A practical guide to values-based communication – engaging meaningfully with a diverse range of individuals and organisations is one of the biggest challenges surrounding climate change adaptation.

This practical ‘how-to’ guide has been developed by Climate Outreach in collaboration with Adaptation Scotland. It introduces the concept of values-­based communication and provides clear, concise summaries of the principles of engagement, combined with practical examples of how public bodies can use these principles in their work.

Restoring the natural peatlands of the Forsinard Flows nature reserve with RSPB Scotland.

Many peatland habitats are damaged and therefore vulnerable to changes in climate such as warmer temperatures and periods of dry weather. Restoration of damaged peatland back to a healthy condition is important if these habitats are to provide a steady flow of services to people, including wildlife to enjoy, carbon storage, water storage, recreation and employment.

RSPB Scotland is actively involved in the restoration of damaged blanket bog at its Forsinard Flows nature reserve.

Drains and ditches have been blocked across Forsinard to raise the water table and enable the bog surface to re-vegetate and new peat to form. Trees in forestry plantations have also been removed.

The work has attracted wading birds, such as golden plovers, and breeding birds like hen harriers, short-eared owl and meadow pipits are returning to the areas previously covered by trees. Restoration has increased the resilience of the habitat and ensured it can withstand periods of dry weather and warmer temperatures.

The above image was sourced from www.geograph.org.uk © Copyright Greg Fitchett and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The above image is licensed and reproduced with permission from Big Stock Photo.

These resources allow students to think about their place and different environments and how a changing climate might impact their place. It allows students to consider and debate the positive and negative aspects of their place and how they might improve it. These resources also provide students with an opportunity to consider their own place in the context of a changing climate.

They can be used for general education purposes to raise awareness about place-making and climate change adaptation, or more specifically to help young people express their views about changes in their environment, or to contribute effectively to any climate adaptation strategy, plan or action process. The activities in the lesson plans could be run individually over the course of several weeks, or run consecutively as a one-off lesson.

Primary School

1. Climate-Ready Places Primary School Lesson Plan
2. Resource 1 – Background information for teachers
3. Resource 2 – Different environments
4. Resource 3 – Weather introduction
5. Resource 4 – Information sheet on landscape scenarios

Secondary School

1. Climate-Ready Places Secondary School Lesson Plan
2. Resource 1 – Different environments
3. Resource 2 – Presentation for students
4. Resource 3 – Key consequences
5. Resource 4 – Information sheet on landscape scenarios
6. Resource 5 – Place standard

Climate Cards

1. Climate Cards
2. Climate Cards – City
3. Climate Cards – Coastal
4. Climate Cards – Industrial
5. Climate Cards – Lowlands
6. Climate Cards – Suburbs
7. Climate Cards – Urban

Copyright

1. Copyright

Climate-Ready Places: Print Resources

Downloadable resources showing unadapted and adapting landscapes

The Place Standard with a Climate Lens has been developed to help people understand how climate change might play out in a local area and support them to design their future place with climate in mind.
It builds on the core Place Standard tool and is designed to support a joined up, collaborative, and participative approach to climate action within a place.

The tool was jointly developed by Sniffer, Sustainable Scotland Network and Architecture & Design Scotland, together with and funded by Public Health Scotland and Scottish Government.

The Climate Lens includes a suite of tools for facilitators and organisers of Place Standard sessions, including:

• extra guidance and questions in the main Place Standard tool guidance
• a climate change prompt document for facilitators
• a glossary of terms
• support videos
• online and in person-tools to help facilitators host effective climate-focussed sessions

Play video

Video introducing the Place Standard with a Climate Lens resources

Public sector

The public sector has a crucial role to play in enabling Scotland to adapt to climate change. Taking a strong, proactive approach will ensure that vital public assets, infrastructure and services are fit for current and future generations and able to deliver positive outcomes across society.

Adaptation Capability Framework

The Climate Adaptation Capability Framework identifies four capabilities that every public sector organisation will need to adapt to climate change, providing step by step tasks to guide your adaptation journey.

Adaptation Capability Framework

Public Sector Climate Adaptation Network

The public sector has a crucial role to play in enabling Scotland to adapt to climate change. The Network is now comprised of over 60 public bodies who work together to benchmark their progress and identify and share learning on climate change adaptation.

PUBLIC SECTOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION NETWORK

This report sets out some Resilience and Adaptation Options for the Golspie coast. Developed by Dynamic Coast and partners, supported by the Adaptation Scotland programme, the aim of the report is to support key partners in their planning for anticipated increases in the threat of coastal erosion and flooding.

There has been significant change to coast in and near Golspie, with an average of more than 7 meters of coastline being erroded per year since 2013. This, combined with rapidly accelerating sea level rise, has not only threatened households, businesses and infrastructure near the coast, but also led to increased incidences of inland flooding during storms and tidal surges.

Guidance to support long term adaptation and resilience of our coastal communities

Our changing coast

Coastal erosion and flooding (including erosion enhanced flooding) will affect society in many ways, impacting transport, power and water infrastructure, recreation, and businesses.

Over the last thirty years sea level across Scotland has risen between two and three times faster than over the previous 100 years. Scotland’s 21,000 km long and complex coastline is where much of our critical national infrastructure is located, with almost half the population living within 8km of the coast. Coastal erosion and flooding affects more of our erodible shore than in the past, with the rate of erosion expected to quicken under all climate change emissions scenarios. Sea level rise due to climate change will result in an almost doubling of the number of properties considered to be at coastal erosion and flood risk in Scotland by 2080s.

Aims of the Coast Change Adaptation Guidance

This guidance aims to support local authorities and their partners across Scotland in planning for our future climate at the coast, and to support long term adaptation and resilience of coastal communities.

This guidance has been produced to help local authorities begin their coastal adaptation journey. It encourages collaborative working across coast protection authorities, planning authorities, community planning partnerships, public sector environment and asset management teams, community members and other stakeholders.

This guidance has been developed by a steering group comprising Scottish Government, SEPA, local authorities, Dynamic Coast Project Team, NatureScot and Verture, throught the Adaptation Scotland programme.