This is a really important week for our charity as we launch our refreshed identity. Starting today, the Central Scotland Green Network Trust (CSGNT) becomes the Green Action Trust. It’s a change we have been working on for some time, and now opens up an exciting new chapter in the history of our organisation.
Whilst this important milestone is all about change, and our new identity for the future, it is the case that – in important respects – everything will stay the same. There will be the same relentless focus on the work that we were undertaking, including delivering on the Central Scotland Green Network Plan, the largest green infrastructure project in Europe. There will be the same work to support the development of NPF4, the vital new planning framework for the country as we seek to build a country that has sustainability at its heart.
I will lead the same team of experts providing support on environmental and regeneration outcomes for Scotland, working with others who share our vision for the difference that environmental action can make. Indeed, we will look to deepen our partnerships with those local authorities, businesses, community groups and others who value the difference that positive action on the environment can make.
However, our new identity will open up new opportunities to support climate action across Scotland, to make us a better, greener country. It will open up a new awareness of the work we do in transforming open spaces, vacant and derelict land, developing new woodlands and building more sustainable communities. We’ll be more visible than ever before, because winning the battle for a better, greener nation will require us to be more visible, more action-focussed, more determined and more influential than we have been before.
That is where Green Action Trust, the new face of CSGNT, will allow us to make a greater contribution to the change we need than ever before.
Scotland’s climate challenge demands a strategic response, and we plan to play our part in delivering the nation-wide action on environmental regeneration we require. By refreshing our identity, we are better placed to work with the Scottish Government and its partners to meet the environmental challenges facing Scotland, whilst being more readily identifiable as the lead organisation driving forward the CSGN and supporting the development of NPF4.
The Scottish Government has been a deep and committed partner in the work that CSGNT has done over many years. It has recognised the organisation’s ability to deliver on its vision across Central Scotland to lead the environmental regeneration of that most populated part of Scotland. As Green Action Trust we now look forward to a deeper partnership in which we can use our established ability to deliver practical change to support ministerial ambitions for deeper and more coordinated climate action.
As the country continues to tackle the major impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is no better time for action on climate and changing how we live our lives. There is no better time to look for strategic interventions that will transform our country as we look to build back better.
There is no better time for Green Action Trust to make its mark and initiate the countrywide action we need.