Home>Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund

Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund

With support from the CILIP Scotland Trustee Board, Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund offers grants of up to £2,500, open to libraries of all sectors in Scotland, for library-led environmental action projects.

We are delighted to announce that Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund projects for 2026-27 are:

Through the Weeds: Citizen science to combat climate confusion

Inverclyde Libraries

Project lead: Michelle Wallace

Head of Library Service: Andrew Givan

Reinforcing the library’s role as a trusted, accessible space for climate literacy, lifelong learning, and informed civic participation, Through the Weeds will make available a new collection of Citizen Science Kits for loan across Inverclyde Libraries: empowering residents of all ages to become active investigators as they gather, analyse and interpret local environmental data.

Aligning with Inverclyde Council’s Food Growing Strategy, the Citizen Science Kits will sit at the heart of an intergenerational programme of workshops, introducing participants to the science behind successful growing and the connections between soil health, climate, biodiversity and local food production. Michelle and the Through the Weeds team will also work in partnership with The Conservation Volunteers and local foraging organisation Wander and Wonder to support patrons in exploring biodiversity, seasonal change and sustainable food systems through meaningful, place-based experiences.

Through the Weeds activities will take place across all six Inverclyde library branches with South West Library and the adjoining Drying Green Garden providing a focal point for practical learning and discovery. Development of the Drying Green Herbarium was supported by Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund in 2024-25.

Michelle Wallace, project lead and Library Service Development Officer (Adults) at Inverclyde Libraries, told us:

We are so happy to have received Green Libraries Funding for our citizen science project: Through the Weeds. The support from CILIPS will allow us to continue engaging local communities on the important issue of climate mis- and disinformation. Through engaging citizen science activities, this project will help Inverclyde Libraries strengthen public understanding of environmental issues, encourage informed discussion, and inspire positive action. It also reinforces the role of libraries as trusted, welcoming spaces for learning, participation, and community-led climate awareness and change.

Stories for a Sustainable Future

South Ayrshire Libraries

Project lead: Amanda Berrisford

Head of Library Service: Fraser MacDonald

Building on the foundations planted by One Small Thing, a South Ayrshire Libraries project supported by Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund 2025-26, Stories for a Sustainable Future – led by the winner of the CILIPS Ian McCracken Innovator Award 2026, Amanda Berrisford – will aid the development of a Climate Information Section at Carnegie Library providing up-to-date, accessible and trustworthy climate resources, including mythbusting materials and QR-linked fact-checking tools.

Helping communities to combat climate anxiety and fatigue, the Climate Information Section will feature a Good Climate News display as well as providing a focus for ongoing Fact Check Clinics, reinforcing the library’s role as a trusted authority on climate literacy, with take-home Fact Check guides also available for patrons. Climate Information Workshops will centre the climate literacy needs of teens and older adults in particular, exploring themes like ‘influencer literacy’ and climate misinformation for maximum intergenerational impact.

Amanda Berrisford, project lead and Assistant in Charge at Carnegie Library, told us:

We are thrilled to be once again recipients of Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund. We look forward to building on the solid foundation of One Small Thing and the Sustainability Hub with Stories for a Sustainable Future helping our community tackle climate disinformation and anxiety whilst reinforcing the library as an important, trusted and impartial information hub. In particular, we are looking forward to creating an area focusing on Climate Information and good news stories to tackle climate anxiety and foster hope and the ability to encourage positive changes.

Councillor Alec Clark, South Ayrshire Council’s Depute Leader and Policy Lead for Commercial/Operational Services, added:

To receive funding from CILIP Scotland for a second consecutive year is testament to the dedication and innovation of our staff within the Libraries service. Carnegie Library is an important community hub and this grant will allow us to expand the One Small Thing project by continuing to offer Climate Information Workshops and introducing a new section to display essential sustainability resources.

Thank you again to all applicants to this year’s fund for submitting a diverse range of innovative and impactful bids that made 2026-27 our most competitive year to date, and congratulations to Michelle and Amanda!

Key Dates

Project progress update: 21st-28th October 2026 – Green Libraries Week

Projects completed by: Friday 28th May 2027

Please note that applications to Scotland’s Green Libraries Grant Fund are currently closed. For further details on eligibility and assessment criteria, please consult our application guidelines for 2026-27.

Key Contacts

For further information about the Green Libraries Scotland Grant Fund, including accessibility requirements relevant to applications, or to join the Green Libraries Network, please contact CILIPS Sector Development Manager Kirsten MacQuarrie by email at kirsten.macquarrie@cilips.org.uk or via the contact details here.