Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network (ECCAN) supports a growing ecosystem of community-led climate action across the city through funding, convening, learning, and collaboration. A core strand of our work is the Greenlight seed-grant fund, which provides financial support to grassroots projects addressing climate and nature challenges while strengthening local capacity, skills, and confidence.
ECCAN convenes regular gatherings that connect members, share practice, and build relationships. Our Spring and Autumn Assemblies provide space for reflection, strategic discussion, and collective learning, while themed events and workshops explore topics such as climate conversations, climate psychology, equality, diversity and inclusion, and community-led innovation. Alongside this, Climate Listening Circles offer facilitated spaces for communities to explore the emotional dimensions of the climate crisis, supporting resilience and wellbeing. Climate Bites provide relaxed, welcoming opportunities to connect over food, hosted at community venues across the city, while Climate Adaptation Workshops support groups to understand local climate risks and begin planning practical responses.
A key focus of ECCAN’s work is supporting its active Subnetworks, which bring organisations and individuals together around shared areas of climate action. These include Energy & Retro-fit, Food, Circular Economy, Transport, Youth & Education, Greenspace & Biodiversity, and Arts & Culture. Subnetworks enable peer learning, collaboration, and collective action on specific challenges facing Edinburgh’s communities.
ECCAN also works to remove barriers to participation by offering a Participation Fund, as well as practical member benefits such as free Edinburgh Tool Library memberships, discounts through the Edinburgh Remakery, and access to light-touch accounting and financial support. Through partnership working with community organisations, public bodies, and sector partners, ECCAN helps create the conditions for equitable, locally-rooted climate solutions to emerge and thrive across Edinburgh.
