What is a swift caller and how is it bringing swifts and people together across Dumfries and Galloway? Our hosts, Sarah, Kaska and Chiara join Andrew Turney on a journey to meet swifts, swift brick pioneers and hear about how networking and collaboration turned a small group of swift enthusiasts into a rapidly expanding multi-partner Dumfries and Galloway Network.

This podcast episode is a collaboration between SCCAN and Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and a companion piece to the In Real Life blog series which you can find on climateconfident.scot. It’s a part of SCVO’s Growing Climate Confidence project, which supports third sector organisations in Scotland to reduce carbon emissions, take positive climate action and become more resilient.

You can read the In Real Life blog here: https://climateconfident.scot/stories

NOTE: Unfortunately, since we met Andrew at the Sanquhar Shed have decided that at the moment they do not have capacity to embark on stepping up production of the solar PV callers alongside their other activities. This is disappointing for the Dumfries Swift Group from the swift conservation point of view, however the Swift Group said that they respect the decision made, and if there is a future decision to continue with the caller project they look forward to teaming up again.

Credits

Interview: Sarah McArthur

Production, recording, editing: Kaska Hempel

Support and photography: Chiara Fingland

Hosting: Sarah, Chiara and Kaska

Resources

Growing Climate Confidence: https://climateconfident.scot

Growing Climate Confidence In Real Life: https://climateconfident.scot/stories

The D&G Swift Network can be contacted via dandgswifts@gmail.com.

Save Our Swifts: local organisations get together to protect swift colonies - story on the UNESCO Biosphere on Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere website: https://www.gsabiosphere.org.uk/save-our-swifts-local-organisations-get-together-to-protect-swift-colonies-in-the-unesco-biosphere/

Sanquar Men’s Shed https://www.facebook.com/SanquharMensShed

Prison swift box project BBC story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c89e0gjy4vzo

Save Our Swifts project - UNESCO Biosphere Dumfries and Galloway https://www.gsabiosphere.org.uk/save-our-swifts-local-organisations-get-together-to-protect-swift-colonies-in-the-unesco-biosphere/

What does it mean to live well? And what does it take for a community to make it happen in the face of disappearing jobs, increased cost of living and a changing climate?

Join Kaska Hempel, our Story Lead, as she visits Shotts in North Lanarkshire to meet Mags Murphy and Mark Slorance from Getting Better Together, one of Scotland's innovative Healthy Living Centres. Together they explore how their community has led for 25 years on helping local people live well - building better health and, more recently, weaving climate action into everyday community life.

Hosts Laura McDonald (Scottish Community Development Centre) and Pam Candea (Scottish Communities Climate Action Network) reflect on the story, exploring how communities can improve health and wellbeing while creating a more resilient future, and what Unbound can learn from places where climate action grows naturally from the things that matter most to people.

Becoming Unbound is the pilot podcast mini-series for the Unbound Scotland project, which supports community-led action on climate and health across Scotland.

Through conversations rooted in lived experience, the series explores how communities are responding to climate and health challenges - and how these stories can help shape the future of Unbound.

Chapters

00:40 Host Introduction

02:25 Welcome to Shotts

11:39 Something Had to Change

16:38 Making Things Happen

21:34 A Place for the Community

24:11 Living Well

30:01 When the Weather Changes

33:45 Building Resilience

39:01 Keep the Wheel Turning

44:13 Host Reflection: The Story Beyond Shotts

Resources

Unbound Scotland project website: https://www.unbound.scot/

Getting Better Together website: https://shottshealthyliving.com/

The Community Health Exchange (CHEX): https://www.chex.org.uk/

Healthy Living Centres - the origin story and long-term survival through Healthy Living Centre Alliance: https://www.seemescotland.org/media/7290/one-vision.pdf

Scottish Communities for Health and Wellbeing - An alliance of community led health organisations dedicated to promoting and delivering health improvements and reducing health inequalities in Scotland’s communities: https://www.schw.co.uk/

Health Issues in the Community resource: www.hiic.org.uk

Shotts Climate Plan: https://shottshealthyliving.com/downloads/Shotts_Community_Climate_Action_Plan_20.05.22.pdf

Story of how Shotts Climate Plan came together:

https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/blog/2022/shotts-is-acting-now-on-climate-change/

Environmental Key Fund: https://environmentalkeyfund.com/

Info on Community Benefit Funds: https://www.gov.scot/news/communities-benefit-from-renewable-energy/

Investing in Communities Fund: https://www.gov.scot/publications/investing-in-communities-fund-round-2-approved-awards-2023-2026/

Credits

Kaska Hempel (design, production, interviewing, editing)

Blip Blop Tuesday by kjartan_abel -- https://freesound.org/s/558270/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

How does a run down public toilet turn a coastal village into a multi-award-winning community with a shared vision for the future? And what does it take for this community to feel safe despite growing challenges of coastal erosion, storms and flooding?

Join Kaska Hempel, our Story Lead, for a conversation with Wendy Murray and Jerry Forteath from East Haven on the Angus coast, to hear about the incredible story of their journey with East Haven Together.

Hosts Sam Jordan (Scottish Community Development Centre) and Ruth McLaren (Scottish Communities Climate Action Network) listen alongside you, reflecting on what this story reveals about community power, climate action and the questions shaping their work as members of the Unbound communications team.

Becoming Unbound is the pilot podcast mini-series for the Unbound Scotland project, which supports community-led action on climate and health across Scotland.

Through conversations rooted in lived experience, the series explores how communities are responding to climate and health challenges - and how these stories can help shape the future of Unbound.

Transcript of the episode is available here: https://www.unbound.scot/podcasts/season-1-episode-1

Credits:

Kaska Hempel (design, production, community interview, editing)

Blip Blop Tuesday by kjartan_abel -- https://freesound.org/s/558270/ -- License: Attribution 4.0

Resources:

Unbound Scotland project website: https://www.unbound.scot/

East Haven Together website: https://www.easthavenangus.com/