Residents urged to share climate change experiences

Borderers are being encouraged to share experiences of how changes in the weather are impacting on their communities by contributing to a new climate map.

Climate Ready South East Scotland is a new project to assess how our region could be affected by climate change and what we should do to prepare.

Locals are being encouraged to share their experience of the weather and climate.

Your stories will help the project organisers understand how extreme weather and climate change are affecting individual communities.

Borderers have already been contributing to the project.

A respondent from the village of Eddleston, near Peebles, states: “High water levels led to flooding of Burnside in Eddleston, presenting risk to some properties. This seems to be occurring more frequently.”

When asked for the solution to the issue, the same respondent replies: “Less development on flood plains”.

A respondent from Kelphope Burn, near Lauder, notes “change over time” with sea level rises, increased temperatures and frequent heavy rain with “water course constantly changing and field flooded. Fish habitat loss”.

A Galashiels contributor notes: “Particular to 2024 would be the absence of a spring or summer in the growing season.

“A jump from a long winter into a type of autumn. Excessive and enduring rainfall, plant stems rotting, high snail count, high aphid count, low bee count, plants remaining dormant, not opening to flower, wind-burn from cold storm winds throughout the growing season.

“First time that seeds have needed re-sowing outdoors three times, and have still not taken.”

The contributor’s solution to addressing the issues is “making use of the quantity of rainfall through water capture, and harnessing the wind on a small scale to potentially power the site”.

The majority of respondents thus far have summed up their views on climate change as “negative” or “fairly negative”.

To contribute to the climate change map go https://climatereadyses.commonplace.is/