Arctic yacht among star attractions at climate festival

Novara and Iceberg. Photo: Novara One World Project.

Climate campaigners sailing the globe on an Arctic icebreaking yacht will be among the guests at a two-day festival this summer.

Nigel Jollands and Veronica Lysaght of the Novara One World Project will be taking part in the Shetland Climate Festival at the Clickimin Leisure Centre on 9th and 10th June.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to go aboard the yacht, hear about the work of the project and discuss how remote and rural communities are tackling issues of climate change. 

The festival, which builds on the work of Shetland Climate Week 2022,  will feature an exhibition hall showcasing organisations which are working on the six themes.

These are: the Shetland Net Zero Route Map; transport; energy; resource use; nature based solutions; building and energy efficiency; and business and Industry.

Alongside the exhibition hall there will be programme of workshops, presentations, and demonstrations to inform, involve and empower the community to make climate positive changes in their lives.

Schools have also been invited to submit climate-themed projects for display, and will be given the opportunity to meet with the organisations involved.  

The programme will include a range of national and local organisations, highlighting the work being undertake to tackle climate change in Shetland.

Other highlights include a lecture by climate change campaigner and strategist Tessa Kahn.

There will also be opportunities to discover more about local and sustainable food with Taste of Shetland.

A full programme will be released on Shetland Islands Council’s climate change webpages in the coming months.

The SIC’s environment and transport committee chairwoman Moraig Lyall said: “It’s great to see Shetland Climate Festival return after last year’s inaugural event, Shetland Climate Week 2022.

“The festival highlights the essential work being undertaken here in Shetland to tackle climate change, as well as helping local households and businesses identify ways that they can make changes which will have a positive impact on both the climate and our natural environment and their own financial sustainability.”