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Community action/Argyll and Bute

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Location Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Coordinates 56° 27' 37.26" N, 5° 51' 42.63" W

The aim of this page is to recognise, celebrate and encourage the self-empowerment of community agency networks (CANs) and community groups' activism for climate, environment and many other sustainability topics across Argyll and Bute.

Argyll and Bute
Scotland
UK
Europe
Cosmolocal
  • News Stop Climate Chaos Scotland reports on community ownership of renewables, and how data-centres might knock us off our climate targets, Daily Alternative (Feb 01, 2026)
  • News ‘You don’t get to aim big when you are somewhere small’: A teenager’s fight to end single use plastics on her Scottish island, theguardian.com (Sep 24, 2025)
  • News Green jobs contributing £10.2bn to Scotland's economy, says CBI report, BBC News (May 26, 2026)
  • News Rewilding project aims to restore peatland near Loch Ness, BBC News (Apr 15, 2026)
  • News Who Owns Scotland 2025, andywightman.scot (Mar 23, 2026) — 83% of rural land is possessed by private entities - and a tiny fraction by communities and non-profits
  • News Record-breaking heat and dry spring leave parts of England without water, reuters.com (May 29, 2026)
  • News The English restaurant turning hospitality on its head, positive.news (May 27, 2026) — At a pay-as-you-can restaurant in Stroud, radical hospitality and good food are bringing strangers together
  • News Britain’s green transition should belong to everyone. Why is Labour so intent on stopping us having our say? George Monbiot, theguardian.com (May 27, 2026)
  • News Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
  • News How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)
  • News Rewilding giants: captive elephants rehomed in Europe’s first sanctuary, theguardian.com (May 07, 2026)
  • News Amsterdam, along with other major European cities, bans public adverts for meat and fossil fuels [BBC], Daily Alternative (May 22, 2026)
  • News Solidarity fields in Syria: Reviving local seed production, globalvoices.org (May 21, 2026) — A community garden on Damascus's edge is quietly rebuilding Syria's agricultural memory
  • News How reindeer herds, nature and Sámi culture can thrive when forests are restored across northern Europe, theconversation.com (May 15, 2026)

Networks and sustainability initiatives

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  • Isle of Gigha, community website about the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust, community groups, projects, events, volunteering and local news. added 09:49, 1 January 2025 (UTC)
  • Mull and Iona Community Trust, dedicated and passionate locally based organisation focused on improving the quality of life for the residents of Mull and Iona.

UK and international events

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UK events

  • Event Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Neighbourhood Watch Week, ourwatch.org.uk
  • Event Jun 1 - 7, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Volunteers Week, celebrating and saying thank you to the millions of volunteers across the UK, volunteersweek.org
  • Event Jun 5 - 8, 2026 (Fri - Mon) — The Big Lunch, the first weekend in June every year, everyone is invited, anyone can join in and whatever food people bring to the table is there to be shared, edenprojectcommunities.com
  • Event Jun 6 - 14, 2026 (Sat-Sun) — Great Big Green Week, celebrating communities taking action to tackle climate change and protect green spaces, greatbiggreenweek.com
  • Event Jun 07, 2026 (Sun) — Open Farm Sunday, farmsunday.org
  • Event Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Bike Week, annual celebration showcasing cycling and how brilliant it is!, cyclinguk.org
  • Event Jun 8 - 14, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Carers Week, carersweek.org
  • Event Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Better Transport Week, annual, week-long celebration of sustainable transport, bettertransport.org.uk
  • Event Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Refugee Week, refugeeweek.org.uk
  • Event Jun 15 - 21, 2026 (Mon - Sun) — Loneliness Awareness Week, lonelinessawarenessweek.org
  • Event Jun 18, 2026 (Thu) — Clean Air Day, actionforcleanair.org.uk
  • Event Jun 19 - 21, 2026 (Fri - Sun) — The Great Get Together, annual celebration organised by The Jo Cox Foundation, helping unite people, bridge divides, and tackle loneliness, while showing the collective power we have as a community, jocoxfoundation.org
  • Event Jun 29 - Jul 3, 2026 (Mon - Fri) — National Co-production Week, scie.org.uk

UK community action events

Global or international events

  • Event Jun 03, 2026 (Wed) — World Bicycle Day, The bicycle is a "symbol of sustainable transport and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate." (United Nations), June 3 each year, un.org
  • Event Jun 05, 2026 (Fri)World Environment Day, June 5, annually, worldenvironmentday.global
  • Event Jun 08, 2026 (Mon) — World Oceans Day, June 8 each year, worldoceanday.org
  • Event Jun 12, 2026 (Fri) — World Day Against Child Labour, every year on June 12, ilo.org
  • Event Jun 17, 2026 (Wed) — World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, each June 17, un.org
  • Event Jun 21 and all of June — World Localization Day, worldlocalizationday.org
  • Event Jun 22, 2026 (Mon) — World Rainforest Day, June 22 is World Rainforest Day, worldrainforestday.org

2021-2030, UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, International community action events

Cosmolocal discovery club

Each week 3 different short videos from across the UK or world.

