On behalf of Lauriston Farm and the Global Shapers Edinburgh hub, we invite you to our tree planting event on Saturday 25 February 2023 from 2 pm- 4:30 pm at Lauriston Farm, EH4 5EX
The main aim of the event is to involve more young people in tree planting events in Edinburgh, thereby helping them contribute to the city’s million tree goal.
So, if you are between 17-30 years and are interested in seeing a more green Edinburgh, this opportunity is for you.
Kindly note that there is no registration fee and as a gesture of gratitude, we will be providing complimentary hot drinks and snacks to all the attendees
Register for the event by the link in bio. Also, we’d be really grateful if you could share this invitation with someone who might be interested.
We would like to invite you to the opening of Forest Bound – adaptation, resilience and uncertainty, a Community Group Exhibition of artwork and more, created as part of Forest Bound, a public engagement project.
Forest Bound is a project working to engage ethnic minority groups in Edinburgh with forest landscapes by using arts approaches grounded in environmental science. The project aims to create spaces so communities underrepresented in nature can engage with forest environments, while bringing attention to their experiences and values. We organised forest walks and a workshop session. Find out more about the activities by watching the short film produced by Written in Film.
Forest Bound is funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and is a partnership between the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (UKCEH), Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council (ELREC), artist Tamsin Grainger, and Written in Film.
The exhibition
This multi-media, multi-sensory and interactive exhibition includes collage, painting and drawing, film by Written in Film, sound, recipes, and an experience of the smell and touch of the Scots Pines and fungi found in the Autumn in Scotland.
The groups were interested in, and learning about, how we, as part of nature, share the ability to adapt, maintain resilience and manage uncertainty. Created by people who live in Edinburgh, including members of the Chinese, Syrian, and Polish communities, in this exhibition you will be surrounded by the infectious laughter that comes from walking together in such special places.
Evening opening event
The evening opening of the exhibition is on Thursday 16th of February 2023, 6pm – 8.30pm.
The venue is Out of the Blue Drill Hall (Main Hall) in Edinburgh (EH6 8RG). See how to get there here.
We encourage you to bring along others with you to the evening opening and share the invitation with your network.
Please note the exhibition is cost-free and will be open to all from Tuesday 14th of February 2023 until Saturday 18th of February 2023 (inclusive), so if you are unable to attend the evening opening you can visit during normal opening times these dates (10am – 5pm Tuesday-Friday, 10am – 3pm Saturday).
£12.4 million government funding is helping some of the most polluting industries find new ways to reduce their carbon emissions and energy bills
funding has supported the deployment of a range of new technologies, from heat pumps to hydrogen ready equipment, to help businesses cut fossil fuel use and improve energy efficiency
investment is helping to future-proof vital British industries in the transition to a lower carbon economy
Businesses across the UK will benefit from a share of more than £12 million government funding to help energy-intensive industries cut their carbon emissions and energy costs.
The funding for the 22 winning projects will help businesses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland clean up their industrial processes and improve their energy efficiency – benefiting industries including pharmaceuticals, steel, paper, and food and drink.
This £12.4 million funding was awarded as part of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), which has awarded grants to British projects across the country to increase the energy efficiency of their industrial processes, from car manufacturing to steel production and food processing.
The winning bids include sustainably harvesting food in Carmarthenshire, Wales, through a new air source heat pump system, capturing waste heat to dry, heat, crush and grind materials for roadmaking in South Yorkshire and using revolutionary high temperature heat pumps to reduce the energy needed to heat and cool cheese, reducing emissions in dairy farms across the Midlands.
It is estimated that industry is currently responsible for producing 16% of the UK’s emissions and will need to cut emissions by two thirds by 2035 in order for the UK to achieve its net zero target.
Today’s funding will play a crucial role in helping to clean up big-emitting industries as part of the UK’s green industrial revolution – decarbonising their industrial processes and reducing their reliance on expensive fossil fuels, such as gas. This means businesses will not only reduce their environmental impact, but also save on their energy bills and safeguard thousands of British jobs.
Graham Stuart, Minister at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “Boosting the energy efficiency of industrial processes is a critical step not only in our transition to a lower-carbon economy, but also by helping businesses to cut their energy costs and protect valuable British jobs.
