With an MCS in Wildlife Biology and Conservation Juliette Camburn, our Senior Community Initiatives Officer, who is used to delivering training to the expert volunteer judges and assessors that support our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network supported the delivery of our new Nature and Biodiversity Training. Here she explores what she learned, what the delegates told her and how our training might support you make stronger practical connections with nature…
I’ve been working with Keep Scotland Beautiful since 2008, and in those years (almost two decades - eek) I have been inspired by the work that members of our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network do day in and day out. They always amaze me with their energy, passion and innovative ways for engaging their communities to inspire action for our climate and nature. What I didn’t perhaps envision when I started to discuss how I could support delivery of our new training offer with colleagues, was how their stories could bring to life real tangible ways that delegates could help support Scotland in its ambition to become nature positive.
One of our strategic ambitions as a charity is to inspire action to restore nature and biodiversity. We do this through a range of activities and initiatives, from integrating nature into our delivery of Climate Action Schools, to supporting communities with information, mentors and online webinars and Q&A events, to encouraging park and beach managers to consider nature when managing these public spaces for people.
Since 2016 we have been delivering Carbon Literacy Training to organisations, communities and individuals. We recognised an opportunity to develop a new course that helps people understand the value of nature and biodiversity and how it’s intrinsically linked to the climate crisis, reasons behind its decline and how to support the recovery of habitats which benefit people and planet.
We know that nature provides for us, and we should all care for it, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because humans depend on it – for food, water, energy, medicines, the list is extensive.
Yet we know that Scotland is experiencing significant declines across the flora and fauna we all love – from seabirds like Curlews to iconic Kestrels, to lichens and our native woodlands. Sometimes it feels overwhelming, and we don’t know what we can do to help reverse the trend.
While we rely on national government, public bodies and land-owners to provide advice and tackle the big stuff, we can all do practical things to make space for nature in our homes, gardens, communities and places of work.
This is why I loved supporting the delivery of this training…
As a member of the Garden for Life Forum – a network of national environmental organisations – I am acutely aware of the passion and care that so many environmental charities put into helping nature, from bumblebees and butterflies to frogs and bugs.
Although I also know that people out-with the bubble often don’t know where to turn to look for tangible, practical things they can do to support nature.
I might have doubted my contributions as my colleagues developed the content to upskill people in the nature crisis, the culture, infrastructure and systems we rely on, and how we have found ourselves in Scotland putting nature and biodiversity under so much pressure.
But, my experiences, connections and real-life stories added a depth to the course that even I wasn’t prepared for. On a big scale, I was able to share with delegates the new grass cutting strategy for biodiversity that the City of Edinburgh Council (one of our Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network groups) has been developing, after a successful pilot in 2024 which showed a 4,167% increase in nectar availability for pollinators in three areas with high levels of urbanisation and low biodiversity.
On a smaller scale, I was also able to share how important community gardening is for looking after and improving biodiversity as well as how vital it is for bringing people together and connecting them with the benefits of being in nature. From planting for pollinators, creating ponds and leaving piles of dead wood for insects, to carrying out citizen science projects so people can learn about the incredible nature on their doorstep and be part of nationwide surveys, to creating nature trails and putting up bird boxes, to making compost and collecting rainwater, through to community litter picks...every little action helps our planet.
And it reignited a passion in me to do more to bring nature back to my own garden – starting with increasing the areas of long grass I leave and planting more pollinator friendly plants.
100% of participants [who completed our course surveys] would recommend this training course to others.
I enjoyed the online training. It was designed to be participative and inclusive. It gave me hope that it's not too late.
Course participant
So, if you want nature and biodiversity to be restored and you wish to benefit from the additional advantages to your physical and mental health and wellbeing, grow your community and make a real difference, do look at our training opportunities.
Our training is practical - if you complete the five hours of online training and a wee bit of self-study, you’ll be eligible to submit a pledge which reflects the impact you, your organisations or your community can have to help nature recover.
Our Trainers assess your pledge, and you’ll receive certification for eligible activities. Even if you don’t submit a pledge, you’ll have made some connections and gained inspiration along the way.
We also offer a two-hour webinar to introduce the topic, so have a look at our training page and do reach out to me, or my colleague Tim Mullens if you want more information on the Nature and biodiversity training | Keep Scotland Beautiful
The Climate and Nature Friendly Communities Network is open to all groups across Scotland to join - you can register until the end of April and watch a webinar on our website with information about the benefits of joining.
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