Orkney Field Trip

Immerse yourself in Orkney’s community-led energy revolution in a series of connected and co-hosted events over 3-days in September 2025. 

What you get:

  • Explore systemic innovation processes in a vivid island context.
  • See first hand the impact of local ecosystems in driving change.
  • Tap into the insights and expertise of expert hosts and partners.
  • Walk away with practical understanding, renewed inspiration and networks. 

An afternoon trip to Burgar Hill, site of the world’s first grid-connected wind turbine. Get an overview (literally) of Orkney’s relationship with energy production and the ecosystems that support change.

  • Explore the past, present and future of Orkney energy innovation
  • Learn about the role of community-led action for low-carbon futures
  • Establish the skills evidenced in Orkney’s energy transition

Orkney International Science Festival is staging a Climate Action Day – a mini-COP targeting island wide change. We’ll follow along – with a skills lens.

  • Make use of a First Hand ‘User guide to Change’ and briefing sessions to apply a skills lens to the conversation
  • Understand local challenges and complexities and practical responses for climate resilience
  • Areas covered: energy, food, transport and housing

A field trip to the island of Shapinsay. Understand the role of its local development trust, and the skills and practices that have unlocked and maintain community energy ownership.

  • A morning ferry trip to nearby island Shapinsay to explore community energy ownership
  • Guided walks and talks on the island with a mini-skills workshop

A hands-on deep dive into climate action skills. An opportunity to apply your new understandings and practise the skills and competencies that drive change.

A synthesis of insights and observations, inspiration and learnings. An opportunity for connection, exchange and mutual support with like-minded participants.

  • A capstone session capturing views on skills for transformation
  • A manifesto building exercise – identifying the key skills and practices that should be shared more widely
  • Practical take aways for all – the frameworks, practices and tools to build on and/or get started

These events connect emerging ideas to real-world practise – they’re for you if you work or are learning about climate response in industry, advocacy, policy or education.

Booking opens June 10. Register below and we’ll remind you!

What can Orkney teach us about change?

Many celebrate Orkney for its remoteness, its natural beauty and rich history. Fewer know that the Orkney Islanders are recognised as clean energy revolutionaries. And that they’ve achieved change with a pioneering approach to collaborative innovation.

Come with us as we examine the new ideas and new skills, and meet the people that are delivering Orkney’s green transition:

A group of wind turbines

Islands make ideas about systems and ecosystems legible because of their scale and constraints. On Orkney you’ll be able to see clearly: 

  • How boundary setting around contexts/problems is a critical tool as we frame/reframe challenges and design action.
  • The best tools and methods to identify and evaluate your current context as you plan for action.

When enough is at stake, differences in incentives, motivation, perception, opinion or values can align in pursuit of shared benefit. Orkney’s examples of collaborative innovation, and the infrastructures they’ve built to support it, will illustrate: 

  • How strong relationships – and trust – underpin change.
  • How alternative infrastructures are necessary to support knowledge retention and transfer.
  • How local skills build confidence and how achievement builds identity – creating a culture of innovation. 

  • How the legal and organisational structures for pooling assets and resources, like Development Trusts, agencies and industry collaborations, become normal and accessible. 
  • How the heritage of participatory approaches, like Asset-Based Community Development, inform current practise. 
  • How both social and business infrastructures are needed to sustain change.  
  • How equitable futures can be assured embedded through leadership, finance, decision making, incentives etc.

5 events over 3 days: Take your pick!

1

How to start a revolution

2

How to see skills

3

Up close change

4

Skills building for change

5

Orkney give and take away

Brought to you by

We rely on partners and supporters to create these unmissable real-world learning opportunities. This event on Orkney has relied on the help and partnership of the brilliant trifecta of UCL Climate Action Unit, Orkney International Science Festival and Community Energy Scotland.

UCL Climate Action Unit

Skills Partners

As part of our ongoing collaboration on the LEVERS project, we’ll co-host a skills session with the neuroscience and behavioural experts at CAU.

Orkney International Science Festival

Place Partners

OISF – a thrilling celebration of science – runs from 8-13th September

Community Energy Scotland

Place Partners

One of CES’s missions is to “champion the role of community-led action in the transition to a low-carbon future”. We’re proud and grateful to have their support for this initiative.

Why we’re creating these events

First Hand is learning from real world climate action, boosting transformative climate skills and building action ecosystems.

Our innovative learning-to-action approach emerged from an in-depth systemic design process; over 2 years we’ve consulted and collaborated with individuals and organisations including learners, learning providers, community groups, local government, educational institutions, and industry.

In Orkney we’re running our tried and tested place-based, experiential format, proven to be effective in building engagement, networks and practical capability.