The Green Libraries Scotland Grant Fund

Growing from the success of our COP26-inspired #CILIPSGoGreen collection and our support for CILIP’s Green Libraries Partnership, the Green Libraries Scotland Grant Fund was launched at our 2023 Annual Conference by CILIPS President Richard Aird. The Grant Fund offers small-scale grants to support libraries in Scotland with innovative projects designed to grow environmental understanding and action.

After receiving an unprecedented number of high-quality applications, we are delighted to announce that the Green Libraries Scotland Grant Fund 2024-25 will be supporting five fantastic projects rooted in libraries across Scotland. This year’s successful bids are:

Drying Green Herbarium, Inverclyde Libraries

A programme of engagement with local partners at The Watt Institution Herbarium, consisting of over a thousand specimens gathered primarily from Inverclyde and its vicinity in the late nineteenth century, to create The Drying Green Herbarium based around South West Library’s community garden. As the ‘dictionaries’ of the plant kingdom, Herbaria offer unique perspectives on the main drivers of pollution, habitat change, climate change and invasive species, and this project will educate the community about their importance whilst the library’s educational garden more broadly addresses food insecurity, eases local environmental impact, provides stress relief, and serves as a safe space for community connection.

Growing Greener Highland Communities, High Life Highland Libraries

A project to develop four pilot climate hubs in Dingwall, Caol, Wick and Ardnamurchan Libraries, growing community climate engagement and education. Activities will include the creation of two new seed libraries; an afterschool nature club for primary-aged children encouraging gardening, tree planting and recycling; community clean-ups; and new climate engagement book/ebook library collections.

Mayfield Secret Garden, Stirling Libraries

A holistic approach to library-led environmental action that integrates education, community engagement, sustainability and technology by ‘taking back’ an overgrown garden space to benefit library and community centre users. The library will offer accessible workshops and educational programmes that blend the use of traditional library resources (books, e-books and e-magazines) with practical, outdoor learning experiences on themes like biodiversity and upcycling: using Mayfield Secret Garden as a base from which to lead intergenerational Citizen Science projects and work with Stirling Libraries’ existing Maker Space.

Rambling Readers: Nurturing Natural Connections, North Lanarkshire Libraries

Growing a programme of outdoor walks for all ages to chat about books, the local environment and learn about local and global climate issues. Cumbernauld and Airdrie Libraries will function as Natural Connections Hubs where practical and participatory sessions are hosted, focusing on themes including bird-inspired storytelling, nature writing, sustainable upcycling craft and sewing, local conservation and natural heritage, and more.

Threads of Change – Making a difference one stitch at a time, West Dunbartonshire Libraries

Utilizing local libraries to teach children and young people new skills that will allow them to adopt lifelong sustainable practices for them and their families through basic sewing, repairing, embroidery and customization. In a locality where 27.6% of children live in poverty, the fourth highest in Scotland, Threads of Change will equip youngsters disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis to reduce their carbon footprint in affordable and accessible ways, whilst also educating the community about the environmental and ethical impact of fast fashion, which contributes around 300,000 tonnes of waste to landfill in the UK alone.

The Fund

With support from the CILIP Scotland Trustee Board, we are pleased to offer grants of up to £2,500 open to libraries of all sectors in Scotland seeking to grow environmental understanding and action.

Please note that the Green Libraries Scotland Grant Fund is currently closed to new applications.

Access our application guidelines

Who is eligible to apply

• The grants are available for library services of all sectors in Scotland.
• We particularly welcome applications from library services with little or no prior experience of applying to similar grant funds.
• You may work with non-library service partners for your proposed project (for example, a local environmental organisation or community group) but the application must be made by a library service.
• The lead applicant must be a CILIP member.
• The application does not need to be completed by your Head of Library Service but must be approved by them before submission.

What you may apply for

• Your proposed project must make an innovative contribution to library-led environmental action and climate justice in Scotland, with the potential to have long-term impact. Please see our full assessment criteria below and consult our application guidelines for further details.
• Your application should give a clear indication of how you will spend the grant if successful. Decisions on final grant amounts rest with the selection committee.

Assessment Criteria

A selection committee including representatives from CILIPS, Green Libraries Scotland supporting organisations and sector experts will review all applications and assess them according to the following criteria:

1. The project shows innovation in its vision for library-led environmental action in Scotland.
2. The project has the potential to bring long-term value to the library service and the community it serves.
3. The project contributes to local climate justice, harnessing how libraries can champion underrepresented groups in and through environmental action.
4. The project demonstrates feasibility and the ability to deliver outputs (to library users and the CILIPS community) within the draft timescale provided.

For more information, please read our application guidelines or email Membership Officer Kirsten MacQuarrie at kirsten.macquarrie@cilips.org.uk.

Key Dates

Project progress update: w/c Monday 7th October 2024 – Green Libraries Week

Projects completed by: Friday 31st May 2025

Key Contacts

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

British Sign Language (BSL) users can contact CILIPS via an online BSL/English interpreter – please click here to learn more about Contact Scotland, to make a call online or to download the free Contact Scotland BSL app.

Inspiration

For inspiration to support future applications, please visit the growing CILIPSGoGreen collection or watch Scotland’s Green Libraries Gathering:

Find out more about the successful recipients of the Green Libraries Grant Fund for English public libraries on the Green Libraries Partnership website, via the first Green Libraries webinar and via slides and videos from the first Green Libraries Conference.

Learn more in Welsh and English about the projects that successfully received funding from the Green Libraries Wales Small Grant Fund, supported by the Kathleen Cooks Panel.

Discover our fantastic Green Libraries Scotland Fund projects in full below: