Verena Aedo, our development officer for the North Isles (Orkney and Shetland islands), visited Scalloway in Shetland to attend the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub’s ‘Community action for a greener future’ event. In this blog, Verena shares her experiences at the event and how she spent her time with different community groups across Shetland.
The ‘Community action for a greener future’ event was attended by several organisations to discuss how we can support community resilience during the climate emergency. The event was a great success with engaging and insightful conversations.
We had the privilege of presenting alongside other organisations, such as:
- Highlands and Islands Climate Hub
- Highlands and Islands Enterprise
- Community Energy Scotland
- Islands Centre for Net Zero (ICNZ)
- Voluntary Action Shetland
- Shetland Isles Council
- Northmavine Community Development Company.
Northmavine Community Development Company’s presentation was an empowering example of community resilience and showed what’s possible when communities come together. With the aims of enhancing the community’s quality of life and promoting local growth, local initiatives include a community-owned wind turbine and a gale resistant polytunnel known as the “Polycrub” (this enables food production in harsh climates like Shetland’s). If you would like to learn more about these and other initiatives, you can watch DTA Scotland’s virtual study visit on YouTube.
Photo 1. Community action for a greener future — Highlands & Islands Climate Hub event, 29 March 2025 in Scalloway.
Before the event, we had the opportunity to visit communities in Lerwick, Nesting and Bressay. We also had the opportunity to meet with local communities from other areas of Shetland as well. We received a warm welcome and enjoyed having open and thoughtful conversations with local members of these communities.
Lerwick
A highlight of the trip was visiting a project in Lerwick that received funding from the Scottish Government’s Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). New Life Shetland used funding from the Community Buildings Fund to cover some of the cost to connect their building to the local district heating network and distribution system. This was completed in March 2025, but the full project is expected to be completed later this year.
Once complete, New Life Shetland will be home to valuable local initiatives that’ll support people who are experiencing challenges or disadvantages. It’ll also provide a meditation space, parent and children facilities, a community café and more. The space overlooks the stunning views of the North Sea, which reflects the strong sense of community in Shetland and the positive impact of collective action.
Photo 2. Visit to New Life Shetland Community Building Fund project, 28 March 2025.
Nesting
We had the pleasure of being invited to meet with representatives of different community organisations from Nesting at the Community Development Company of Nesting office.
As well as office premises, this community building provides a space for several local initiatives such as a community hub, the Nesting Scrapstore, the Nesting Gym, Polycrub, a studio for business users, the community food bank and more.
In 2025, the Community Development Company of Nesting received a CARES grant to partially fund the project development costs of its renewable project to help reduce its carbon emissions. Another of its initiatives is the Nesting, Girlsta and Wadbister Community Action Plan, funded by the Scottish Government’s Community Led Local Development grant scheme. You can visit the Community Development Company of Nesting website to learn more about its projects.
Photo 3. The Aald Sküll / Old School, in Nesting – Community Development Company of Nesting office. It was the first group in Shetland to get a property by Community Asset Transfer. Source: Community Development Company of Nesting website.
Photo 4. Visit to the Community Development Nesting Company in Nesting, 28 March 2025.
Bressay
Bressay Development Ltd director Beatrice Lowe, invited us to visit the community building, where we received a lovely welcome and a tour of the building and facilities.
Bressay Development Ltd applied for CARES funding and received a £20,504 capital grant from the Community Buildings Fund. This funding helped cover part of the cost to install an air-to-air source heat pump and roof mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) array. This project was completed in April 2021.
According to the information provided on the Bressay Development Ltd website “the project has already produced amazing results. Speldiburn is so much warmer, the heating is easy to control, and we’ve seen 60% reduction in our energy bills and CO2 emissions”.
More recently, Bressay Development Ltd received a £10,000 grant from CARES through the Community Energy Generation Growth Fund. This funding was used to carry out a feasibility study on developing a community energy project. The report, prepared by Voar, provided useful insights into the energy sector in Shetland, including relevant case studies to inform the community’s decisions on their collective efforts to adapt to climate change. You can read the draft report on Bressay Development Ltd’s website.
Bressay Development Ltd is also working in collaboration with Community Energy Scotland and Voar towards a Community Climate Action Plan for Bressay. This is part of the Scottish Government’s Carbon Neutral Islands project.
I greatly enjoyed my visit to Shetland as it strengthened key partnerships and highlighted the importance of working together. It was a pleasure to meet and speak with the people of Shetland who are making change happen through community action. If you’d like to discuss your own project ideas for the North Isles then I’d love to hear from you.