Climate Change Message in a Bottle Project Gets Underway
The Climate Change Message in a Bottle project is unfolding on island schools around Scotland and further afield, with messages to COP26 being sent by primary school children demanding climate action from world leaders. The project, funded by the Scottish Government, is a collaborative endeavour between Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance and Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre. Other organisations involved include Island Innovation, Youth Scotland, and Glasgow Science Centre.
Over the last two weeks, messages have been coming in from island primary school children who have important messages for delegates and leaders at COP26.
A young islander from Kilmory Primary School on the Isle of Arran says:
On islands we should get wave power because we are surrounded by the sea and tides are constant. Please invest money building wave power plants around the coast of Scotland.
Another child, from the Isle of Wight, says:
The Isle of Wight will be important because we have lots of water, wind and sun for renewable energy. But if you want this to work you will all have to agree.
At Sandness Primary School in Shetland, another young islander’s message to COP26 is:
Dear leaders, please remember that this may change people’s future. Please try to work together to come to a decision so everything and everyone can be safe.
On the Isle of Skye, a primary school pupil says:
The planet helps us breathe, the planet gives us life, the planet brings us joy and we repay it with pollution and climate change. The planet lets us live here, the least we can do is help it.
Once messages from all participating schools have been received, UistFilm, based at Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum and Arts Centre, will be producing a film which will showcase what island schoolchildren have to say about COP26 and climate change. This will be showcased at COP26. After the summit, the project will return to schools to highlight the outcomes of COP26, what this means for islands, and how the children’s messages were received.
In other news, we are excited to announce that Island Innovation will be producing an interactive map which will display messages sent in from island schools around Scotland and the world. This is a great opportunity to learn about other islands and see what young islanders have to say about the climate crisis and COP26. Stay tuned for further announcements on this!
In case you missed it, here is our ‘Message in a Bottle’ from rock star, Sting!
Finally, we are pleased to announce that this week several schools have joined the project. These include Brodick Primary School on Arran, Raasay Primary School on Raasay, Port Ellen Primary School on Islay, and Marown School on the Isle of Man. We welcome these schools aboard and look forward to receiving their messages to COP26!