The Communications Team recently started working with different teams across the Council on a new campaign called Sustainable North Ayrshire.
The campaign was launched to:
- Help inform communities and key stakeholders about the Council’s journey to achieve net zero carbon by 2030
- Launch the new Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy and
- Highlight some of the fantastic work already being delivered – and projects to follow – under the five strategy workstreams.
So far, a combination of press releases, videos and social media content has shone a light on a wide range of services, programmes and projects.
These include Sustainability Officer Tiegan Robertson visiting Whitehirst Primary School in Kilwinning to teach children about climate change, global warming, sustainability, energy, biodiversity, waste and transport.
The visit – which generated some interesting climate change solutions from the children – was part of Tiegan’s work to educate pupils about climate change and sustainability in a fun way – and, importantly – how they can play their part in reducing their own and their school’s carbon footprint.
“It is vital that we promote all of the great sustainability work we are doing throughout all Council services, and to the people in our communities.”
Jennifer Wraith, Acting Service Manager, Sustainability
Protecting our shores and communities
To date, the campaign has also highlighted the work being done to protect our shores and communities from the effects of more frequent and severe flooding caused by climate change.
Currently, we are involved in three schemes that are vital to help protect communities against risks associated with coastal erosion and flooding.
These are:
- The £48 million Millport Flood Protection Scheme, on the Isle of Cumbrae. This started last spring and work is progressing well on the construction of an offshore breakwater, which will create a calm area of water.
- The Millburn Flood Alleviation Scheme, also in Millport, is to be tendered in 2024 and will be constructed in 2025 and
- The completed Upper Garnock Valley Flood Protection Scheme, which included works in Kilbirnie, Glengarnock and Dalry and has seen the creation of a flood storage dam. Only minor remedial and landscaping works are still to be done, and these are scheduled for spring.
The campaign has included the ground-breaking at Nethermains Solar PV Farm with Provost Anthea Dickson; Councillor Tony Gurney, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy and children from Blacklands Primary
Ensuring communities know about the progress we are making
The campaign is promoting all the great work that is being done.
The campaign has also announced the start of work at the first of two Council solar PV farms. The projects – at Nethermains and Shewalton – indicate our ambition, as a local authority, when it comes to generating publicly owned, green energy and cutting carbon emissions.
And Neal Lochrie, Biodiversity Officer, braved the winter chill on the coast at Hunterston Sands, Fairlie, to be interviewed on camera in a video that explains his role and the North Ayrshire Nature Network project, which will help halt biodiversity loss.
Jennifer Wraith, Acting Service Manager for Sustainability, said: “It is vital that we promote all of the great sustainability work we are doing throughout all Council services, and to the people in our communities.
“Climate change isn’t going away. But together, we have the power and the ability to make real change.
“As a local authority, our approach to tackling climate change is ambitious – and this is clear in our Sustainable North Ayrshire Strategy for 2024-2027.
“Through the Sustainable North Ayrshire campaign, which is being led by our Communications team, you can see that we are involving everyone in our communities – starting with young children in our schools, and it is great to see pupils having their say on the future of our planet.”
Improving the lives of our residents
Three Streetscene initiatives aimed at improving life for people in our communities have also been promoted.
These are:
- A reminder that anyone caught fly-tipping can now receive a penalty of £500 instead of £200 after a Scottish Government increase.
This new penalty applies to anyone in North Ayrshire who is caught acting irresponsibly by not disposing of waste in the correct manner. - A fresh push on drivers being asked to share dash cam footage of other motorists throwing rubbish from their vehicles – as we get tough on litter louts. Videos showing people throwing litter – from cigarettes to fast-food packaging – can be used as evidence to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice of £80 and
- A call to pet owners to show respect while they are in burial grounds with dogs. The Streetscene teams have received distressing reports of dog fouling in our cemeteries.
As part of the campaign, we also had a video created explaining how we closed our Irvine landfill site in 2018 and now 99.2% of our residual waste is dealt with in more sustainable ways, including reusing, recycling and creating renewable energy in the form of heat and electricity.
Campaign coverage has included (from top, left) Millport Flood Protection Scheme, Biodiversity Officer Neal Lochrie and Environmental Enforcement Officers Julie Donnan and Steven Lyon
Using the hashtag, #SustainableNA, we are our social channels – X (@North_Ayrshire), Facebook (@NorthAyrshireOfficial) and LinkedIn (NorthAyrshireCouncil) – and we would greatly appreciate your support in helping us to spread the message far and wide.