Inverurie West Parish Church to host climate festival this weekend with lots of free activities and workshops
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An increasing number of people from all backgrounds, beliefs and walks of life agree that 'what happens to our climate matters'.
Agreeing with that statement and know what you can do about it, however, are two distinctly different things and that is why Inverurie West Parish have organised a series of events in an effort to empower and encourage the local community to make a difference.
The climate festival will run from Friday (October 7) to Sunday (October 9) and features an array of free activities, workshops, talks and walks to explore practical and creative ways that people can make a difference.
The church has teamed up with a range of community partners from around the local area to make the event possible.
There will be opportunities to learn more about retrofitting your house, how to make your garden more biodiverse, or to reduce food waste.
Family activities include learning how to be creative with natural materials, making bird boxes and a nearly new children’s clothes sale.
A couple of guided walks are on offer, as well as a chance to have a look at the church’s kitchen community garden.
There’s a workshop on managing fear and anxiety, and we’ll be finishing with a panel discussion about what we can do to keep talking and acting on climate change here in the north east.
All the events are free, although some have limited space and require advance booking.
Inverurie West Church parish minister Rhona Cathcart says: “We’ve been an eco-congregation for a long time, aligning with the Church Of Scotland’s commitment to ‘strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth’.
"Increasingly, along with people of all faiths and none, we have recognised the urgency of taking action to combat climate change.
"Following COP26 last year, we began talking about how we could be more proactive in our response.
"We became aware of the many groups in the area providing information, support, creative ideas and advocacy on various methods of tackling climate change, whether as individuals or as communities.
"As a church which sits physically right in the heart of Inverurie, we have always aimed to keep the community at our heart, so it seemed logical to use our premises to organise and host an event allowing these different groups to engage with the public and with one another.
"So with the support of the Climate Fringe Festival and NESCAN, we began work on organising our own local festival.
"Our aim is to provide a weekend of hope, joy, community engagement, and a unified sense of purpose.
"We’ve been delighted with the response from so many participating partners, one of whom commented that even before the event has taken place it has already ‘succeeded’ because it has made many of the participating groups aware of one another.
"Local businesses have also been very supportive.
“It can be easy to become discouraged or despairing about the pace of climate change, or alternatively to sink into apathy or a feeling of helplessness.
"We want to reset the dial towards hope through shared action.
"Inverurie is a great place for this as it is a very proactive and community focused wee town!
"At the heart of our weekend is our Harvest Thanksgiving service, reminding those of us of faith that worship and action go hand in hand.
"You don’t need to be a person of a specific faith, of course, to recognise that the earth is a gift and that it should be treasured and nurtured.
"We look forward to welcoming all with a desire to work together or to find out more about what they can do to help safeguard our planet.”
For more information or to book a place at any of the workshops you can phone the Acorn Centre on 01467 670850 or e-mail admin@theacorncentre.org.
