News
Eco-Congregation news from our blog
Wider News
From the Scottish Executive
From Reuters
Global environment news
From New Scientist
From ECEN
Christian environmental news and liturgical resources
Upcoming events to note
On 19th March there will be a public meeting at the Wynd Centre in Paisley on ‘A Fair Share: Global Poverty, Climate Change and Britain’s Carbon debt’ with the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, Secretary of State for international Development; Deborah Doane, Director of the World Development Movement and Rev Ian Galloway, Convener of the Church of Scotland’s Church & Society Council. All are welcome, no need to book - more information can be found here (pdf, 494kb).
The Society, Religion and Technology Project celebrates it’s 40th anniversary this year. Please find further information on the events marking this celebration here (pdf, 460kb).
As part of the Edinburgh International Science Festival, Prof John Houghton, the former co-chair of the nobel prize winning international panel on climate change (IPCC) will give a lecture on God, science and global warming, discussing the role of science in humanity’s response to the ecological crisis and what role faith has to play in it. This will take place on 15th April at the Edinburgh University School of Informatics. More information on the event and how to book tickets can be found at http://www.sciencefestival.co.uk/Events/Big-Ideas/God-Science-and-Global-Warming.
The Scottish Borders Community Fair on Inspirational Sustainable Resources, on 21st and 22nd May in Galashiels might also be of interest to you. Further details here (doc, 184kb).
We have also been asked to inform you about the Edinburgh Garden Share Scheme, run by Care and Repair Edinburgh. They match people who struggle to keep their gardens in order with people who would like the space to grow - there are thousands on the allotment waiting list, and some older and disabled people cite worry over their gardens as a reason why they move out of their homes. They aim to reduce that worry and isolation, to encourage more people to grow and share their fruit and veggies to improve diets and to reduce the carbon emissions associated with growing and transporting food. If you are interested in hearing more about the project, please contact Andrew Dawson on AndrewDawson@careandrepairedinburgh.org.uk.
Official 2010 International Year of Biodiversity video
2010 is the International Year of Biodiversity. See the official video here .
Frequently asked questions
A new page containing frequently asked questions is now available.
New Eco-Congregation Award Plaques!
Eco-Congregation Scotland is very happy to announce GROW - Greyfriars Recycling of Wood - as its new supplier for Eco-Congregation Award Plaques.
As part of the Greyfriars Church Community Centre, based in Edinburgh’s Grassmarket, GROW is an emerging social enterprise that seeks to create new employment opportunities for long term homeless with addiction and mental health problems. It brings together homeless service users and volunteers from the local community in common purpose: producing high quality saleable goods made from recycled wood, generally discarded church pews, that generate pride in production and profit from sales that is re-invested in the support and development of the trainees. The quality of goods produced demonstrates the ability of people who are generally devalued and the process of making things of beauty and value from what has been discarded as worthless is itself a message to the wider community. Recycling is just one way of ensuring that we make the most of what we have and do not over consume and use up or discard our valuable resources of both people and things. GROW is a small sign of an alternative imagination in which people and things that are deemed of little value can be transformed into things of beauty that bring satisfaction both to the people who own the products and those who have made them.
The first new award plaque was presented to South Leith Parish Church on Sunday, 21 February 2010 during their Sunday service.
For more information about GROW, to order a current catalogue or to arrange a visit at the workshop please contact Tommy Steel, the workshop leader at grow@greyfriarskirk.com or 0131 225 3686.
Climate Change Reception in the Scottish Parliament
On Tuesday, 26th January, Sarah Boyack MSP hosted a Climate Change Reception at the Scottish Parliament, as part of the visit to Parliament of the Rt. Rev Bill Hewitt, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In his address he highlighted the role of faith-based organisations in the struggle to reduce CO2 emissions and to modify life-styles and the role of the Church in encouraging Scottish Government to publish a public engagement strategy in 2010.
He reaffirmed the commitment of the Church of Scotland to tackle climate change and highlighted the role that congregations can play in delivering the targets set out in the Act. A copy of his speech can be found here (doc, 30kb).
Other speakers included representatives of different Eco-Congregations – Rev Norma Moore from Dumbarton Presbytery talked about their success in cutting carbon emissions; 
Rev Iain McFadzean from Bankfoot Church shared his experience of rebuilding a church as a community centre and Stephen Alexander of the United Reformed Church in Helensburgh talked about the URC’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions.
Stewart Stevenson MSP, Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change highlighted the actions the Scottish Government were taking to put into effect the Climate Change (Scotland) Act and congratulated eco-congregations on the steps they were taking to cut their carbon footprints.