“That’s why the government has stepped in once again to support energy intensive industries, with a fresh funding round to unleash the next generation of green innovators who are re-shaping the way technology can reduce carbon emissions.”
So far, £34.8 million of funding has been awarded through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, which was first launched in June 2020.
Today’s winners
Greener food
One of the biggest food companies in Europe, Dunbia, based in Carmarthenshire, Wales, has been awarded funds to upgrade its heating system from a gas oil fired steam boiler to an air source heat pump that is powered by renewably sourced electricity.
This allows the company to harvest edible products and process the food with hot water washing, through a sustainable and energy efficient thermal supply system, reducing carbon emissions each year.
Sustainable roads
Harsco Environmental’s SteelPhalt plant, based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, has been developing and manufacturing high performance tarmac products for the UK roadmaking industry since the 1960s.
This energy intensive process of drying, heating, crushing, grinding, conveying currently utilises large volumes of natural gas, gas oil and electricity from the grid, but thanks to government funding, the company is investigating ways to capture the waste heat in the exhaust gases and transform it into electrical power, reducing the fuel demand of the road burners and supporting manufacturing in the local area.
Lighter, safer vehicles
Autotech Engineering / Gestamp is a multinational based in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, specialising in the design, development and manufacture of metals for lighter and safer vehicles.
Whereby high-tonnage presses of flat metal sheets typically loses lots of energy through heat and noise, IETF has helped to fund the SERPENT project which is actively capturing and reusing this lost energy. With a reduction of almost 10% already seen in peak power usage during tool changeover, this funding is helping to lower energy consumption and the environmental impact of critical car manufacturing.
Say cheese
The Long Clawson Dairy has been producing cheese for over a century, running over 31 farms in the Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire areas. The production of cheese is an energy intensive process involving both heating and cooling activities.
Through IETF funding, the company has created a new thermal storage system, using revolutionary high temperature heat pumps to reduce overall energy by 27% and saving 34% carbon emissions, with the ambition of moving to a purely electrically powered in the long term.
Today’s announcement builds on the wide-ranging support that is available to energy-intensive industries.
The UK government recognises that businesses are feeling the impact of high global energy prices, including steel producers, which is why the Energy Bill Relief Scheme was launched to bring down costs. This is in addition to more than £800 million of support the government has provided since 2013 to help industrial sectors with energy costs, with many businesses able to bid into government competitive funds worth more than £1.5 billion to support them going green, cutting emissions and becoming more energy efficient.
Niall Browne, CEO, Dunbia (UK), said: “Dunbia (UK), through its parent company Dawn Meats, was the first European beef and lamb processor to make a commitment to the Science Based Targets Initiative.
“We have been working for more than 10 years to reduce emissions internally and more widely across our supply chain and recognise the urgency to adopt even more aggressive measures to reduce emissions.
“We welcome this opportunity to work with the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to further improve our energy efficiency and cut our carbon emissions.”
A Harsco Metalscompany spokesperson said: “Harsco has welcomed the IETF grant offer from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero to continue its journey to help continue our commitment to innovation and sustainability.
“With this IETF feasibility funding grant, we have been able to investigate how we can recover heat from our asphalt plant to optimise our use of energy and reduce our carbon footprint.
Phil Potter, the SERPENT Project Manager, said: “The SERPENT feasibility study was a high-risk technology project not aligned with Gestamp’s core business activities and would not be completed without IETF support and funding.
“We have been successful in demonstrating feasibility and initial results look extremely promising with a reduction of almost 10% seen in peak power usage during tool changeover.
“We have yet to process that data and analyse the economic viability but we have already demonstrated that this approach improves manufacturing energy efficiency to reduce waste and carbon footprint and support our drive to Net Zero with no impact on press performance.
Iain Grant, Operations Director, Long Clawson Dairy, said: “The production of our Stilton cheese is an energy intensive process involving both heating and cooling activities.
“With the investment in this project, it has enabled the Dairy to take a more cost-effective approach to energy consumption, alongside a clear carbon emission reduction. This is a substantial investment for a business of our size and would not have been possible without the support of the IETF grant funding.”
Graeme Mortimer Evelyn brings ‘Relics from an Oasis of Good Luck’ to Lobby 37 at Gleneagles Townhouse.
The London artist’s first solo exhibition in Scotland will include pieces made over a 25-year period selected directly from the artist’s London home.
