After the recent success of the Highland Climate Festival, the North Highlands and Islands Climate Hub look forward to replicating the festival in Orkney from the 1st – 7th September 2022. The Hub, funded by Scottish Government encourages and supports community led climate action across the North Highlands and Islands and the festival will celebrate climate action work going on throughout communities in Orkney. The festival will run alongside, and in collaboration with the popular International Orkney Science Festival each boasting an impressive line up of events.

The Hub, which launched late in 2021 offers advice and support to communities to help them create, implement and reach their sustainability goals which in turn, supports the Scottish Government’s Net Zero aspirations.

The festival programme will be available to view online in the coming weeks and will boast a range of activities suitable for the whole family. Groups are encouraged to reach out to the Hub’s dedicated Islands Development Officer to discuss their involvement and contribution to the programme.

To support groups to take part, the Hub are pleased to offer small grants which can be used to cover event costs and welcome entries to their festival programme which will be widely promoted across Orkney. Grants of up to £300 can be applied for now via the Hub’s website.

Jonny Bennett, the Islands Development Officer with the North Highlands and Islands Climate Hub said:

“The festival offers the ideal opportunity to celebrate the hard work communities are already doing to tackle the climate emergency while allowing me the opportunity to connect with more groups and individuals and understand their needs and any barriers they’re facing here in Orkney.
I’m pleased to be able to offer small grants to community groups to host events within the festival as I’m all too aware that although dedicated and knowledgeable, groups can struggle to secure funds to host activities which welcome the public. The small grants will cover things like travel costs, venue hire, small items of equipment and much more.”

Joan Lawrie, Project Manager of the North Highlands and Islands Climate Hub said:

“I’m so pleased to launch the Orkney Climate Festival and can’t wait to make new connections with community groups in Orkney. It’s an exciting time for us as a new, young organisation and we can’t wait to get out there and share who we are and where we can support communities to take climate action. We’re currently one of only two Climate Hubs in Scotland and are eager to pave the way for other regions to follow and who better to help us achieve that than the fabulous Orcadians?!”