Exploring sustainable living: residential week at the Camas Centre, Isle of Mull, 22-28 May 2010
The week is designed for people who would like an intensive week looking at how we can reduce our individual and community carbon footprint. It will feature workshops based on the Cambridge footprint model http://cambridgecarbonfootprint.org/ and the practical resources of Camas. There will also be a link with the Ross of Mull Transition Group which is developing its own approach to a low carbon community. The week will be led by Ross Loveridge, an associate lecturer in International Environmental Policy with the Open University and Raymond Young, a member of the Iona Community with a background in architecture,
community organisations and sustainability. More information can be found here (pdf, 140kb)
Eco-Booklet from Scots Kirk Paris
The Eco-Group at the Scots Kirk Paris have produced an Eco-Booklet. The children of their Young Church have made pictures for the different chapters in the booklet and have been enjoying passing it onto people who come to worship in their church. The congregation kindly agreed to share the Booklet with us, and hope that it will give you and us some more ideas and guidance.
The Eco-Booklet can be downloaded here (pdf, 239kb)
National Spring Clean!
Keep Scotland Beautiful are starting off the new decade with a massive recruitment drive for National Spring Clean 2010. Well over 7,000 volunteers have pledged to take part in a litter pick this April. And with nearly 60,000 taking part last year we’re expecting a great deal more interest in the coming months!
If you haven’t yet decided how to support the campaign, why not follow the example of organisations such as Countryside Jobs Service, Eco Congregations, Ramblers Scotland, Scouts Scotland, Living Streets, Marine Conservation Society, Rural Gateway, YouthLink Scotland, Sustainable Scotland Network, Beautiful Scotland, and Rabbie’s Trail Burners, and include an article on your website and/or in your next newsletter inviting readers to take part in one of Scotland’s biggest annual environmental campaigns for volunteers?
If you feel able to support the campaign, Keep Scotland Beautiful would be happy to include a reciprocal link from the Supporters’ page on their website, as a way of saying ‘thank you’. Get in touch with Valerie Carson (Tel. 01786 468243, valerie.carson@ksbscotland.org.uk) or visit http://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org for more information.
Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen
On Monday, 07th December, the Copenhagen conference began, with delegations from 190 countries taking part and over 15,000 attendees. Reports from the summit can be followed at http://www.odysseynetworks.org and http://www.stopclimatechaos.org/scotland.
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, preached in Copenhagen Cathedral on 13th December. The sermon can be found at http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/2671.
Thank you to everyone who came along to The Wave in Glasgow on 05.12. and helped to make the event a great success.
The ecumenical service beforehand went well, and we are very grateful to Bill Hewitt, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, David Chillingworth, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church and Kathy Galloway, Head of Christian Aid Scotland, for their participation in the service, as well as all of you who came along to it!
Kathy Galloway's sermon from the service can be downloaded here (doc, 31kb).
The march was, indeed, the largest climate change demonstration ever to take place in Scotland, with around 8,000 people taking to the streets. More information can be found at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/8395914.stm.
Copyright: Matthew Aitken
You can see a wider selection of photos from the day here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stopclimatechaos/sets/72157622835088285/.
The speech given by the Right Rev Bill Hewitt, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, in Kelvingrove Park after the march can be found here (doc, 29kb).
On the same day, tens of thousands of people marched in London, Belfast Dublin, Paris, Brussels and Berlin to call on political leaders at Copenhagen to deliver the deal we need to avoid climate change getting out of control.
Thanks again for coming along to a momentous day on Saturday when we showed the level of support there is in Scotland for taking action on climate change.
For more information on The Wave, visit http://www.the-wave.org.uk/scotland.
Eco-Congregation Scotland News
16. February at St Andrew's and St George's Church, George Street, topic: Waste Management - Speaker: Anita Duffy (Edinburgh City Council, Waste Education Officer)
27. April at Morningside United Church, corner Morningside Road/ Chamberlain Road, topic: Climate Change & Carbon Footprint after Copenhagen - Speakers: Ben Murray (Earth be Glad Project)/ Adrian Shaw (Church of Scotland, Climate Change Officer)
21. June in the Botanic Gardens, topic: Year of Biodiversity
04. October, venue tbc, Food
For older news items see the News Archive
Eco-Congregation Scotland news is now available through an RSS feed. You can access this through a news reader or link to it from your own website. More information about RSS feeds is available here on the BBC News website.
See also the Eco-Congregation newsletters on the publicity materials page.