An exhibition featuring Graeme Mortimer Evelyn will run until the 27th February at Gleneagles Townhouse. Made of up of pieces created over Graeme’s long and successful career, the exhibit is titled ‘Relics from an Oasis of Good Luck’.
Many of the works are completely realised studies created during many major commissions and artist-in-residence projects during Graeme’s expansive career, and range from collages, prints, paintings, graffiti stencils, drawings, and painted relief sculpture. Evelyn has exhibited his work across the world, but this will be his first solo exhibition in Scotland.
Graeme Mortimer Evelyn is a musician and curator as well as a multimedia artist. The art he creates comments on cultural social identity, politics, belief, and language. He has created work for major municipal buildings, sites of national memory, and places of worship – subverting the settings and their philosophies to attract new audiences and democratise public spaces by opening them up to more people.
His works have also been exhibited, collected, and displayed internationally by Princeton University Centre for African American Studies, Cornell University, Kensington Palace, The Royal Commonwealth Society, Museum in Docklands, Gloucester Cathedral, Bristol Museums, The Royal Collection Trust, The Church of England, and UNESCO.
One of Evelyn’s most notable works is The Eternal Engine for St Francis Church in Tottenham Hale. Completed in November 2017, it is the largest permanent hand-sculpted contemporary altarpiece in Europe.
St Francis Church sits adjacent to where Mark Duggan, a young black man, was fatally shot by armed police in 2011, triggering London-wide riots. The church was then built to aid to the community’s healing process. The Eternal Engine represents the unifying wonder of our vast Universe and the mystery of its Creator.
Evelyn currently works in his garden studio in South London, continuing to develop his varied and innovative body of works exploring automatic experimental drawing and sculpture informed by his synaesthesia reaction to music and sound, and how these responses then relate to contemporary religious and secular belief structures.
He has recently completed vinyl album cover commissions through this lens for world renowned Jazz Artists. In late March 2023, he will begin his six-week invited Artist Residency for the Foundation for Spirituality and the Arts in Charleston, South Carolina.
Graeme Mortimer Evelyn’s works will be available to view until February 27th in Lobby 37 at Gleneagles Townhouse St Andrew Square to hotel guests, diners at The Spence and Townhouse members.
The lingering stress of the cost-of-living crisis weighs heavily on the shoulders of many, and with temperatures dropping, food prices skyrocketing, and New Year credit card bills dropping through letter boxes it is bound to have an added impact on the stresses of everyday life, so people up and down the country are looking for tips to ease and eliminate as much stress as possible.
CBD experts Simply CBD have revealed some tips that will help encourage stress relaxation and a stress-free routine that you can implement into your weekly routine.
New analysis reveals that searches in the UK for ‘reducestress’ increased 216% over the past month, proving just how desperate Brits are to find solutions for feelings of overwhelming stress.
In fact, searches for ‘is stress normal’ has seen a huge 635% increase over the past month in the UK, showing just how concerned people are about stress levels and how they can impact their health.
Self-care
Being mindful of your own needs is essential and focusing on self-care will help reduce stress and anxiety tremendously. Some forms of self-care include maintaining a balanced diet and sustaining a healthy sleep schedule but indulging in pampering is often overlooked.
Pampering doesn’t have to break the bank. Forget spa days or trips away; you can easily indulge in pampering at home:
Take a hot bath or shower.
Pop on a face mask and read your favourite book – time away from blue light from your phone also helps relax the mind.
Light some candles and listen to a meditation podcast.
Treat yourself to your favourite home-cooked meal (or take away if you prefer!).
Exercise
Although the thought of exercise can sometimes be exhausting, with long workdays feeling tiring enough, finding the time to get a good workout in can often be the release from a lot of pent-up stress.
Sometimes getting past the mental barrier of doing physical activity is the only thing holding you back from releasing tension and endorphins, aka the body’s natural painkillers.
The exercise doesn’t necessarily need to be intense, and there are many options when it comes to fitting in an hour of increased heart rate:
Go on a walk – Whether with friends, family or just by yourself, getting out for some fresh air and moving your body will work wonders.
Take part in a local exercise class – there are many different options, such as low intensity Yoga and Pilates, which are great options if you don’t want to do an intense workout.
