South Ayrshire Council has received a Local Authority Earth Hour 2018 Champion runners up award in recognition of its commitment to the environment.
WWF Scotland awarded the Council with the honour to reflect the level of work undertaken to raise awareness of Earth Hour, the annual global event which inspires millions of people to take action on climate change, for the environment, the planet and nature.
The award recognises the Council’s 2018 Earth Hour campaign which featured an Earth Fair, Bookbug and Lego club events, adventure trails and seed planting, culminating in lights being switched off in buildings all across South Ayrshire. The Council was narrowly beaten to the top spot by Dundee City Council.
Councillor Ian Cochrane, Environment Portfolio Holder for South Ayrshire Council said: “I’m delighted to receive this latest award for our continuing work as part of Earth Hour. It is important recognition of the Council’s desire to lead the way when it comes to tackling climate change.
“We have a long standing history of supporting the campaign with a wide range of events and promotions. Last year’s hard hitting schools video and the Council’s pledge to remove single use plastics were definitely two of the main highlights.
“I look forward to seeing the event continue to evolve this year and I encourage everyone to get involved and make a choice to protect our planet.”
Dr Sam Gardner, Deputy Director at WWF Scotland said: ‘South Ayrshire Council did a fantastic job for WWF’s Earth Hour 2018, we really appreciate their support and long running commitment to this global initiative.
“Last year local schools really engaged in Earth Hour and should be highly commended for their hard work. We’re grateful to have such a high level of engagement from the Council and we are looking forward to seeing their plans unfold for this year’s Earth Hour 2019, which is on 30th March at 8.30pm.”
This year, the Council has organised the return of the highly successful Earth Fair to Ayr Central, which will feature sustainable crafts, fun activities and much more. The Provost Footprint Challenge is back again and we are linking with secondary schools to create Ecobricks made from plastic bottles filled with non-recyclable bags and wrappers. Dundonald Castle is taking part this year, providing a night of excitement and information in their visitors centre.
Full information on South Ayrshire Council’s 2019 program of events can be found at www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk/earthhour/
Earth Hour is co-ordinated by WWF. This year Earth Hour is on Saturday 30 March. For more information please visit www.wwfscotland.org.uk/earthhour