The Moray, Ross and Caithness Diocesan Roadshow was our most northerly Net Zero Roadshow of the year, hosted by St Andrew’s Cathedral, Inverness. The event took place on Saturday 25th October with the first bites of winter in the air. However, the Cathedral was warm and welcoming inside.
About 30 people came together for the event from across the Diocese to attend workshops and share stories about how they are addressing Net Zero. Alongside the Cathedral and Net Zero teams, speakers and many church representatives, we we also delighted to welcome the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub, Eco Congregation Scotland and various far infra-red heating specialists.
The day began with a warm welcome from the Provost The Very Rev Sarah Murray and Assistant Curate Rev Laura Symon. Jack Nevin and Iain Johnstone then went on to introduce the day and our contributors.
During the day we had workshops provided by HeatHack, Christian Aid, the National Churches Trust and a workshop looking into possible building solutions.
The Heating Solutions workshop discussed how far infrared heating can be used and also included an in-depth discussion on the challenges of making Victorian rectories more energy efficient.
The National Churches Trust highlighted funding for church maintenance, a pre requisite for Net Zero and potentially freeing up budgets for Net Zero expenditure.
The HeatHack workshop helped participants get a grip on their buildings’ heating and what they can do to manage this more efficiently.
Finally Christian Aid’s workshop took a step back to look at the wider pictures of climate justice across the globe.
In the Sharing Stories session we heard from Calum MacLean (Diocesan Architect) on the challenges and considerations of bringing the Cathedral towards Net Zero.
We also heard from Gillian Newman of the Black Isle Charges, who have been using HeatHack to understand how they can best bring their churches towards Net Zero.
The day closed with Provost Sarah leading an Iona and Taizé style service where people could light a candle to represent their prayers and promises for creation.
We would like to thank everyone who helped to make this day possible, and to everyone who took time out to travel, participate and contribute. It was so encouraging to meet everyone and to share our ideas, knowledge and experience.
Daniel Prince, Clean Energy Advisor