Take part in an online exercise class! – if physically leaving the house to exercise fills you with dread, you will be pleased to know there are thousands of online classes and pre-recorded free videos of workouts that you can do in the comfort of your own home.
Listen to music
Listening to music gives the brain a total workout, and we all know how vital brain health is. By listening to music, you can:
Reduce blood pressure.
Improve memory.
Reduce anxiety.
Improve sleep quality.
Not only can it reduce stress, but it can elevate moods and clear the way for emotional expression; this is why it is great that there are so many genres of music to choose from; just pick whatever gets you out of a funk and makes you feel good!
Experiment with hobbies
By experimenting with hobbies that you might have put on the back burner, you are allowing your body to remind itself of something you enjoy and take pride in. Hobbies are a great distraction and can be the perfect way to relax and forget about the stresses of everyday life.
If you’re struggling to think of a hobby, it’s never too late to find one! By making a list of all the hobbies you would love to try, you are already one step closer to expanding your knowledge, widening your range of skills, keeping your brain working and mind off all things stressful.
Turn the phone off and stay off social media
In a world dominated by technology, we have everything at the push of a button, making it hard to imagine life without it, but keeping so up-to-date and caught up on social media can sometimes be exhausting and lead to unhealthy comparisons.
By turning off your phone or limiting the time spent on social media, you can shut off the constant updates and remain solely focused on other things that might bring you joy. Instead of getting distracted by technology, you could be reading your favourite books, spending time with family and friends, giving yourself a well-deserved pamper or just taking a nap, whatever relieves stress from your day!
The recent earthquakes are strongest to hit Turkey since 1939 and big cities such as Adana, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Diyarbakır, Osmaniye, Şanlıurfa, Adıyaman, Malatya, or Hatay are critically affected. At the time of writing the death toll stands at over 17,500, with many more missing and thousands displaced.
The TUC works closely with the trade union federations in Turkey DISK and KESK. DISK and KESK have many members in the concerned areas and are gathering all possible efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the trade-unionists and their families during this tragic period.
The TUC is calling for contributions from trade union branches to go to the ITUC-Asia Pacific Natural Disaster Fund to help support the relief efforts. To help ensure that donations from UK unions are earmarked for our sister unions in Turkey, please include a payment reference “DISK & KESK” with your donation.
The ITUC-AP Bank Account is as follows:
ITUC – Asia Pacific DBS Bank Limited 12 Marina Boulevard Marina Bay Financial Centre, Tower 3 Singapore 018982 Account No: 003-945670-0 Swift Code: DBSSSGSG
Payment reference: DISK & KESK
Building solidarity with Turkey is a priority for the TUC’s international work. The TUC has a history of supporting trade unions in Turkey and it is increasingly a priority for our affiliates, as recent motions to TUC Congress 2016 and 2018 demonstrate.
The TUC maintains close fraternal relations with KESK and DİSK, our sister trade union centres.
Turkey has been identified as one of the 10 worst countries for workers by the International Trade Union Confederation’s annual survey of worker’s rights, the Global Rights Index. The TUC and affiliates want to see an immediate end to abuses against workers, infringements on democratic norms and human rights, an end to the mistreatment of the Kurdish community, the release of all political prisoners, and the release of Abdullah Öcalan as a step towards peace talks, and engagement in a peace process
Innis & Gunn ‘prop up’ with free award-winning pints for tram passengers at this weekend’s Six Nations game
Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn and two former Scotland internationalists* are giving rugby fans a helping hand to get in the game spirit for the Scotland v Wales kick-off with free flavour-packed pints for passengers travelling to the stadium by tram tomorrow (Saturday 11th March).
The Innis & Gunn pop-up bar will be making a rare appearance at the Murrayfield Stadium tram stop where the Brewer’s team will serve up free pints of its award-winning lager and Lager Beer 0% to fans en route to the first Six Nations’ home game.
Whatever your team, whether you’re backing blue or supporting red, the free pints are on offer for all rugby fans who spot the bar, provide proof of age, and a valid tram and match ticket.
That’s not all. For those who will be making their way to the stadium by foot, you can check out the Innis & Gunn ‘One for the Road Bar’ that will be popping up at Malone’s on Morrison Street – providing the perfect pre-match pints for the road.
