Spotlight on Levenmouth as Climate Beacon for COP26
The Leven Programme, in partnership with OnFife and Levenmouth Academy has been awarded ‘Climate Beacon’ status by Creative Carbon Scotland to mark the year of COP26.
The Climate Beacon award will provide funding for The Leven Programme to deliver a year-long series of environment-focussed creative and educational activities within the local community.
These will include interactive community art projects, song writing sessions with local songwriters, storytelling walks along the River Leven and citizen science activities, all with a focus on the local environment, local history and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
Climate Beacons
Climate Beacons are collaborative projects between climate change and environmental organisations, along with arts, heritage and cultural bodies, with the aim of stimulating long-term public engagement about climate change and the environment in the lead-up to and following COP26.
The Leven Programme involves many key government agencies, non-government organisations, private sector and local communities working closely together to help deliver environmental improvements in and around the River Leven in Fife, while maximising the social and economic opportunities that these improvements can bring.
The Climate Beacons accolade will plug the project into a nationwide network or organisations looking to boost public engagement with COP26 – the United Nations climate change conference being held in Scotland in November.
Pauline Silverman, Programme Manager for The Leven Programme and SEPA’s Senior Manager for Partnerships and Places, said: “We are excited that The Leven Programme has been selected as a Climate Beacon given the tough competition from across the county.
“Mid-Fife faces challenges with the emerging impacts of climate change, such as coastal erosion, drought, coastal and fluvial flooding, and biodiversity loss.
“Our aim as a Climate Beacon is to bring together local voices in a just transition and ensure those in the community who may be hardest hit by climate change, co-design the change needed and have the support, resilience and tools to adapt.
“The Beacon status will help us to turn the narrative of the area around – from a carbon intensive area to a low carbon community of the future.”
Councillor Ken Caldwell, Convener of Levenmouth Area committee, said: "This is a really exciting time for Levenmouth, with several major projects coming to fruition in the next few years. These are all focusing on the improvements that we can make to our environment and to tackle the climate emergency.
“This Climate Beacon status will further help to put Levenmouth on the world stage and promote our area as a go to destination, as well as helping our communities see that it’s an exciting place in which to live and work."
Dan Brown, Creative Development Manager at OnFife: "We're excited to be working with The Leven Programme and Levenmouth Academy to deliver one of Scotland's seven CIimate Beacons. Community and culture will at the heart of the collaboration as we plan a creative and engaging programme for Fife."
Duncan Zuill, Teacher & EIS Representative, Levenmouth Academy said: “We hope to use our Beacon status to encourage other schools to make their campuses greener and promote rewilding!”
The Leven Programme is one of only seven in Scotland awarded the Climate Beacon status.