Auchencairn Climate Transition SCIO

Join us in Auchencairn on Sun 1st Nov at 3pm for a talk by an expert meteorologist to discuss climate change scenarios, what we are hearing in the media and how we might experience the effects of this locally. There will be time for questions and refreshments are provided. Thank-you to D&G Climate Hub Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere for supporting this event as part of the Climate Ready Communities Fund.

JOIN THE MARCH - STOP AI DATA CENTRES🚨

We are so excited to let you all know that, on Saturday 14th November, community campaigners, organisations and people all across Scotland will head to the Royal Mile in Edinburgh to make our voices heard on AI data centres – help get the word out and join us there!

Qudos to Friends of the Earth Scotland and the community campaigners bringing this together!

Developers want to build monster data centres across Scotland and sell them on to big US tech companies – there are over 20 already proposed and more in the pipeline.

These massive developments would demand twice as much electricity as Scotland’s peak usage, and have huge consequences for our energy bills, water, health, communities, climate and nature.

Decisions on AI data centres should be led by the people, not by Big Tech profits. The people of Scotland must have a say on how our public resources are used.

No one voted for AI data centres. Where was this discussion in the Holyrood elections?
This goes beyond planning guidance. We need a national conversation about the rollout of AI and data centres before any decisions are made. This is an issue that affects us all.

Saturday 14th November
Meet: 11.30am at the top of the Royal Mile. March: 12pm. Rally: 1pm.

We can't wait and are already getting the crafting equipment out for our signs and looking forward to seeing you there!

Exciting opportunity to network with other people and organisations in D&G involved in building Climate Ready Communities. ACT is excited to be involved in this and share ideas and knowledge with other organisations in D&G confronting and adapting to the climate crisis in their community.

Great to see another local screening of this essential documentary. Some folk from ACT will be there to facilitate a discussion and talk about the work we are doing locally to build community climate resilience.

The Peoples Emergency Briefing documentary is getting great traction across D&G. If youre in the Castle Douglas area pleae come along on Thurs 22 Oct to be informed and inspired. Sponsored by Auchencairn Climate Transition SCIO EcoCD and Castle Douglas Development Forum

Savings for the planet: short films and switching banks 💰

In this guest blog post, the authors share findings from research into what motivates people to switch banks - and what could make more of us choose banks that are better for the planet.

They found that short film campaigns were effective in increasing how much people intended to switch to a green bank. They educated viewers on banks' links to fossil fuel companies and showed them that the process of switching can be quick and easy.

The authors of this blog post will also be speaking about this topic at our upcoming Savings for the Planet event on Tuesday 10th November.

Read the post on our website 👉: https://sccan.scot/blog/bank-switching-research-summary/

Book tickets for Savings for the Planet 👉: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/savings-for-the-planet-short-films-and-switching-banks-tickets-2002737219937

What a spectacular autumn day for apple pressing in Auchencairn yesterday! The juice was sweet and the vibes were good as folk from across the community came out to celebrate this seasonal abundance. It's a special thing to see people gather together around activities like this that would once have been at the heart of so many rural communities.

What a perfect day for seed gathering! The ACT Biodiversity group now have hawthorn, blackthorn, crab apple, alder, elder and hazel seed collected and ready to process for overwintering. Hopefully much of it will be sprouting in the springtime ready for transplanting and bringing on in the tree nursery.

A great series of coastal walks this autumn being led by Solway Coast and Marine Project (SCAMP), including a walk and talk in Auchencairn on Thur 22nd Oct 1:30-4pm (see below for more details).

Don’t miss the opportunity to explore the potential of coastal access 🙏

Join the ACT Biodiversity Group for autumnal seed gathering next Sunday 11th October, 10:30 till 12pm. We will be gathering local seeds to propagate the next batch of tree seedlings. If the weather is very bad we will process what has already been gathered. Meet at Old Torr. What 3 Words VICTOR.BULGE.SONG
All are welcome.

Campaigners across Europe today launched a Day of Action to Stop Dirty Data Centres and Scotland will be taking part!

So hold the date for something happening in Edinburgh, coordinated by Friends of the Earth Scotland, on Saturday 14th November - more information to follow!

Keep an eye on Friends of the Earth Scotland social media for more information.

More on the Day of Action
Civil society organisations, citizens and residents groups across Europe are planning actions to “stop dirty data centres” on 6 and 7 November.

Digital rights, environmental and community groups across the continent have joined forces, with 42 groups in ten countries planning mass demonstrations, local actions, public events, book launches and even cycle rides.

Groups from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom have signed up, with more expected to join ahead of the days of action.

The range and creativity of actions being planned reflect the many and varied reasons people oppose the rapid and unchecked expansion of hyperscale data centres.

Data centres are warehouses for computers – large-scale infrastructure facilities that house computer servers used to store and process vast amounts of data. Their rapid expansion, driven in part by growing demand for artificial intelligence, is increasing demand for water, energy and land.

StopDirtyDataCentres.eu is calling for moratoria on large-scale data centres at EU, national and local levels until their wide-ranging environmental, democratic and social impacts have been properly scrutinised.

Campaign groups and local communities are raising concerns about pollution, water and energy use, pressure on local infrastructure, and the overriding of planning rules and local democracy amid local housing shortages and rising energy bills. Campaigners are also highlighting wider concerns linked to Artificial Intelligence (AI) produced inside these hyperscale facilities: surveillance and privacy, securitisation and militarisation including their involvement in severe human rights violations and genocide; and the impact of social media and AI on young people’s mental health.

Campaigners say fundamental questions remain about how many data centres are needed, what they are for, where they should be built, how their vast resource demands can be accommodated in a climate-constrained world and how they can actually benefit local economies and communities.

Kat Jones, Director of Action to Protect Rural Scotland (UK), said:
“This day of action has come at the right time for people in Scotland who are desperate to make their voices heard. Only this week a new application came in for a 1000MW data centre, bigger than any operating in the world at the moment in a direct challenge to Scotland's pause on planning decisions. We didn't ask for this, it's time for governments to listen to their people and not to Big Tech.