August at ECCAN: Have Your Say, a Greener Fringe and Opportunities Across the Network
August is in full swing, and there’s plenty happening across the ECCAN network. This month, we’re asking for your help to shape ECCAN’s future, celebrating our community-chosen Greenlight projects, exploring ways to enjoy a greener Fringe, and sharing events, funding, training and opportunities from across Edinburgh.
📝 Help shape the future of ECCAN
We want to hear from you!
We’re developing ECCAN’s priorities and activities for the next three years, and we want those of you who make up our network to help shape what comes next.
Share your thoughts, experiences and ideas through our survey to help us understand what the network needs and where we should focus our work.
Complete the survey and you’ll also be entered into a prize draw to win a £75 Edinburgh Remakery voucher.
🎭 A Greener Fringe
With Edinburgh’s festivals in full swing, we’ve been looking at some of the ways the Fringe can become more sustainable.
From a show ditching flyers altogether, to practical ideas for a lower-impact festival season and a new directory connecting Fringe-makers with greener local services, there’s lots happening behind the scenes.
We’ve brought together some of the stories, ideas and resources to help you explore a greener side of this year’s festivals.
📊 See what we’ve been up to
Our latest Annual Report is now available, offering a chance to look back at what ECCAN and the network have achieved over the past year.
You can also find out more about where we’re heading and some of our priorities for the year ahead.
What have we been up to?
🍽️ Climate Bites at MWAMBA
A huge thank you to MWAMBA for hosting a wonderful Climate Bites at the Heart of Newhaven. We enjoyed delicious food, great conversations and another chance to bring people from across the network together.
Climate Bites is taking a break for August, but we’ll be back in September. Keep an eye on our Humanitix page for details of the next gathering.
🗳️ Your community-chosen Greenlight projects
The results of this year’s Greenlight community vote are in, and we’re delighted to have announced the three projects receiving between £5,001 and £20,000 in funding: Bikes for Refugees, Edinburgh Tool Library and Gorgie Community Farm.
More than 500 people voted across 22 projects, helping decide where this year’s large grants should go.
Meet the Greenlight projects →
We’d love to fund even more community-led climate action across Edinburgh. You can now donate directly to ECCAN to help Greenlight go further.
🌼 Oot and aboot in community gardens
We’ve been out visiting member groups including Bridgend Farmhouse, Gorgie Community Farm and The Salisbury Centre, and their gardens have been looking particularly beautiful this summer.
Many of Edinburgh’s community gardens are open to volunteers, so if you’ve been thinking about getting involved, now is a great time to explore what’s happening near you.
📚 New resources on the ECCAN website
We’ve been busy expanding our Resources section with new funding and learning opportunities, alongside practical guides on Strengthening Your Community Group and Climate Justice & Participation.
If you haven’t visited recently, it’s worth another look. We’ll continue adding useful tools and opportunities, and if you know of a resource we should be sharing, please send it our way. Head to the ‘Resources’ tab above to explore.
📅 What’s on across the network
There’s plenty happening across Edinburgh over the rest of August.
Join Networking Key Services (NKS) for Chai, Samosa & Climate Gupshup, a Fringe performance bringing together climate change, conversation, culture and community, or explore Edinburgh’s relationship with its coastline at Ocean Talks: City and the Sea, featuring film, photography, live music and conversation.
You can get hands-on at Edinburgh Tool Library’s Repair Café and film screening, celebrate a year of restoration at Gorgie Community Farm’s Summer Celebration, or learn the basics of growing your own food during a practical weekend course at Lauriston Agroecology Farm.
There’s also Breaking Well, a monthly gathering offering space to explore our thoughts and feelings about the climate and nature crises, and a free Summer Garden Party at Gracemount Mansion with music, crafts, food and family activities.
For Fringe-goers, we’ve also put together a guide to shows exploring climate, nature and environmental justice across this year’s festivals, inspired by Friends of the Earth’s guide.
🎓 Training and learning opportunities
There are lots of opportunities to build skills and knowledge over the coming weeks.
Verture’s Becoming Climate Resilient course will explore practical approaches to climate adaptation, while Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Introduction to Campaign Strategy offers an online introduction to planning and building effective local campaigns.
Applications are also open for Growing Together, a free part-time course for Edinburgh residents combining hands-on placements in community gardens, farms and woodlands with learning around community growing, nature restoration and climate adaptation.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and University of Queensland are also hostingFeelings, Family and the Future, exploring climate emotions, family life and how communities can better support parents and children.
🌱 Opportunities for young people
There are several opportunities for young people to get involved in climate action, creativity and skills development this month.
Impact Arts is recruiting for two free Edinburgh programmes starting this autumn. CashBack Hubs offers creative workshops for 14–19-year-olds, while Green Starts supports 16–24-year-olds to explore nature, creativity and green careers.
Young people aged 18–30 can also join Youth Climate Camp Scotland for a three-day residential in the Cairngorms, while the Ethnic Minority Environmental Network is recruiting 16–30-year-olds for its fully funded, year-long Ambassador Programme.
Applications are also open for the UK Government’s new Youth Climate and Nature Panel, giving young people aged 16–25 the opportunity to contribute insight and advice on climate and nature policies.
💰 Funding opportunities
There are plenty of funding opportunities currently open for community groups and climate projects across Edinburgh and beyond.
These include the Royal Company of Merchants Community Grants Fund, offering up to £5,000, the Edinburgh Community Solar Co-op Community Fund, supporting local environmental and carbon reduction projects, and Leith Chooses, where local organisations can apply for community funding decided through a public vote.
We regularly update the Funding section of the ECCAN website with new grants and opportunities, so head there for the latest listings, deadlines and application details.
🤝 Community opportunities
There are plenty of other ways to get involved across the network too.
Rewilding charity SCOTLAND: The Big Picture is looking for a suitable wall or building in Scotland for a fully funded large-scale nature mural, while Goodies is offering ethical house clearances that help unwanted items find a second life through local charities, community projects and its charity shop.
🍲 Help shape Climate Bites
We’re also refreshing our Climate Bites programme and would love your input.
If you’ve attended before, tell us what you enjoyed and what you’d like to see in future. We’re also looking for ideas for new themes, activities and ways to bring people together.
Share your Climate Bites ideas →
💼 Jobs across the network
If you’re looking for your next role, organisations across Edinburgh are currently recruiting for work connected to climate action and community development.
Current opportunities include Campaigns Manager at Friends of the Earth Scotland, Business Development Manager at Heart of Newhaven, Household Support Officer at Changeworks and Community Events Coordinator at Duncan Place Community Hub.
🙌 Get involved as a volunteer
If you have some time to give, there are lots of ways to get involved with community projects around Edinburgh.
Grass Roots Remedies runs regular sessions at Lauriston Farm growing medicinal herbs and caring for crops and young trees, while Earth in Common welcomes volunteers to help transform its Meanwhile Site through gardening and practical conservation.
You can also get involved in the permaculture garden at The Salisbury Centre, or put your sewing, mending, electronics or people skills to use at The Edinburgh Remakery Repair Café.
There’s plenty more happening across Edinburgh throughout August, and we’ll continue sharing new events, opportunities and stories from across the network on our website and social channels. You can read the full newsletter below.
Thank you for being part of the ECCAN network, and we hope to see you out and about soon!