Adaptation Scotland and Argyll & Bute Climate Action Network (ABCAN) have been collaborating on something exciting: a Gaelic version of our pioneering Community Climate Adaptation Routemap. 

The Routemap was translated by the Mòd committee and launched together with ABCAN at Mòd an Òbain, Scotland’s premiere celebration of Gaelic language, culture and heritage, this autumn.

 The digital version of the Routemap in Gaelic is available on our website here.  If you need printed copies, get in touch with Verture, or ABCAN. 

An interview with ABCAN’s lead Jamie Joyce and Ross Christie who translated the Routemap was recently shared on Verture’s website looking at discussing language, history and climate action. 

We hope this is a beginning of creating more Gaelic language resources to address the pressing climate change issues. 

Scotland’s Climate Week kicks off today, Monday 23rd September. This annual event is a celebration of the positive action people are taking across Scotland to lower our climate emissions, and increase our resilience to climate impacts.

Stories for Change

This year’s theme is “Stories for Change” which aims to encourage individuals, communities, and organisations to share their personal experiences and actions of what they’re doing to adapt to and combat climate change. Sharing stories is a powerful tool for connecting people and inspiring this necessary collective action. By sharing our journey and solutions on social media using #ScotClimateWeek, we can help others understand the impact of climate change and motivate them to take action.

If you’re feeling inspired by the #StoriesForChange being shared, we’ll be posting lots of ways you can help tackle climate change through the Adaptation Scotland programme’s activities and partners.

Get involved

Wondering how to get involved? The Scottish Government has provided free resources to help you get started. Visit the Net Zero Nation website to access the free toolkit.

Throught the week, the Adaptation Scotland programme is running a series of events, including:

• Training for business advisors at Scottish Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise
• Our bi-annual Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network event
• Sharing the new Highland Adapts Economic Assessment of Climate Change Impacts
• Launching our new business resilience tools and case studies
• And much more!

The Tay Bridge

The Adaptation Scotland programme is supporting the formation of a new regional adaptation partnership in Tayside to address climate risks. We are inviting local people and organisations to help shape a shared vision and priorities through sector-specific events.

The climate in Tayside is changing and the region is experiencing warmer, wetter weather, increased storms, and higher sea levels, all of which is set to continue even if we achieved net zero tomorrow. We need to adapt to these changes to allow us to become more resilient and ensure Tayside can continue to flourish.

At this early stage, we want to involve people and organisations across the region in defining a shared vision and priorities for the new partnership. Four sector specific events have been designed to provide opportunities for different groups to have a say in what the partnership could be, what it could do and how it could work, and we are inviting people who live or work in the area to join in.

• Public Bodies – 28th August 2024, 12.30 – 3:00pm, Perth Civic Hall, High St, Perth.
• Existing Climate Projects – 5th September 2024, 12.30 – 3:00pm, Dundee West Church, 130/32 Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4JW.
• Communities – 2nd October 2024, 12.30 – 3:00pm Dundee West Church, 130/32 Perth Rd, Dundee DD1 4JW.
• Local businesses including agriculture – 30th October 2024, 12.30 – 3:00pm, Webster Memorial Theatre, 64 High St, Arbroath DD11 1AW.

Each workshop will explore how a regional partnership can advance adaptation in Tayside, using these three key questions:

• How would you describe current work on adaptation in Tayside? What works well and what are the challenges?
• What do you hope to see in Tayside in 2050, as the result of good adaptation action?
• How can the regional partnership help move Tayside from the current situation to the future we want to see in 2050?

Each event will run from 12:30pm – 3pm with lunch available from 12:15pm. Space is limited, so we ask you to register no more than 2 people per organisation or group. If you want more people to attend, please contact the Adaptation Scotland programme team at Verture, and we will do our best to accommodate you.

Please register via Eventbrite for the event most relevant to you. Each event will be tailored to that audience. If you are unable to attend your preferred event, please contact us rather than booking onto another event.

Benbecula from South Uist

Through the Adaptation Scotland programme and in partnership with five Climate Hubs, Verture is organising a series of workshops to discuss climate change impacts across Scotland and how the draft Scottish National Adaptation Plan 2024-2029 – currently out for consultation – aims to address them.

We have been to Annan with Dumfries and Galloway Hub already, are in Montrose with the Angus Hub today, and over the next few weeks will be in Golspie with the Highlands and Islands Hub; Daliburgh in South Uist with the Outer Hebrides COP; and Glasgow with the Glasgow Hub.

These workshops are run as part of the public consultation on the Adaptation Plan and inform its final version that will be published in Autumn. If you are interested in attending them please contact: [email protected]

Find out more about the Plan and share your views on it until 24 April.

The Routemap cover page

The Adaptation Scotland programme is encouraging local communities to take practical actions to adapt to the impacts of climate change and help build more thriving communities.

The new routemap resource offers a highly practical and accessible guide on the topic, aimed at allowing local groups such as community gardeners, residents groups and community councils to act now to protect their environments in the future.

The Routemap has been produced in collaboration with Highlands and Islands Climate Hub, the Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS), North East Scotland Climate Action Network (NESCAN Hub), and the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN) alongside contributions from ReadyScot, Sustrans, Architecture & Design Scotland and others.

This interactive resource serves as an easy-to-follow guide to cover everything from regenerating nature to greener household actions such as reducing dampness and overheating. It also covers self-sufficiency in local communities, transport options to reduce emissions and how to check areas have sufficient insurance against climate risks.

The Community Climate Adaptation Routemap’ features 50+ hyperlinks which signpost users to dozens of other websites and resources by top climate science specialists, organisations and experts from across Scotland and beyond.

Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson said:

“Our climate is already changing and adapting to ‘locked-in’ climate change impacts is crucial for creating a fairer and greener nation. This Routemap will be a source of inspiration and practical support for communities and local organisations across Scotland, helping them tailor climate resilience initiatives to their needs.

“These tools are crucial in helping us all play our part in securing a net zero future that is fair and just for everyone.”

Iryna Zamuruieva, Climate Resilience Manager at Verture, added:

“One of the challenges with working on climate change adaptation is a perception that adaptation is an ‘add-on’ to existing work. That’s why we spent a lot of time with our project partners working out how to link climate adaptation with some of the most pressing issues we face, such as environmental degradation and biodiversity loss, and health and housing quality. This Routemap is designed to link these together with practical climate adaptation actions which start from a place of understanding the causes of the problem.

“As a fully interactive resource, this new tool can be used in multiple ways. It allows people to start with what can just be an idea, then develop it into a workable, effective project that will make a genuine difference to people and environments in Scotland, and help them join the concerted effort to adapt our country to a changing climate.”

Harper Loonsk, Climate Change Adaptation Coordinator of Highland Adapts at Verture said:

“The Community Climate Adaptation Routemap is an invaluable tool. It fills a resource gap for practical, easily digestible actions which communities can use to build resilience and adapt while also addressing social issues. It commendably also addresses the fundamental root causes of climate change (colonialism and development) in a way that sets the stage for meaningful, justice-oriented action in the future.

“It’s both dynamic and visually engaging, and approaches knowledge sharing in a new way. Highland Adapts is eager to share this resource with our partners, who we hope will look to it for inspiration and direction on community climate action.”

The community Routemap is split into three distinctive project stages to launch then drive climate resilience in local areas: ‘getting started’, ‘understanding climate change in your community’, and ‘taking action’.

“This Routemap will be a source of inspiration and practical support for communities and local organisations across Scotland, helping them tailor climate resilience initiatives to their needs.”

Net Zero Secretary Michael Matheson