Day: November 9, 2022

Edinburgh North East Scouts has opportunities for volunteers

Sign up for the online information evening on Tuesday 29th November at 7.30pm here https://sesscouts.org.uk/edinburgh-north-east-scouts-information-event/ 

We know everyone is busy, so this event is taking place online to fit in around family, work and life. It’ll only take 1 hour and will be informative.

Did you know Edinburgh North East Scouts has almost 100 young people on a waiting list to join?

And they need new helpers to support their 14 Scout Groups in Portobello, Craigentinny, Craigmillar, Duddingston, Calton, Joppa, Stockbridge, Pilrig, Broughton, Trinity, Leith, Newhaven, Wardie and Willowbrae. 

Sign up for this event to find out about the exciting things the Scout Groups get up to and flexible volunteering opportunities.

Demand by young people to join Scouts in the Edinburgh North East area is good with youth waiting lists growing. However, they need new adult volunteers to reduce the waiting list and enable more local young people to benefit from Scouting. 

Edinburgh North East Scouts is looking to the local community and organisations to help change the lives of local young people. They are appealing for help to reduce the youth waiting list and support 100 more young people to benefit from Scouts. 

Scouts is only possible thanks to superstar volunteers – ordinary people, like you, making an extraordinary difference in young people’s lives. They are looking for new adult volunteers to assist their existing leader and executive team.

So please consider what you can do and if you know anyone who may be willing to get involved and ask them to come along to the event too. It is possible that they may consider a job share if that was of interest to you?

Scouting has a reputation for helping young people to develop resilience, a positive character, respect for others, good community skills, as well as physical and mental fitness. Can you help inspire the doers and give it a goers of the future?

FACT 1: There are 14 Scout Groups in the Edinburgh North East area and they all want to provide more Scouting to more local young children.
FACT 2: You don’t need to have any specific skills or be Bear Grylls to lend a hand.
FACT 3: They have a collective youth waiting list of almost 100.
FACT 4: If you volunteer as a Leader to get involved now then they can look at how your child could get automatic entry into their preferred Scout Group.
FACT 5: You don’t have to have previous Scouting experience to get involved. 

As a District, they want to offer your child and other local children across the Edinburgh North East area the chance to participate in all the fun experiences and adventures they do in Scouting week to week such as, camping, fire-lighting, climbing and abseiling, and yes, learning how to tie and use knots (these will come in handy in later life!). 

Are you passionate about seeing local young people succeed? Are you a team player with a positive, can-do attitude? Do you enjoy fun activities? Do you want to do more in your community?

Are you more of a ‘behind the scenes’ person? Do you have a skill or hobby you can share? Then this event is right up your street.  Scouts has the opportunities – you just show up, get stuck in and make memories for life! 

We all have the power to help young people to realise their potential.  You don’t need to have been a Scout when you were younger.

You don’t even need to know how to put up a tent. Their door is open to people of all ages, genders, races and backgrounds, and they’re only able to change lives because people like you lend a hand.

There’s lots of ways you can get more involved with Scouts as a parent, carer or family member. From helping out occasionally on a family rota or as part of their Executive Committee to stepping up as a leader, their volunteering activities are as varied as you. 

The good news is you shape what you do and the time you have to give. Scouts happens when a lot of us give a little … and no, you don’t have to be a Scout or outdoors expert to volunteer.

Most of their volunteers work directly with young people aged 6-18 through their Beaver, Cub and Explorer groups – helping young people gain skills for life through fun activities.

District Commissioner, Rob Whitelaw, said: “This isn’t a job application, and you certainly don’t have to be an adventurer like Bear Grylls to get involved with Scouting and in fact not many of our volunteers are!

“Do you have first aid knowledge? Are you good with numbers? Handy in the kitchen? Or are you a DIY whizz? We all have useful skills, and you can volunteer and help in many ways.

“Are you ready to inspire a generation of young people to experience fun, friendship and real adventure? The opportunities to volunteer with us are flexible. Think of something you’d like to do, and chances are it’s just what we require.

“Whatever your skills, experience and interests, we can find a role for you!”

Sign up for the online information evening on Tuesday 29th November at 7.30pm here:

https://sesscouts.org.uk/edinburgh-north-east-scouts-information-event/

Missed Opportunity? Scotland’s new Planning Framework ‘undermined by reliance on climate techno-fixes’

Environmental campaigners have said that while the new National Planning Framework 4 is a step in the right direction in tackling the climate emergency it is seriously undermined by an over reliance on unrealistic techno-fixes.

