Calling all community groups - come along to the Highlands & Islands Climate Hubs' December members catch up where we’ll be hearing from the Highland Community Planning Partnership about their role in assisting community development.

Gail Prince, Highland CPP Development Manager, will be joining us to delve into Highland CPP further, explaining how communities fit into their framework, and how community groups can get involved. Tackling inequalities is at the centre of Highland CPP's focus.

We look forward to welcoming our members to this exciting session - it'll be a great opportunity to form new connections & enhance the positive impacts your work has on communities.

Do you want to have a say in which initiative is supported next in Nairnshire?

Nairnshire’s SOUP is Dragons Den but community style. SOUP offers the opportunity for community members to come together, listen to pitches from community organisations on their ideas, ask questions & then vote where money raised should go!

It’s £5 to enter, which gets you a bowl of soup & a vote - all money collected goes the winner. It’ll be a great night of discussion & getting a focus on Nairnshire’s future. If you are a community group with a new project in mind and fancy taking part presenting at SOUP, email fiona@hiclimatehub.co.uk to get involved.

No booking need, simply come along!

Join us and the Poverty Alliance for a special event within Challenge Poverty Week. This event will discuss the connection between climate action and poverty. Chloe Campbell, Policy and Parliamentary Officer with the Poverty Alliance will present to attendees and highlight how in many situations, the actions communities take to combat the climate emergency, cost of living crisis, fuel poverty and various other issues are intertwined within one another. Challenging poverty via climate action can help us work towards a just transition and create better communities to live, work and visit.  

Attendees will learn how the projects you operate or plan to launch could tackle not just the climate emergency, but inequalities faced within your community.  You’ll learn a new perspective on planning and communicating your activities and those who engage with your activities.  

Calling all community spaces - come along to our upcoming members event where we’ll be hearing from the Touring Network on bringing live performances to the most rural areas.

The Touring Network is an organisation that connects performers, promoters & venues across the Highlands & Islands, to embed a vibrant touring culture here! Their goal is to enable better access in rural Scotland to high quality live performances to enhance the culture of our communities.

We are looking forward to welcoming our members, especially our cultural & arts focused groups and community venues wishing to host live performances in their communities. Find out how the Touring Network can facilitate events in your space, and how you can connect with performers & promoters.

It'll be a great opportunity to discuss collaboration and exciting local events!

Come along to Circular Communities Scotland’s Highland Members Forum! The Highlands and Islands Climate Hub is excited to attend for a day of networking, sharing news, and discussion on challenges & opportunities. This year, the Forum will be hosted with Green Hive in Nairn, and spotlight the work of the Highland Community Waste Partnership and The Highland Weigh. It's great to see the Forum being part of the Highlands & Islands Climate Festival which celebrates community led climate action happening here in Highland, Orkney & Shetland.

Come along to a special Hub networking event in Orkney for those interested in creative approaches to climate action.

The Hub will be joining with Creative Carbon Scotland, Stromness Museum, Community Energy Scotland, Louise Barrington Art and THAW Orkney to focus on how artists, cultural, community organisations and climate organisations can collaborate to enable climate action.

Local assemblies are an opportunity to connect with other organisations in your region to address climate change collectively through creative means. Local assembles are open to anyone working or volunteering in the climate or environmental sector, the arts, screen, creative industries, museums, heritage and libraries.

The day will involve artistic workshops, hearing from climate networks, opportunities to share your own projects and networking. We look forward to welcoming Hub members in for a catch up and chat about creative collaboration.

Lunch, tea and coffee will be provided.

Come along to our next member's networking session to talk collaborative projects across our region and what that may look like.

The National Lottery Climate Action Fund: Our Shared Future is currently open to applications and following discussions with several partners we feel that there may be an opportunity for communities in Highland, Orkney and Shetland to collaborate with us on a bid to the fund along the theme of sustainable community tourism and transport.

We'd love for members with interests in these areas to join our Hub Networking session this month to share your views and ideas around the theme of sustainable community tourism and transport.

Join the Hub for a skillshare session with Evie from Ullapool Unpacked CIC. Ullapool Unpacked CIC is a social enterprise based in Ullapool, who run a pop-up refill shop with the aim of reducing waste in their community.

This session will be focused on sustainable event planning, covering all aspects from logistics, travel, equipment & promotions. Come along to learn which factors you should consider when planning a sustainbale event and how you can engage your attendees with sustainable practices, all while hosting a quality event!

There will be a chance to ask questions and learn more about particular elements at the Skillshare.

It's crucial to our climate's health that Scotland has high environmental standards and strong systems to maintain them. In Scotland, it is Environmental Standards Scotland (ESS)'s responsibility to ensure this.

ESS is a relatively new oversight body set up to maintain and enhance Scotland’s environmental standards; they ensure public bodies are doing what they should be when it comes to compliance with environmental law. Join us for an exciting insight into ESS, covering their role within Scotland, their work to protect the Environment, and how they can support your community organisation. The ESS team are keen to make it easier for communities to raise concerns and get the answers that could help them progress projects which benefit people and place.

Following the successful Local Place Plan Learning Event on 28 May, Highland Council is teaming up with the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub for a second session on Climate Change.

We would be delighted for you to join us on Thursday 22 August from 6:30pm-8pm to learn more about how your Local Place Plans could support action on climate change. We'll be hearing from three communities - Morvern, Golspie and Wester Ross Biosphere - about how they are integrating tackling climate change into their community planning.

The session will also cover what the climate requirements and considerations are for your local plan and aim to build everyone's confidence through jargon busting and sharing of available resources.

There will be plenty of opportunity too for discussion and Q&A with community representatives and staff from Highlands and Islands Climate Hub and Highland Council.

Click here to book your place

Did you know that registered charities & not-for-profits are entitled to a FREE Canva Pro package?

Come along to the Highlands & Islands Climate Hub's August Networking Session to get an insight into how platforms are catering to charities, and how you can take advantage of numerous benefit packages offered exclusively to charities. Learn how you can cut costs and make the most of these packages.

We value that charities are doing in our communities, and by hosting this session hope to raise awareness for the various platforms they can make use of for either free or at a discounted rate.

Join us for our monthly members networking session with Guest Speaker Emma from Climate Outreach.