Capturing the free-spirited and original nature of the brand, Innis & Gunn aims to unite the nations in their shared passion for Scotland’s biggest craft lager and most loved craft brand – no matter the score.
Innis & Gunn’s founder, Dougal Sharp, said:“We know our customers are massive rugby fans, so we want to surprise and delight match goers with a perfectly refreshing pint as they arrive by tram to the stadium on Saturday. A good way to showcase our superb Scottish hospitality to the Welsh.
“Avoid the scrum at the stadium bars – we’ll see you on Saturday. Good luck to both teams!”
*Former Scotland International rugby prop and Northampton Saints and Sale Sharks legend, Barry Stewart, and former Scotland international and 1990 Grand Slam winner, Sean Lineen, were on hand to pass out the pints to passengers. Backwards passes only, obviously!
Investment includes £19 million awarded to British entrepreneurs to develop greener technologies
Five Scottish projects are among the next generation of energy innovators who will receive a £24 million cash boost from the UK Government to develop new technologies that will decarbonise UK industry, build home-grown energy supplies and help prepare for a net zero future.
Thirty-seven British companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, will get a share of the £19 million Energy Entrepreneurs Fund. And there’s to be a further £5million available through the Local Industrial Decarbonisation competition which will launch this summer.
The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund will drive forward innovations to reduce carbon emissions, develop clean energy and improve energy efficiency in people’s homes.
The UK-wide projects will allow industry to play its part in helping the country meet its 2050 net zero target by delivering decarbonisation solutions, as well as potentially creating hundreds of green jobs and triggering private sector investment worth millions.
The winning Scottish projects include:
Decommissioning oil wells: Clearwell Technology Ltd, based in Aberdeen, received £223,872 to design a thermal pipe milling tool for well plugging – a green tech that could transform how oil and gas wells are sustainably decommissioned
Tidal turbine testing – Glasgow based, Flex Marine Power Ltd, received £968,205, towards a lower cost tidal turbine for coastal power generation within a microgrid which will be tested with community partners on the island of Islay
The other Scottish recipients are Innovatium Group Ltd (£324,413.71) and Synaptec Ltd (£829,220.41), both based in Glasgow and Power Enable Solutions Ltd t/a REOptimize Systems (£660,854.40) in Edinburgh.
Secretary of State for the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero Grant Shapps said: “The UK is a nation of innovators, and this funding will help the next generation of energy pioneers develop cheap and green technologies of the future.
“This will not only deliver more green jobs and cheaper energy but also create world-leading solutions to help us reach net zero and economic growth.”
Welcoming the announcement Minister for Scotland John Lamont said: “I am delighted that five Scottish projects have received funding from the UK Government.
“Energy innovation is a vital part in helping the UK reach our net zero target by 2050 and these Scottish projects will be key to discovering decarbonisation solutions as well as helping to boost green jobs and economic growth.”
Also announced today, the government will launch a £5 million Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition this summer. The competition will support groups of industrial businesses such as glass, cement and ceramics manufacturers, join together in ‘clusters’. Along with other key stakeholders including local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), these ‘local industrial clusters’ will develop coordinated and collaborative decarbonisation plans that will kickstart their journey towards a low-carbon future.
The Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition will take a similar approach to how existing clusters like Teesside and Black Country are tackling industrial carbon emissions. Representing a major step forward in helping dispersed industrial sites begin their journey to decarbonise in the 2020s, this builds on one of the key commitments the government set out in their Net Zero Strategy. Winners are set to be announced later in 2023, and further detail about the competition will follow in the spring.
The Energy Entrepreneurs Fund and Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plans competition will not only help to supercharge the UK’s move to domestic renewable energy – they also form part of the government’s wider plans to bring down the cost of energy by enabling the development of green global solutions of the future.
Bruce Cardo, Director of Clearwell Technology said: “We are thrilled to have the support of the Energy Entrepreneurs Fund which will allow us to bring our thermal pipe milling technology for oil and gas well decommissioning to market faster, helping us to achieve our goal of delivering step change in the cost of decommissioning of legacy oil and gas infrastructure.”
The devastating earthquake in Turkey has had a real impact at our club and particularly for our committee member Nazmi and defender Baris who both hail from the country
We will be collecting donations from the list below at our game on Saturday at Christie Gillies Park.