The updated NPF4, laid in the Scottish Parliament today, sets out to tackle the climate and nature emergency. It gives Councils much needed tools to prioritise sustainable transport, has a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and reduces the risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.

However, the Scottish Government has failed to rule out new fossil fuel infrastructure in the planning framework which prioritises controversial technologies and so-called negative emissions technologies (NETs) such as carbon capture and storage and hydrogen.

The NPF4’s reliance on NETs is in contradiction to the Scottish Government’s own Climate Change Plan monitoring report which states that there has been: ‘No public commitment to date by a commercial operator to employ a NETs model for a single large power station in Scotland. Given lead in times for development of such a facility and proposals for CCS deployment for the Peterhead CCGT power project, it is unlikely that a new NETs power facility will be developed in the 2020s.‘

Friends of the Earth Scotland’s head of campaigns Mary Church said: “While the emphasis on tackling the climate and nature emergencies is welcome, this is a real missed opportunity by the Scottish Government to rule out any more infrastructure for the fossil fuels that are driving us to extinction.

“This plan sets out what developments are going to be prioritised over the next decade and it’s absolutely crucial that we transition away from fossil fuels over that same period.

“Despite this, there are some welcome improvements to the planning framework including much needed tools for local councils to prioritise sustainable transport, a greater emphasis on the reduction and reuse of materials, and the reduced risk that vast swathes of the country will be opened up for dodgy carbon offsetting schemes.

“The overall direction of travel is seriously undermined by continued over reliance on so-called negative emissions technologies like carbon capture and costly, inefficient hydrogen. The longer the Scottish Government falls for industry spin and the fantasy that we can solve the climate crisis without ending our use of fossil fuels, the harder it will be to deliver a just transition to a renewable energy economy.

“This plan puts some important policies on the table, but due to the urgency of the climate crisis, the time for half measures has long since passed.”

The new NPF4 is published as world leaders meet in Sharm El-Sheikh for the annual UN climate negotiations.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure was ‘ moral and economic madness’.

Planning for net zero

Plan for future developments ‘will help combat climate change’

Developments which reduce carbon emissions to tackle climate change and restore nature would be promoted under finalised proposals for long term planning reform.

The revised draft National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) sets out sustainable policies against which planning applications would be assessed for the next decade.

It has been tabled in the Scottish Parliament against the backdrop of crucial intergovernmental climate talks at COP27 in Egypt and seeks to deliver a new and bold direction, with a shift in culture and approach to planning in Scotland.

Proposals in NPF4 include:

  • enabling more renewable energy generation, outside National Parks and National Scenic Areas, to support the transition away from reliance on fossil fuels
  • supporting emerging low-carbon and zero emissions technologies – including hydrogen and carbon capture – and developments on land that unlock the transformative potential of offshore renewable energy, such as expansion of the electricity grid. Waste incineration facilities would be highly unlikely to receive permission
  • facilitating creation of cycling or walking routes, low carbon transport, more green spaces and opportunities for play, culture and tourism
  • helping rural communities grow by enabling more local homes and encouraging a more diverse rural economy
  • regenerating city and town centres to help them adapt to economic change while enabling people to access shops, schools and workplaces within a 20 minute walk or cycle
  • adopting a planned and evidence-based approach to delivering good quality and affordable homes that benefit communities.

Planning Minister Tom Arthur said: “The window of opportunity to act to reduce emissions and adapt to already locked in changes is narrowing. Our statutory and moral obligation to tackle climate change means change is necessary and urgent.

“This final version of the Framework makes clear that we won’t compromise on climate change. It also clarifies what is to be delivered, and how. And it is now clear through the weighting to be applied to different policies, that the climate and nature crises are the priority.  

“It is timely that we have tabled final proposals during COP27, as we set out to do when Glasgow hosted COP26 last year. This shows that Scotland’s ambition and commitment to delivering on international calls for action is unwavering.

“There is now a clear expectation of the role that planning must play in delivering the expansion of renewable energy needed to realise the just transition from reliance on fossil fuels.

“This Framework creates the foundation upon which to build the fairer, greener Scotland we want to see for the benefit of future generations.” 

Read the Minister’s statement in full here