Wild World Wednesdays at Inverclyde.
green topics. Food security was a huge issue during the pandemic and channelling the established Chatty Café network, the Climate Beacon partnership and creat- ing further partnerships with hospitals, community centres and local citizens, they hope to help create socially sustainable communities. Programming will look at supporting growing food, alternative medi- cines and concentrate on creating pro- gramming to have a lasting impact on their local community, developing relationships that will endure beyond November 2021. As an introduction to climate focused recovery, Inverclyde has provided a Sum- mer of Fun for children and families. Part of this programming saw libraries deliver 32 outdoor sessions in local parks themed around Wild World Heroes – Summer Reading Challenge 2021 – sponsored by WWF. Some of these activities involved climate themed storytimes and family litter picks – which were a big hit! For all age ranges, Inverclyde’s Chatty Café network is offering eco exchanges to raise awareness of the impact of climate change and inspire people, young and old, within Inverclyde to take positive action to address the issues it presents. Inverclyde libraries believe, through previous success- ful programming, that the most effective way to spark conversations is through books, reading, activities and sessions, so concen- trating on content from climate-focused writers will provide valuable support for environmental literacy and that eco exchange. They will also focus on the relevant climate issues that are pertinent to Inverclyde – rising water levels and flood- ing, sources of alternative energy and look at some of the historical materials (maps, drawings etc.) available through the Watt Institution, which sits with Libraries under Cultural Services for Inverclyde. Along with the new eco exchanges, the gardening Chatty Café will have a focus on sustainability, as will the Chatty Crafters with speakers invited each week to cover [diverse green-themed] topics [such as: grow your own vegetables; environmental
22 INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL
issues; nature based solutions; the impor- tance of bees for the environment; nature focused mindfulness session, sustainable fashion and junk journaling. They hope to have a tie in with the Fun Palace Weekend in October 2021. Inverclyde Libraries are also looking at developing some green space at a branch library to create a small community reading garden. Using the expertise from the Men’s Shed and Belville Community Garden they are hoping to engage the local community, volunteers and local schools to help plant and tend the garden. It will be a learning space and the gardening Chatty Café’s Blooms and Biccies will lead the project with support from the Libraries Green Team. We are looking at this as an opportunity to embed new green practices into our work. Libraries are using the impetus of being a Climate Beacon to write a sus- tainability strategy and action plan in line with the new Public Library Strategy for Scotland: thus extending the environmen- tal benefit further through both their own sustainable practices, which reduce the en-
vironmental impact of day-to-day opera- tions, and being part of the Council’s ‘net zero’ strategy look at green buildings, which seeks to minimize consumption of resources in our buildings and their op- eration. We have a Libraries Green Team made up of a cross-section of staff who will work on sustainability strategy and action plan and promote green working practices within our libraries, further stimulating climate conversations with their communities. The hope is that, as Inverclyde recovers from the pandemic, the focus on climate related services, activities, events, liter- ature and projects will demonstrate the social role and responsibility of libraries as leaders in environmental sustaina- bility. The Libraries Team are confident they will inspire their communities into more environmentally sustainable ways of action, and by leading by example, make small changes that offer a discus- sion forum in the language that their community speaks.
Western Isles Libraries – Climate Beacon COP26
by Kathleen Milne – Libraries Manager Inverclyde Blooms and Biccies window box.
We at Western Isles Libraries feel very privileged to be one of the partners for the Outer Hebrides Climate Beacon. We are working across all the islands in a network, including a number of arts organisations – An Lanntair, Taigh Chearsabhagh and Ceolas – along with Community Energy Scotland, NatureScot, TSI Western Isles, Adaptation Scotland and others. The partnership aims to inspire public engagement and positive action through a range of creative, social and cultural activities and opportunities. For our part in the Climate Beacon, we are planning a range of activities to help people find out more about climate change, talk about it, share their feelings and help to make a difference. At the heart of these will be establishing Climate Corners at each library, resourced with a range of books for all ages to encourage people to engage with climate change and talk about it with each other. Interac- tive engagement displays will be created, encouraging people to think about ways to mitigate climate change, as well as adapt to it. We will ask folk to make a pledge, no matter how small, to change some- thing in their lives to make a difference. It wouldn’t be fair to ask library visitors to make a pledge, without us having to make one as well of course! We are already proud of the fact that libraries are very green, and this is something we should really be shouting about even more at the moment. In the Western Isles, we have pledged to source and pro- vide recycled or ethically sourced paper for our printers and copiers in future. We will also create a shopping list of green stationery and supplies to stick to. Small
October-November 2021
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