Community Heritage and Climate Action plan coming to Fountainbridge

Historic area of Edinburgh to benefit from plan made by the community for the community.

Over the past year, the Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust has been working with us, through the Our Heritage, Our Future  programme to develop its first Community Heritage Climate Action Plan.

The plan – which has been made by the community for the community - will be launched on 10 October 2024 at the Edinburgh Printmakers.

Together with community organisations and people who live and work in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh, we facilitated a series of workshops and events to support the creation of an action plan to combat climate change and protect local heritage from the impacts of a changing climate. 

At the workshops the heritage which was valued within the community was discussed, stories were told, and the impacts of climate change on that heritage talked about. Much of that heritage is particularly linked to the 200-year-old Union Canal which runs through the area. Utilising the Place Standard Tool the community thought about what they like about their place and the opportunities they see to combat climate change and protect the heritage they value.

The result is an action plan which includes climate and heritage actions the community wanted to take forward or were already in the progress of doing.  It includes continuing with regular litter picks, developing a Greenspace Group which includes walking in nature, maintaining greenspaces, improving biodiversity by planting wildflower meadows, trees and hedges where appropriate and then measuring it through surveys. 

Through all of the community activity the priorities for action are improving biodiversity with wildflower meadows and planting more trees and hedges where appropriate, carrying out heritage skills such as desk based research and opportunities for volunteers to undertake guided tour training. Longer term actions include looking at carrying out wildlife surveys and delivering growing, recycling and upcycling workshops.

Lisa Snedden, Our Heritage, Our Future Coordinator, said: “Through the Our Heritage, Our Future programme we work with communities to inspire them to recognise the impact that climate change is having on the historic environment and to identify actions that are needed, in a local context, to protect natural, built and intangible heritage for future generations.

“I am so pleased to have supported the wide range of stakeholders in Fountainbridge, who have worked together to take their first steps towards climate and heritage positive action and look forward to supporting the ongoing development and delivery of this exciting plan.”

Rachel Sedman, Development Manager at Fountainbridge Canalside Community Trust said: "Our activities all focus around the Union Canal in Edinburgh which is a scheduled monument, so our heritage is so important to us.

“We’ve been working with Keep Scotland Beautiful for about a year to pilot as many activities as we could think of with as many sectors of the community as we could to gather thoughts from people in a creative way.  The results of this have helped us to develop our first Community Heritage Climate Action Plan which we are delighted to now share.”

Our Heritage, Our Future has been made possible with support from Historic Environment Scotland and The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with thanks to National Lottery Players.

Find out more about how you can get involved or get in touch with us.