Scotland's LEQ seminar 2023/24
Scotland's LEQ seminar 2023/24
Our Local Environment Quality seminar took place in person on 14th December 2023.
The theme of the day was taking action as part of the publication of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy.
The event was for local authorities and other organisations with a duty to keep land clean and clear as well as those with a relationship to these responsibilities.
We looked at the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which was launched in the summer and hosted presentations and workshops on keeping land clean and clear.
We also showcased positive actions by organisations, communities and partnerships and provided time for networking.
Seminar agenda
09:30 - 10:00 | Registration and refreshments |
10:00 - 10:10 |
Introduction |
10:10 - 10:30 | Keynote presentation Barry Fisher, CEO, Keep Scotland Beautiful |
10:30 - 10:50 | Scottish Litter Survey Mark Diffley, Founder and Director, Diffley |
10:50 - 11:10 | Flytipping actions for year 1 as part of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy Craig Fraser, Senior Policy Officer, National Waste Unit, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency |
11:10 - 11:20 | Q and A |
11:20 - 11:35 | BREAK |
11:35 - 12:20 | Workshop sessions Choice of one of three workshops |
12:20 - 12:30 | Comments and further questions |
12:30 - 13:30 | LUNCH |
13:30 - 13:50 |
Wider UK collaboration |
13:50 - 14:35 | Workshop sessions Choice of one of three workshops |
14:35 - 14:50 | BREAK |
14:50 - 15:05 | National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, year 1 data actions Brian Rae, Survey and Data Coordinator, Keep Scotland Beautiful |
15:05 - 15:20 | National Litter and Flytipping Strategy, year 1 community engagement actions Heather McLaughlin, Campaigns Coordinator - Litter and LEQ, Keep Scotland Beautiful |
15:20 - 15:30 | Closing remarks |
15:30 | Close |
Workshops
Participants chose two of the following three workshops to attend during the day.
Workshop 1 - Role out of Litter Lotto year 1 and future plans
Iain Martin, South Ayrshire Council
Iain shared experience on the roll-out of litter lotto in South Ayrshire Council areas and plans for expansion.
Workshop 2 - Engaging Volunteers
Sally Latto and Kelly Eagle, Volunteer Scotland
Sarah and Kelly from Volunteer Scotland explored some methods for demonstrating the impact and value of volunteers. They also shared how volunteer behaviours have changed in recent years and provided guidance for attracting and retaining new volunteers. Finally, they shared some exciting ideas for ensuring that volunteers help to bring about meaningful environmental change in local communities.
Workshop 3 - Community-focused litter education programme (NLFS Action 4)
Alastair Alford, Keep Scotland Beautiful
In this session we supplied an overview of the community-focused litter education programme workshop session we developed as part of Action 4 in the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy. The workshop provides information and builds confidence in individuals and groups at the beginning of their journey to tackle litter locally. In this workshop session, we ran through the content and examples and invited feedback.
Speakers
Katie Murray (chair)
Environment and Place Services Manager, Keep Scotland Beautiful
Katie joined Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2013 and has worked in a variety of roles within the organisation. As Environment and Place Services Manager, Katie engages with communities, businesses and public sector agencies to take action to improve the places where people live, work and visit. Katie has responsibility for the portfolio of Environment Services and Place Services. This includes our business programmes, including awards and certifications, audits and training. Katie supports planning and development in relation to areas such as Extended Producer Responsibility, litter and waste, CoPLAR and Climate Change.
Prior to joining us, Katie was a Service Manager at the Royal Voluntary Service, managing the Home from Hospital programme in Stirling, supporting smooth patient transition from on-ward services to home support. Katie has a BA Honours in history, with a special subject of Environmental History.
Barry Fisher (presenter)
Chief Executive, Keep Scotland Beautiful
Barry has extensive experience in the youth sector. He joined us from the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, where latterly he held the role of Scotland Director. Prior to this Barry worked with the Ocean Youth Trust Scotland. The environment has always played a massive part in all his past employment roles as he sought to engage young people with activities dependent on clean, healthy environments.
He has a BA Honours in management and tourism from the University of Glasgow/SRUC.
Mark Diffley (presenter)
Founder and Director, Diffley
Craig Fraser (presenter)
Senior Policy Officer, National Waste Unit, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency
Angharad James (presenter)
Policy and Research Officer, Keep Wales Tidy
Angharad joined the policy team at Keep Wales Tidy in 2022 and has since been involved in LEAMS surveys, litter data management, behaviour change trials and working with partners to create waste prevention policies. Angharad has a BSc and MRes degree, and her research focussed on marine renewable energy and animal behaviour. Angharad previously worked as a marine research technician at Swansea University, working on multiple projects including coastal surveying, UAV disturbance, eDNA and seagrass restoration. Angharad is also a rescue diver and enjoys wild swimming and hiking.
Brian Rae (presenter)
Survey and Data Coordinator, Keep Scotland Beautiful
Brian joined Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2006. He has a committed approach to working in the environmental sector and has managed a variety of data streams – including LEAMS, coastal environmental quality data, trunk road service station quality audit data, and data from bespoke Nudge behaviour change projects. Brian has built and managed data capture/querying/reporting systems with efficiency and ease of use in mind, while allowing for complex hypothesis testing. Brian has developed and coordinated the LEAMS programme, working in partnership with all 32 local authorities, building and maintaining relationships as the needs for street cleanliness monitoring evolved. He has been involved in developing a standardised methodology for monitoring litter across Europe with the Clean Europe Network and is working with Zero Waste Scotland to develop Litter Monitoring System (LMS). Brian has an Honours Degree in Environmental Science, majoring in applied GIS.
Heather McLaughlin (presenter)
Campaigns Coordinator - Litter and LEQ, Keep Scotland Beautiful
Heather joined Keep Scotland Beautiful in 2017. She works on a range of projects in the Community Projects team
Before coming to work with us Heather spent time with Aberdeen City Council on the recycling team helping with community engagement and education activities. She also volunteered as a community researcher for The Children’s Hospice Association Scotland and with the Sedimentary Ecology Research Group on a range of studies. Heather has a BSc in Biology from The University of St Andrews, whilst at university she was part of climate change awareness group, community gardening workshops and worked with the local aquarium on animal training and enrichment.
If you have any questions about this seminar or future events please contact: Brian.Rae@keepscotlandbeautiful.org
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