It’s still cold and dark outside here in Scotland, so it’s time for our annual 'Winter Hello’ to share some of our favourite projects from 2023 and tell you what’s in store for 2024 and beyond.
You may have noticed that over the past few years our work has become more focused on climate justice communication and education. For the first time, global warming has exceeded 1.5 degrees C across an entire year, signifying time is running out to spare the world from the most catastrophic effects of global warming. This amount of heating may not seem like a lot, especially in a cold country like Scotland, but the impacts are increasing, fuelling a dangerous rise in disasters for ecosystems around the world, and the people, plants and animals that depend on them. Some regions around the world warm faster than others and the effects from global heating do not unfold equally. The highest toll is already being felt by those who are more vulnerable and less affluent, and these devastating divisions are only expected to sharpen. Our hearts ache for all those suffering around the world from the injustices of our unequal systems of power, wealth and greed. Climate change is intimately related to other inequalities, and is a symptom of unfair and unrepresentative economic, social and political institutions.
Our methods of communicating and taking action need to evolve as the climate is changing. Our aim is to use the arts as a catalyst for change and climate justice. As artists and educators we have an important role to play: harnessing the power of creativity and education to mitigate and adapt to climate change; and inspiring and empowering others to foster an interdisciplinary and wellbeing approach. Our hope is that our work serves to motivate rather than dismay. There is still time to stave off the worst effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, and to focus our attention on creating more equal, diverse, creative, joyful and regenerative communities of people working together to take collective climate action.
We hope that reading our newsletter inspires and interests you in equal measure.
- In November we won the Sustainable Creativity Award from Creative Edinburgh for Positive Imaginings, our climate education programme!
- Last Summer we launched our new team building programme – ‘Under the Sky’ – thanks to the kind support of NatureScot and the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh.
Our pilot ‘Climate Wellbeing’ sessions, specifically designed for people working in the environmental sector were so well received, we are now rolling out this initiative. Please get in touch if you would like to book a team building session for your workplace.
Further workshops are being developed specifically for creative industry professionals, parents and carers and university staff and students. We also plan to secure further funding to provide some free community 'Climate Wellbeing’ sessions. Let us know if you are interested in attending these sessions.
- We are currently working on a new climate education programme for secondary schools, funded by the Scottish Government’s Climate Engagement Fund. The Climate Wellbeing Project fuses circus, music, theatre and environmental science. We cover issues including: climate change; biodiversity loss; climate anxiety; nature connection; and global citizenship, contributing to improved mental health for young people and their teachers and encouraging collective climate action. We will be touring our new show, ‘Future Influencers’ and delivering Climate Wellbeing teacher training to schools across central Scotland, reaching over 2000 pupils in March 2024. To book a free place on our Climate Wellbeing teacher training in Edinburgh on 1st March get in touch.
- We continue to work with the renewables industry, facilitating educational workshops, team building sessions, presentations and bringing our Climate Circus performers to celebrate wind farm community open days. We loved designing and performing a weekend of very windy activities with Fred Olsen Renewables last Summer (see photos), and we’re looking forward to another Summer of wind powered fun!
- Creative outdoor learning teacher training - we continue to deliver our much loved teacher training programmes in both concrete playgrounds and local greenspaces.
- Positive Imaginings continued to tour primary schools and community woodlands across Scotland throughout 2023, including taking the ferry to the Isle of Mull, and working with all the primary schools on the island. Positive Imaginings aims to address climate anxiety and create opportunities for young people who encounter barriers to participating in climate action, to get involved, and feel inspired and empowered. The programme includes: woodland workshops; teacher training; and a promenade performance through local woodlands. The children’s positive imaginings can be listened to here.
A special thank you to NatureScot, Sustrans Artroots Fund, The Mull and Iona Ranger Service, Vogrie Pogrie Festival, Ruth Barrie (Waltzer Films) and the hundreds of children who shared their Positive Imaginings with us in 2023. Please get in touch if you would like to book Positive Imaginings in 2024 or if you can help support the Positive Imaginings programme. We continue to accept donations, and as a not for profit community interest company all our profits are used to support our environmental education initiatives in areas of multiple deprivation.
- Our Forest Circus programme in Craigmillar continues - we’ve teamed up with our friends at Think Circus to deliver weekly outdoor sessions with vulnerable or at risk girls from Castleview Primary School. We are very grateful to Young Start, our funders, for believing in our project and enabling us to develop it over 3 years; and to the National Lottery’s Community Fund for funding our successful pilot project.
- Our Seasonal Celebrations and Magical Woodland Walks are gearing up for another Spring and Summer of foraging fun. In 2023 we had the pleasure of working with Maclean & Bruce, Duns PlayFest, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, The Fairyland Trust, EarthFest (part of the Edinburgh Science Festival) and the Edinburgh Lothian Greenspace Trust.
- Shambala Festival - there are no words to sum up just how much we love this fantastic festival and being part of the Playtopia team! Shambala Festival has won numerous awards for their environmental efforts and we can’t recommend this festival enough!
- In 2023 we developed a new creative outdoor training session for Youthlink Scotland, which took place in our favourite hidden urban nature reserve in Edinburgh. A special thank you to the Scottish Wildlife Trust and Edinburgh Art Festival for sharing your inspiring space with us.
- We have been delighted to join the panel discussing sustainable touring with Aurora Nova and the Center for Sustainable Practice, Canada.
- We are also proud to have joined the expert advisory group for Scotland’s Young People’s Forest Project who won the ‘Youth Champion’ Holyrood Climate Action Award. If you know of potential funding opportunities for this incredible project please get in touch.
- Lucy has joined the Board of Trustees at Creative Carbon Scotland and has been part of their panel discussions on intergenerational climate justice.
- We are working with the 2050 Climate Group on the re-development of their learning programme, with a specific focus on nature connection. The Young Leaders Development Programme (YLDP) is for people between the ages of 18 and 35 in Scotland giving them the skills and confidence to take action on climate change.
- We are currently participating in the Climate Ambassador Programme with Climate Outreach, learning how to tell our own compelling and impactful climate stories.
- And last but not least Lucy has been awarded a Churchill Fellowship to research international creative climate communicaton and education:
She has just returned from a residency with the very inspiring Acting for Climate in Copenhagen, where she spent two weeks learning about their creative methods addressing the climate crisis, sharing inspiration and facilitating creative climate workshops for their team and the circus students at AFUK. The next stage of her Fellowship involves taking part in the Green Educators Course at the Green School, and visiting organisations, artists and schools in Finland and Sweden. Please get in touch if you’d like to know more.
We would like to say a huge thank you to: our funders and supporters; our clients; our wonderful board members and amazing team of artists, environmental consultants, educational psychologists, science educators, workshop facilitators, project managers, creative communicators, photographers, filmmakers, fundraisers, administrators and volunteers.
As I’m sure you know, UK arts and environmental funding is being very tightly squeezed, so please get in touch for details of how you can help support Rowanbank’s work in 2024, and enable us to continue to share what we do with low income communities across Scotland.
Enjoy the snowdrops and don’t forget to follow us on social media and keep an eye on the news page of our website.
Best wishes,
Lucy, Arran & The Rowanbank Team
Rowanbank has joined the Learning for Sustainability's call to action to make every 3-18 place of education in Scotland a Sustainable Learning Setting. More needs to be done to ensure ALL learners receive their entitlement to Learning for Sustainability. Children and young people are asking for bold ambition and the necessary action to make change happen. The Target 2030 Call to Action seeks to build an inspiring movement for change to realise the ambition of Scotland’s refreshed Learning for Sustainability Action Plan.