YouthLink Scotland is spearheading a project to examine the impact of global warming on Scotland's coastline.
Young people across Scotland are being invited to take part in a major project investigating the effects of climate change on the country’s coastlines.
The On Our Wave Length initiative will see teams of young researchers examine the environmental consequences along the beaches and waters of Argyll and Bute, Fife, North Berwick, South Ayrshire and the Western Isles.
Youth work agency YouthLink Scotland is spearheading the project in partnership with Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland and with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Researchers will have complete freedom to explore the issues that matter most to them and their communities, and will be supported by youth workers and experts from a range of environmental agencies.
Their findings will be published during Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters in 2020.
Amy Calder, senior policy and research Officer at YouthLink Scotland, said:
“Watching Greta Thunberg and young people across the world marching through the streets to fight for a sustainable future, showing adults that climate change is real and needs tackling now, has been extremely inspiring.
“It also highlights the power of youth voice in holding adults to account for actions that will affect them and future generations.”
North Berwick Youth Project is one of the organisations taking part in the initiative. Project director Lesley Kay said youngsters in coastal areas often witness the impact of climate change more acutely.
“Young people are passionately interested in environmental issues and it’s fantastic that through this new project, they will be supported by youth workers and environmentalists to investigate the impacts of pollution and global warming right on their doorstep,” she said.
“As a coastal community there are a variety of environmental consequences for young people to consider, including coastal erosion, the predicted rise in sea levels, the need for marine conservation in the light of climate change and the effect of litter, in particular single use plastics.”
