We are delighted to have been named as one of seven Climate Beacons that are taking shape across Scotland in the run-up to and beyond the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference that’s happening in Glasgow this November.

Climate Beacons is a Scotland wide collaborative project between climate change or environmental organisations and arts, heritage or cultural organisations. ACT has joined forces with Cove Park, an international artists residency centre in Cove, to stimulate long-term public engagement in climate change challenges facing our communities. Our aim is to help everyone understand how climate change will affect them personally and what they can do to reduce it.

Cove Park (photo credit: Ruth Clark)

Our Argyll Beacon will focus on raising awareness of Argyll's unique Rainforests. Together, Cove Park and ACT will raise regional, national and international awareness of Argyll's Rainforest at a time when COP26 in Glasgow will focus global attention upon Scotland.  

Francesca Bertolotti-Bailey, CEO at Cove Park, said "We are thrilled to work with ACT and Creative Carbon Scotland on this urgent project that pivots around cultural and activist organisations joining forces to tackle climate change. We look forward to co-learning new strategies and methodologies for raising awareness and driving long-lasting behavioural change to help protect and regenerate our rainforests".  

ACT Development Manager Julie Young explained, "The Argyll Climate Beacon will involve workshops, Climate Cafes, Rainforest field trips, artists residencies and production of a film.  We're looking forward to integrating these with many of ACTs existing projects, including Saving Argyll's Rainforest, MAKI Pups, Branching Out and of course our ACT Now project, also focusing on community responses to climate change.  We're particularly looking forward to planting a new area of native forest at the Cove Park site. There's so much potential for this partnership to continue beyond COP26, and great to have new artistic input to our activities".

Across Scotland more than 30 environmental, cultural and heritage organisations are coming together with the same goal, and it’s incredibly exciting for us to be involved as the Argyll Beacon. Our partnership will be one of seven Beacons across Scotland, funded and supported by Creative Carbon Scotland, the Scottish Government’s Climate Change and Culture Divisions, and Museums Galleries Scotland. Six other Beacons are taking form in Caithness & East Sutherland, Fife, Inverclyde, Midlothian, the Outer Hebrides, and Tayside.

Climate Beacons for COP26 is an initiative of Creative Carbon Scotland, a charitable organisation that works with individuals, organisations and strategic bodies across the cultural and sustainability sectors to harness culture’s vital role in achieving a more environmentally sustainable Scotland. Find out more at www.climatebeacons.com.