How reflections about climate change will shape collective action in Midlothian
Listen to the trailer to the discover how reflections of people in Midlothian about the climate and nature crisis will help inform discussions as cross sector representatives and community leaders meet in October to agree a new Single Midlothian Plan setting collective outcomes and actions for the next three years.
Changing Climate, Changing Midlothian, is produced for the Midlothian Community Planning Climate Emergency Group by Thrivable Scotland, and is kindly supported by Midlothian Climate Action Hub, Midlothian Community Planning and Vattenfall.
Transcript
Welcome to Changing Climate, Changing Midlothian
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:with me, Osbert Lancaster.
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:As I interviewed people for this
podcast in the summer of:
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:change is more apparent than ever.
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:Wildfires have been raging in Canada,
France, and Spain, and on a smaller
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:scale, but closer to home people have
been evacuated from their homes in
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:the Cairngorms as the hills burn.
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:We may not be suffering heat waves
like those becoming common in Europe
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:and England, but it's hard to miss
how the seasons are changing, how
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:dry our gardens, parks, and fields
are, and how low the water is in
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:our burns rivers and reservoirs.
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:At the same time the cost of living
crisis is affecting us all and making life
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:even tougher than usual for many people.
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:Funding is tight across the public sector
and for charities and social enterprises,
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:and businesses are trying to cope with
rising costs and all kinds of uncertainty.
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:It's easy to feel overwhelmed by
everything that's happening and
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:find it difficult to see how we
can change things for the better.
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:So what can we do?
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:How can we respond?
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:Based on many years of helping leaders,
communities, and organisations as they
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:work on the climate and nature crisis,
I've come to the conclusion that we
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:find genuine hope and make more progress
when we turn our attention away from
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:the problems and onto the solutions.
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:That's why the Midlothian Community
Planning Climate Emergency Group
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:has asked me to make this podcast.
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:I'm speaking to people from a variety
of backgrounds who live and work
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:in the county to discover what the
climate and nature crisis means for
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:them and for the people they work with.
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:I'm finding out what they're doing now
and what would help them and others see
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:more positive changes in their communities
and the places they care about.
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:We also reflect on the fact there's only
so much any organisation can do alone and
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:discuss how even when resources are tight,
organisations could work together more
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:effectively and efficiently to co-create,
deliver, and support action on the ground.
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:In October this year, 2026, cross sector
representatives and community leaders
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:meet to agree a new Single Midlothian
Plan, setting collective outcomes
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:and actions for the next three years.
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:The opportunities and challenges posed
by our changed and further changing
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:climate are relevant right across the
area and themes that the plan will cover.
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:So it's important that the plan reflects
the urgency of the climate and nature
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:crisis and its implications for everyone
living and working in Midlothian.
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:That's why the conference will
consider what changes are necessary
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:and look for collective actions that
will address the changing climate,
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:while also supporting progress on
issues such as health, poverty,
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:biodiversity, and community wellbeing.
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:The conversations in this podcast
will bring a variety of valuable
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:perspectives and experiences to help
inform discussions at the conference.
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:Changing Climate Changing Midlothian is
produced for the Midlothian Community
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:Planning Climate Emergency Group by
me, Osbert Lancaster at Thrivable
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:Scotland, and is kindly supported by
Midlothian Climate Action Hub, Midlothian
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:Community Planning and Vattenfall.
