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Climate FORTH
Furthering
Our
Resilience
Through
Heritage
Climate FORTH is the latest project for the Inner Forth Futures partnership. In February, 2023, we completed a development phase thanks to a grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF). We applied to the Lottery for funding to deliver the project and are delighted this was successful, meaning the project is now being delivered (from August 2023 until the autumn of2026).
Across the Inner Forth, from Stirling City to Forth Bridges, heritage and communities have historically been entwined in narratives of change and adaptation – whether that be environmental, economic or societal. Today, changing climate, flood susceptibility, built development, economic change, recreation and the aftermath of Covid-19 are putting new pressures on people and place.
What is Climate FORTH?
Climate FORTH is the current project being delivered by the Inner Forth Futures Partnership. By responding to local need and demand, it is facilitating and demonstrating the transformative action needed to transition to a climate literate, ready and resilient place. We are exploring, and will share, ways for local heritage to be an asset for a sustainable green recovery with multiple benefits.
Through collaboration and co-creation, pilot schemes are exploring how new adaptive responses to change can safeguard, sustain and re-purpose our unique natural, cultural and built heritage assets. We will ensure that adapting to change in the Inner Forth is part of a just transition and we hold at the core of this project, the aim to support our most at-risk communities. In particular, we wish to support young people and those facing environmental and other challenges, to increase their resilience, wellbeing and access to opportunities.
Through collaboration and co-creation, pilot schemes are exploring how new adaptive responses to change can safeguard, sustain and re-purpose our unique natural, cultural and built heritage assets. We will ensure that adapting to change in the Inner Forth is part of a just transition and we hold at the core of this project, the aim to support our most at-risk communities. In particular, we wish to support young people and those facing environmental and other challenges, to increase their resilience, wellbeing and access to opportunities.
Climate FORTH aims to make the following differences for local heritage, people and place by working in targeted locations within the Inner Forth’s four local authority areas and 215 km2 landscape, sharing our findings to inspire further action:
- The Inner Forth's heritage is valued and has inspired action to meet Scotland's net zero climate targets and made positive economic and societal change.
- The Inner Forth's natural and built heritage assets have an increased resilience to societal and climatic change.
- People and places within the Inner Forth have an increased resilience to change, as a result of heritage supporting the economy, healthy lifestyles, sustainable choices and a just transition.
Where will Climate FORTH be delivered?
Climate FORTH activities will be delivered across the Inner Forth area, over approximately 215km2 in Central Scotland.
The interactive map below gives an overview of where some location-specific activities will take place. You can also explore the area on this ArcGIS Web Application.
The interactive map below gives an overview of where some location-specific activities will take place. You can also explore the area on this ArcGIS Web Application.
Click the shapes, lines and icons on the map to find out more.
Use the checkboxes below to filter what you can see.
Core Project Area
Wider Engagement Area
VR Site
Local Resilience Plan Areas
Round the Inner Forth Cycle Route
Bike Bus Route
Bike Bus Stop
Heritage Sites
Climate FORTH Activities
Objective 1: Supporting the resilience of communities to climate and other change
To achieve this objective, we are carrying out activities to put heritage at the heart of a green recovery at a local level. We want to empower communities to shape their local places and make the most of local assets, using natural, built and cultural heritage as tools and focus, to develop skills - as well as enhancing health and wellbeing.
Community Heritage Group Training and Mentoring
Family Focused Outreach
Local Resilience Plans & Participatory Budgets
Young Leaders Pilot
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Mix & Match Training for Young People
Objective 2: Demonstrating innovative approaches to managing heritage assets that address the need for climate change adaptation and mitigation
Activities delivered to support this objective will drive action on climate change adaptation and mitigation, through supporting new approaches to managing and using heritage assets, whether derived by local communities or asset owners/managers. It will inspire and influence wider action and change.
Using VR to Engage Communities
Increasing Natural Heritage Resilience
Contractor Training
Increasing Historic Heritage Resilience
Objective 3: Supporting economic resilience with new, sustainable and interconnected uses of heritage assets
To achieve this objective, we will deliver activities to make more of existing heritage features to promote growth of the sustainable or green visitor economy. We aim to encourage repeat and/or longer visits from those within and from outside the area.
Inner Forth Bike Bus
Climate FORTH's Visitor Events
Inner Forth Tourism Toolkit & Business Training
Revitalising the Round the Inner Forth Cycle Route
Pay it Forth
Cross-cutting Activity: Climate FORTH Communications
Supporting the above three objectives is our Climate FORTH Communications activity. We believe in the importance of strong communication and it is our hope to use targeted, high quality PR, communications and events to reach as wide an audience as possible.
It is our hope to share learning from the pilots, influence adaptation and promote transition to a climate ready place, by providing or facilitating quality experiences and information aligned with Climate FORTH objectives.
It is our hope to share learning from the pilots, influence adaptation and promote transition to a climate ready place, by providing or facilitating quality experiences and information aligned with Climate FORTH objectives.
Climate FORTH’s Development
In December 2021, the Inner Forth Futures partnership was awarded a Stage 1 pass and development grant from National Lottery Heritage Fund under their Grants for Heritage scheme. The NLHF-funded development phase ran from February 2022 to February 2023. Prior to making the Stage 1 application, a pre-development phase ran from March 2020 to August 2021 and was fully funded by IFF.
The group of activities have been selected and shaped by both pre-development and NLHF development phases throughout which a range of stakeholder engagement, desk-based research and scoping works - or co-design efforts - were undertaken by the Climate FORTH staff team and external contractors with specialist skills and knowledge. This work was supported and informed by the IFF Board and Steering Group, Natural and Historic Heritage Working Groups, Youth Advisory Panel and youth panel pilot participants.
The group of activities have been selected and shaped by both pre-development and NLHF development phases throughout which a range of stakeholder engagement, desk-based research and scoping works - or co-design efforts - were undertaken by the Climate FORTH staff team and external contractors with specialist skills and knowledge. This work was supported and informed by the IFF Board and Steering Group, Natural and Historic Heritage Working Groups, Youth Advisory Panel and youth panel pilot participants.
This development phase stakeholder engagement, and wider work, helped us to:
- Engage with a range of key stakeholders – community representatives, sectoral management and a range of organisations that were part of the IFF Natural Heritage and Historic Heritage working groups.
- Identify need and opportunity to deliver new work in the landscape
- Identify who should benefit most from this new work.
- Identify the pilot locations to work in
- Identify the methods we should use to deliver pilot work.
Download our development studies
Climate FORTH's Piloting Approach
Climate FORTH has been designed to test, pilot and share learning. The landscape area the project is operating across is large and the scale of the problem faced is significant, so no claim is made that Climate FORTH will be able to implement adaption and mitigation measures across the whole Inner Forth landscape. Rather, the aim is to trial, pilot and promote new approaches that have not been tested in this place or used to address this challenge.
These range from the use of new technology to engage people in landscape change, the implementation of new decision and plan making systems, the creation of new financial schemes to support action, to the testing of new approaches to managing land or buildings. The purpose is to discover whether there are tools and techniques that have not previously been used in this place that can help local communities, organisations and stakeholders to take more action, and to engage more people in action that tackles climate change and responds to the effects climate change will have on them.
The learning from this process will be shared. Rather than being seen as a post-project action, this ongoing communication of learning is seen as a crucial part of the project that will inspire and inform other individuals, communities and organisations to act.
In order to make this piloting approach effective, the project activities will be delivered in specific and targeted locations. This will allow us to balance the level of impact from the capital investment with the number of people engaged directly in the activity and the ability to maximise learning from the project.