Theme: Energy & Renewables

Pibroch is a one-act play performed by writer and spoken word artist John Bolland, exploring our Climate Emergency and the need for an urgent but just transition from the current extractive economic system and the parallels with the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988.

The performance explores the experience of oil & gas workers involved in numerous offshore industrial catastrophes (e.g. Piper Alpha, Alexander Keilland, Macondo) and examines the personal and social experiences of finding oneself on a ‘burning platform’ with a pressing need for change.

Developed from the author’s own experiences working in the offshore oil and gas industry between 1980 and 2014 and subsequent involvement in Climate Activism through Extinction Rebellion between 2018 and 2020, the production is based on a poetry collection – Pibroch – which expands upon and develops the texts used in spoken performance.

Co-directed by Mark Thomson, former Artistic Director at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, it has been crafted by an outstanding team of theatre professionals; John Bolland’s words are complemented by Fraser Fifield who provides live musical accompaniment to the performance.

There will also be a post-show discussion and Q&A session.

Pibroch is a one-act play performed by writer and spoken word artist John Bolland, exploring our Climate Emergency and the need for an urgent but just transition from the current extractive economic system and the parallels with the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988.

The performance explores the experience of oil & gas workers involved in numerous offshore industrial catastrophes (e.g. Piper Alpha, Alexander Keilland, Macondo) and examines the personal and social experiences of finding oneself on a ‘burning platform’ with a pressing need for change.

Developed from the author’s own experiences working in the offshore oil and gas industry between 1980 and 2014 and subsequent involvement in Climate Activism through Extinction Rebellion between 2018 and 2020, the production is based on a poetry collection – Pibroch – which expands upon and develops the texts used in spoken performance.

Co-directed by Mark Thomson, former Artistic Director at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, it has been crafted by an outstanding team of theatre professionals; John Bolland’s words are complemented by Fraser Fifield who provides live musical accompaniment to the performance.

There will also be a post-show discussion and Q&A session.

On Saturday 10th June we’ll be gathering at Ganavan Sands near Oban to learn about the marine impacts of oil and gas drilling, and to protest against new fossil fuel projects like the Rosebank oil field. We’ll also be doing a beach clean and other activities.

Please join from 2.30pm at the beach! Bring bin bags for beach cleaning and placards for the protest showing your love for the ocean. 

It’s a family friendly event with something for everyone, please tell your friends and spread the word even if you can’t make it along on the day.

Knowing how our buildings manage energy, heat, moisture and air movement is fundamental to understanding energy efficiency and successful retrofit and improvement, without the risk of unintended consequences in the longer term. As part of the Climate Fringe, the Edinburgh Building Retrofit and Improvement Collective is proud to put on this hybrid event, with guest speaker Jon Stinson PhD, academic, researcher and Director of locally-based Building Research Solutions Ltd.

There will be an introduction to the Collective before a presentation from Jon on the principles of building physics as applied to successful, healthy, domestic energy efficiency retrofit, followed by a Q&A session. The aim is to give Edinburgh residents an overview of the technical fundamentals to help puzzle through energy efficiency and building performance uncertainties (but without the scary maths). By the end of the session you should, for example, understand the distinctions between unwanted draughts and essential ventilation, and why commonplace foam block internal wall insulation might not be a good idea for traditional (pre 1919) buildings in the city.

We want to help create an educated public able to:understand why energy efficiency is not as simple as blocking every draught and insulating everything;gather the information advisable for making informed decisions;understand when ‘obvious choices’ may benefit from careful consideration or expert advice;ask the right questions and understand when recommendations may be based on poor understanding or insufficient knowledge.

Every building is different and every tenement is more than a collection of independent flats. Fully informed choices on what best to do in a particular property require knowledge of the particulars of that property/building. Generic recommendations given without such knowledge (for example from telephone advice services) are not always the best advice, but individual detailed analysis and advice can be expensive. This presentation will help you advance more confidently.

Please note that because of the uniqueness of every case, the Q&A will not be a ‘surgery’ on what should be done in specific properties, but will answer more general questions and clarify any uncertainty about the technical issues described.

After the event, those present at the venue will be able to mingle and chat/discuss in order to make useful contacts and to meet some of the team behind the Edinburgh Building Retrofit and Improvement Collective. The Collective wants people to be better informed and more confident in considering the issues, as well as to encourage individuals to work in community groups in order to get better results, cheaper, more easily and with less stress.

The presentation will be recorded and made available for future reference. Online attendees will also be able to join the Q&A session.

The venue is not the easiest to find. Details are given on the Quaker Meeting House website: https://www.equaker.org.uk/locationThe Collective wishes to acknowledge the support of funding from the City of Edinburgh Council’s ‘Edinburgh Community Climate Fund’, thanks to the votes of residents of the city.

Aberdeen City Council are hosting an event on St. Nicholas Street on Thursday 15th June between 10:30 and 15:30, organised by the Protective Services team, featuring exhibition stands, hedge men street entertainers and vehicles, including a hydrogen car, electric car and cargo bike, to promote key messages around reducing pollution and congestion to improve air quality.

A number of organisations will be present on the day including the Aberdeen City Council (ACC) Cleaner Air for Aberdeen team, the ACC LEZ team, ACC Hydrogen Project, Big Issue bikes, First Bus, Enterprise Car Club, Energy Savings Trust, Getabout, Sustrans, Original FM Radio and the Hedge men street entertainers.

Free event – no ticket required.

Black communities have often been left out of the climate and environmental policies and conversations.

To become resilient, and prepare for a sustainable, renewable future, Black people must be informed.

Globally, all economies are relying more on technology. Black and Scot as a digital/technology focused non-profit will promote ‘The Climate Gap’ initiative to explore and communicate the resources, data,  technology, communications and opportunities that responds, address and support black communities.

This event will connect black people, MSPs, Environment Leaders and Local/Federal Government to discuss climate change, the impacts and the career or business opportunities for black people that is deemed inclusive and equitable.

Pibroch is a one-act play performed by writer and spoken word artist John Bolland, exploring our Climate Emergency and the need for an urgent but just transition from the current extractive economic system and the parallels with the Piper Alpha disaster of 1988.

The performance explores the experience of oil & gas workers involved in numerous offshore industrial catastrophes (e.g. Piper Alpha, Alexander Keilland, Macondo) and examines the personal and social experiences of finding oneself on a ‘burning platform’ with a pressing need for change.

Developed from the author’s own experiences working in the offshore oil and gas industry between 1980 and 2014 and subsequent involvement in Climate Activism through Extinction Rebellion between 2018 and 2020, the production is based on a poetry collection – Pibroch – which expands upon and develops the texts used in spoken performance.

Co-directed by Mark Thomson, former Artistic Director at the Royal Lyceum in Edinburgh, it has been crafted by an outstanding team of theatre professionals; John Bolland’s words are complemented by Fraser Fifield who provides live musical accompaniment to the performance.

There will also be a post-show discussion and Q&A session.