
If you have a special piece that you want to alter, redesign or repair, bring it with you and we will help you to achieve your goals. All equipment and some materials will be provided but you are welcome to bring along your own sewing machine if you wish.
“Back of the Envelope” workshop
How are architects using rules-of-thumb, spreadsheets/software, and design guides to respond to the climate emergency?
An afternoon of brief presentations, tabletop discussions and a panel discussion for practicing and aspiring architects. The session will reflect on new “Back of the Envelope” practices and processes around data and design for the climate emergency and speculate on the near future of early-design-stage zero-carbon data practices.