May 5, 2026

Ocean with David Attenborough. Handout. Photo: Conor McDonnell / Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios, Revive Our Ocean

David Attenborough at 100: East Lothian’s place naturalist’s list of wildlife wonders

Leave a Comment / climate hub /

David Attenborough, the UK’s best known naturalist turns 100 on 8th May.  In a lifetime spanning ten decades and seven continents, it’s humbling to think one of the broadcaster’s “wildlife wonders of the world” is here in East Lothian. Bass Rock is a familiar sight in the Forth Valley. 150,000 pairs of Northern Gannets converge […]

David Attenborough at 100: East Lothian’s place naturalist’s list of wildlife wonders Read More »

‘What do the area partnership level support organisations of East Lothian Climate Action need’ Ingredients Clear collective vision Like minded people Friendship / trust Keeping people motivated Spreading the load Recruitment People with expertise and commitment Knowledge and understanding of the issues Good facilitation Convening expertise One or more key people who will commit to make it happen and drive it A space Energetic, enthusiastic founder volunteers Quick win project / campaign A understanding with and connection to the local area Learning People need to be continuously motivated An action plan is good as it allows you to achieve and celebrate little steps Celebration of accomplishments is important Networking with other groups in other sectors is important and you learn a lot from getting in a speaker from another group It is important to match the right people to the right projects, including a good leader for projects Organic growth by personal contacts is most effective long term Professional expertise in a project area is helpful You have to be careful of a small number of the same people doing too much Getting the word out for projects is important, and can create positive feedback loops It is important to go to where people are. If someone is enthusiastic and skilled, but doesn’t get matched to the right project, they may lose enthusiasm Communities are the experts on what is needed and going on in their own places Once an idea is started an early communication and scene setting message is important to encourage and maintain momentum Future Need Ways to learn from other groups In the future we should be focused on legacy, ensuring that groups don’t fold as their core members age We need funding to cover the core costs of running the organisation We need to be well organised Funding may come to communities via East Lothian Community Benefits from renewables and this needs strong links to grassroots projects Each area needs its own physical, visible Hub that the community can see and interact with to get involved with community climate action This physical hub should be accessible to a wide range of people and receive ongoing and regular funding We should be better about tapping into expertise and networking with orgs like DTAS CES CWA CLS etc We should have our climate action cafes We must keep people motivated in these hard times Evolution should be organic The Climate Hub and the groups it supports need long term funding Our conversations should move on to community resilience for the climate changes to come We could provide something like a funding application mentoring service We should budget in for volunteers time Community climate action including community resilience and adaptation simply needs more funding

What are the ingredients for a successful community climate action ‘umbrella’ organisation, and what’s next?

Leave a Comment / climate hub, elcan /

In January, as part of Building Sustainable Action in East Lothian, a day within the wider Green Futures Festival 2026 in East Lothian, a group of leading community climate action organisers and volunteers convened to explore: What does it take to build and sustain area-wide organisations that successfully enable community climate action projects to begin

What are the ingredients for a successful community climate action ‘umbrella’ organisation, and what’s next? Read More »