We’re delighted to announce that this week we will be running the Savvy Film Club in collaboration with our friends just over the water at Argyll and the Isles Coast and Countryside Trust (ACT for short!). Keep scrolling for all the info!

1. Savvy Film Club (online & FREE!)
2. What do rising sea levels mean for Arran?
3. Potential flood scheme work in Brodick & Lamlash
4. Flood protection & climate change mitigation on a national level
5. Could you give growing tips for our podcast?
6. What do you think of the Savvy Film Club!
7. Sign the petition: Stop the NTS cutting 75% of countryside jobs

Savvy Film Club (online & FREE!):

Tuesday 16th June we will be screening Anote’s Ark which follows the story of a beautiful Pacific island that is at risk from the effects of rising sea levels and climate change. This film looks at one man’s journey to do what’s best for his island nation.

We are excited to announce this event will be taking place in collaboration between Arran Eco Savvy and Act which encompasses 24 (inhabited) islands and many miles of Scottish coastline. 

We are already experiencing increased flooding around some of our coastlines on our islands and coastlines here in Scotland and local authorities are working on future planning of flood resilience and protection.

Following the film we will also be aiming to discuss positive strategies and successful flood resilience projects in the chat session afterwards – we hope you can join us.

The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati (population: 100,000) is one of the most remote places on the planet, seemingly far-removed from the pressures of modern life. Yet it is one of the first countries that must confront the main existential dilemma of our time: imminent annihilation from sea-level rise. While Kiribati’s President Anote Tong races to find a way to protect his nation’s people and maintain their dignity, many Kiribati citizens are already seeking safe harbour overseas.

Set against the backdrop of international climate and human rights negotiations, Anote’s struggle to save his nation is intertwined with the extraordinary fate of Sermary, a young mother of six, who fights to migrate her family to New Zealand. At stake is the survival of Sermary’s family, the Kiribati people, and 4,000 years of Kiribati culture.

Prior to the screening we will send you a link and password to enable you to watch the film for free, along with simple instructions about how to view and how to take part in the online chat.

After the film there will be an opportunity to have a discussion within the comments on the facebook event page. If you would like to watch this film with us could you please let us know by:

• emailing ruth.ecosavvy@gmail.com
• click “Going” or “Reserve a spot” on the facebook event

We will then be in touch with instructions of how to watch the film for free. We really hope that you will join us to watch the film and especially to join in with the discussion afterwards 🙂

What do rising sea levels mean for Arran?:

Sea level is already about a foot higher than in 1880 and is expected to rise by up to a meter by the end of the century (if melting of polar ice sheets accelerates, this figure could be much higher).

Whilst we on Arran enjoy the many benefits of living by the sea this news obviously puts us in a serious position.

Below you can see the land projected to be below annual flood level in 2050 (red areas) for a best and worst case scenario:

If you are interested to look at different areas the whole planet is mapped and is fully interactive so you can see sea level projections for different countries, timeframes and climate change scenarios:

Potential flood scheme work in Brodick & Lamlash:

As reported in the Ardrossan Herald last December North Ayrshire Council submitted a proposal to SEPA for three new flood protection schemes, covering the Lower Irvine Valley, Fairlie and Brodick and Lamlash.

Eco Savvy have been in touch with North Ayrshire Council for an update on how the proposals are progressing and will let you know when we hear back.

Flood protection & climate change mitigation on a national level:

The Scottish Government address sea level rise within their five year programme to prepare Scotland for the challenges we will face as our climate continues to change.

Although sea level rose 8cm between 1900 and 1990, with similar projections for by 2030 the encouraging news is that Scotland has almost halved its emissions since 1990 and continues to pursue emissions targets in order to be “net zero” by 2045. 

Plans to develop and expand on resilience include £42 million annually to go to Local Authorities for flood protection.

In a speech by Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency the importance of planning for the future is stressed.

“Adaptation means making changes to prepare for, reduce and negate the effects of climate change, for example by building stronger sea defences to reduce the vulnerability of coastal communities. Other things we can and should be doing now include reducing water usage by cutting leakage and extending domestic metering; avoiding any unnecessary development in flood plains or on fast-eroding coastlines; and designing infrastructure that will be resilient to the more extreme weather we know is coming. There’s more good news. There is now a pretty broad consensus – at least in this country – on the need to do these things.”

Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency

Could you give growing tips for our podcast?:

Our Savvy Food Coordinator, Jess, is looking for any gardeners who might be interested in answering a couple of questions for our second ‘Growing on Arran’ podcast! 

She is looking to chat to local gardeners about questions we have had from the Arran community. It would only take 5-10 minutes and she is looking to speak to folk with a range of experiences, you don’t need to be an expert to contribute! 

If you are interested or know someone who is please pop Jess an email on jess.ecosavvy@gmail.com and she can talk you through the simple format we have! We are looking to speak to folk with a range of experiences, you don’t need to be an expert to contribute! 

What do you think of the Savvy Film Club?:

It’s now been three months since we started the Savvy Film Club – woo! 

We thought this would be a good point to do a wee review of the film club and see if there was any way we could improve it!

If you have time we would love it if you took a few minutes to give us your thoughts in this questionnaire (although absolutely no pressure, we appreciate everyone is busy).

Sign the petition: Stop the NTS cutting 75% of countryside jobs:

“The National Trust for Scotland is Scotland’s largest conservation charity and one of the biggest employers of countryside rangers. However, the Trust has put 75% of their rangers, ecologists and other countryside staff at risk of redundancy.”