Betty the Shark, swimming from St James Quarter to this year’s Edinburgh Climate Festival

Betty the Shark, an e-waste sculpture created by artist Johnathan Elders, has made another surprise appearance – this time at Edinburgh’s St James Quarter.

The spectacular basking shark, created using electronic waste, is promoting its future attendance at this year’s Edinburgh Climate Festival.

The free event is taking place at the Edinburgh Meadows on June 28th from 12 – 7pm and, much like Betty, aims to ignite community conversation on climate related issues.

The shark was sculpted as a metaphor for the appetite we hold for the latest tech, shining a light on overconsumption and the consequences of the waste we produce. 

You can join Betty’s next journey in celebrating and inspiring climate action at the Edinburgh Climate Festival this June.

During the day you can also enjoy a variety of family-friendly performances, stalls, talks,  free activities as well as other art installations alongside the sculpture.

The festival serves as a platform for locals to engage with & discover remarkable climate initiatives, just like Betty the Shark, that are taking place in Edinburgh whilst also enjoying an exciting day out with their families. 

Franciele Sobierai, ECF’s Event Coordinator, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome Betty the Shark to this year’s Edinburgh Climate Festival.

“Her powerful message about overconsumption and e-waste really captures the spirit of what our festival is all about: inspiring change through creativity, education, and community action.

“We invite everyone to come along, see Betty up close, and be part of a day that celebrates climate action in fun, engaging, and meaningful ways.”

You can find Betty the Shark at Edinburgh’s St James Centre until June 23rd, when she will be getting ready to swim over to the Edinburgh Meadows for her spot at the Edinburgh Climate Festival on the 28th. 

You can learn more about the festival & get involved by visiting the links available here

Betty the Shark was created using discarded waste collected by CCL North and is supported by Cognition Art, Edinburgh Remakery, Edinburgh Science, Outer Spaces & Creative Edinburgh.

The Edinburgh Climate Festival is brought to you by Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC) & Networking Key Services (NKS), through the Communities’ Reduce Reuse & Recycle (C3R) Project.

The festival is funded by The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund and is supported by The University of Edinburgh and Edinburgh Napier University.

Published by

davepickering

Edinburgh reporter and photographer

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