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Future Rural Voices: perspectives on the countryside’s future
Authors: Campaign to Protect Rural England, 2.35 mins.
Date: 2026-05-07
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Local Power, Lower Bills: Up the Energy!
Authors: Community Energy England, 1.38 mins.
Date: 2026-03-10
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Tiree - This is Community Wealth Building
Authors: Scottish Community Alliance, 3.44 mins.
Date: 2025-11-18

Rural sustainability UK, Community energy UK, Community action/Argyll and Bute / ...This week's featured Global videos / ... read more about Cosmolocalism

Argyll and Bute video

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Tiree - This is Community Wealth Building
Authors: Scottish Community Alliance, 3.44 mins.
Date: 2025-11-18
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Tayvallich rewilding journey Barrahormid
Authors: Highlands Rewilding, 1.34 mins.
Date: 2024-11-05
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World Rewilding Day 2024
Authors: Seawilding, 1.34 mins.
Date: 2024-03-20
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Meet the community restoring their temperate rainforest for biodiversity and recreation
Authors: FSC UK
Date: 2024-02-05
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Farming for the future with Samara Johnstone
Authors: Nature Friendly Farming Network, 6.07 mins.
Date: 2023-11-16
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Tayvallich Initiative - Community Hopes
Authors: Tayvallich Initiative
Date: 2022-09-23

Land activism

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  • Tayvallich Initiative, Community ownership for affordable housing, local jobs, sustaining land and community

Gigha community buy-out

The problems created by private landlords came to an end in March 2002 when, with help from grants and loans from the National Lottery and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the islanders purchased the island for £4 million. They now own it through a development trust, the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust. 15 March, the day when the purchase was finalised, is celebrated as the island's "independence day". £1 million of the financial support was in the form of a short term loan. The money to pay this loan back was largely raised by selling Achamore House (but not the gardens) to Don Dennis, a businessman from California. Dennis operates a flower essences importing business and a boat tours company from the house, which is also rented out as a bed and breakfast business.

An additional £200,000 was raised by the islanders through various fundraising ventures, allowing the loan to be paid back to the Scottish Land Fund on 15 March 2004. Since the community buyout, several other private businesses have opened, providing a boost to the local economy. The island's population and economy have begun to recover as a result of these activities.

Community energy

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Gigha wind turbines

The Heritage Trust set up Gigha Renewable Energy Ltd. to buy and operate three Vestas V27 wind turbines, known locally as The Dancing Ladies or Creideas, Dòchas is Carthannas (Gaelic for Faith, Hope and Charity). They were commissioned on 21 January 2005 and are capable of generating up to 675 kW of power. Revenue is produced by selling the electricity to the grid via an intermediary called Green Energy UK. Gigha residents control the whole project and profits are reinvested in the community. In 2016 two batteries were added to the system.

Trees, woodland and forest

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  • Bute Forest, owned by Bute Community Land Company, added 20:48, 23 December 2024 (UTC)
  • Ardura Community Forest, Mull and Iona Community Trust, mict.co.uk

Coastal community activism

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  • Seawilding, based at Loch Craignish, Argyll, the UK's first community-led native oyster and seagrass restoration project. Video: Seawilding channel on youtube.com

About Argyll and Bute

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Argyll and Bute (Scots: Argyll an Buit; Scottish Gaelic: Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, pronounced [ɛrˠəˈɣɛ:əlˠ̪ akəs̪ ˈpɔ:tʲ]) is one of 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and covers the second-largest administrative area of any Scottish council. W

See also

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UK news, Cosmolocal news, UK topic, Global topic

Page data
Keywords Sustainable community action
SDG SDG11 Sustainable cities and communities
Authors Phil Green
License CC-BY-SA-3.0
Language English (en)
Related 0 subpages, 74 pages link here
Redirects Argyll and Bute community action
Views 10 page views (analytics)
Created February 20, 2024 by Phil Green
Last edit May 21, 2026 by Phil Green
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