This year Scotland is hosting COP26 in Glasgow, providing an exciting opportunity to get involved in global climate change discussions and policymaking. Launching this week is ‘Climate Change Message in a Bottle’, a project aimed at bringing island schoolchildren closer to the conference by engaging them in climate science, clean energy and COP26.
Working alongside Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre in North Uist, Island Innovation, and Glasgow Science Centre, Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance are using this unique and historic opportunity to get young islanders involved in global discussions on climate change, and to recentre islands in environmental decision making.
With rising sea levels, increased storm surges, and coastal erosion, islands are at the forefront of the climate crisis. However, they are often also pioneering centres of innovation, grassroots campaigning, and renewable energy solutions.
‘Climate Change Message in a Bottle’ will get young islanders thinking creatively about how climate change is unfolding on their island, and how they can put pressure on delegates and policymakers at COP26 to recentre often-marginalised island worldviews in global climate change discussions.
Following educational workshops, kindly contributed to by Glasgow Science Centre, schoolchildren will salvage a plastic bottle from their local beach and with it they will formulate a message to send to COP26.
Children will be filmed reading their messages and telling us about their islands, and this content will be made into a short documentary by UistFilm, to be showcased at COP26 events, by Glasgow Science Centre, and by Taigh Chearsabhagh Museum & Arts Centre.
Taigh Chearsabhagh will also be producing a sculpture from the plastic bottles found. This will be displayed at COP26 events – so keep an eye out for that!
Island Innovation, a social enterprise which aims to promote and facilitate sustainability projects on islands, are creating an online interactive map of the messages sent by schools to COP26.
So far, there are 22 island schools participating, and several other schools across the world will also be contributing to the project.
You can follow Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law & Governance on Twitter, and @COP26messagebottle on Instagram for regular updates on the project.
Gaelic version
Am-bliadhna tha Alba a ’toirt aoigheachd do COP26 ann an Glaschu, a’ toirt cothrom inntinneach a dhol an sàs ann an còmhraidhean mu atharrachadh gnath-shìde agus cruthachadh poileasaidh. A ’cur air bhog an t-seachdain seo tha ‘Teachdaireachd Atharrachadh Gnath-Shìde ann am Botal’, pròiseact a tha ag amas air clann-sgoile innnseach a thoirt nas fhaisge air a’ cho-labhairt le bhith gan toirt a-steach do eòlas gnàth-shìde, lùth glan agus COP26.
Ag obair còmhla ri Taigh-tasgaidh & Ionad Ealain Taigh Chearsabhagh ann an Uibhist a Tuath, Ùr-ghnàthachadh nan Eilean, agus Ionad Eòlas Ghlaschu, tha Ionad Srath Chluaidh airson Lagh Àrainneachd agus Riaghladh a ’cleachdadh an cothrom sònraichte agus eachdraidheil seo gus muinntir nan eilean òga a thoirt an sàs ann an còmhraidhean cruinneil mu atharrachadh gnath-shìde, agus ath-shuidheachadh eileanan ann an co-dhùnaidhean àrainneachd.
Le ìrean mara ag èirigh, barrachd stoirmean ag èirigh, agus bleith cladaich, tha eileanan aig fìor thoiseach èiginn na gnàth-shìde. Ach, gu tric tha iad cuideachd nan ionadan ùr-ghnàthach, iomairt am measg an t-sluaigh, agus fuasglaidhean lùth ath-nuadhachail.
Bidh ‘Teachdaireachd Atharrachadh Gnath-shìde ann am Botal’ a’ toirt air eileanaich òga smaoineachadh gu cruthachail mu mar a tha atharrachadh gnath-shìde a’ sgaoileadh air an eilean aca, agus mar as urrainn dhaibh cuideam a chuir air riochdairean agus luchd-poileasaidh aig COP26 gus seallaidhean cruinne eileanach a tha air an iomall gu tric ann an còmhraidhean atharrachadh gnath-shìde cruinneil.
Às deidh bùthan-obrach foghlaim, le taic bho Ionad Saidheans Ghlaschu, bidh clann-sgoile a’ sàbhaladh botal plastaig bhon tràigh ionadail aca agus còmhla riutha cruthaichidh iad teachdaireachd airson a chuir gu COP26.
Thèid clann fhilmeadh a’ leughadh na teachdaireachdan aca agus ag innse dhuinn mu na h-eileanan aca, agus thèid an susbaint seo a dhèanamh ann am prògram goirid le UistFilm, a thèid a thaisbeanadh aig tachartasan COP26, le Ionad Saidheans Ghlaschu, agus le Taigh-tasgaidh & Ionad Ealain Taigh Chearsabhagh.
Bidh Taigh Chearsabhagh cuideachd a ’dèanamh cruth-ealain bho na botail plastaig a chaidh a lorg. Thèid seo a thaisbeanadh aig tachartasan COP26 - mar sin cùm sùil a-mach airson sin!
Tha Ùr-ghnàthachadh nan Eilean, iomairt shòisealta a tha ag amas air pròiseactan seasmhachd air eileanan a bhrosnachadh agus a chuideachadh, a ’cruthachadh mapa eadar-ghnìomhach air-loidhne de na teachdaireachdan a chuir sgoiltean gu COP26.
Gu ruige seo, tha 22 sgoiltean eileanach a ’gabhail pàirt, agus bidh grunn sgoiltean eile air feadh an t-saoghail a’ cur ris a ’phròiseact.
Faodaidh tu cuideachd Ionad Srath Chluaidh airson Lagh Àrainneachd & Riaghladh a leantainn air Twitter, agus @COP26messagebottle air Instagram airson ùrachaidhean cunbhalach mun phròiseact.