The day a Caithness broch was bulldozed off a cliff – can you help tell stories like this to highlight Scotland's climate story?
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A new competition highlighting how climate change affects our heritage is looking for Caithness contributions for its Visions of Climate Heritage competition.
The competition brings back memories of a victim of coastal erosion which lay near Crosskirk Chapel close to Thurso and underwent thorough archaeological exploration between 1966 and 1972.
The broch at Crosskirk had become increasingly affected by coastal erosion which was undercutting the cliff it sat on and making the site unsafe. After the broch was examined and many artefacts removed after the dig in 1972, it was destroyed by being bulldozed off the cliff edge, the site grassed over, and a memorial cairn erected.
The site was unusual in having a broch, a large circular fortification, built within an older promontory fortification with a ring wall and blockhouse.
Historic Environment Scotland (HES) is now putting out its final call to the public to submit photographs or artwork showcasing the impact of climate change on Scotland as part of its Visions of Climate Heritage competition which closes on Tuesday, November 30.
Visions of Climate Heritage has been developed by HES in partnership with the Heritage Trust Network and the Scottish Council on Archives in response to the climate emergency and launched to coincide with COP26.
As part of the competition, HES will crowdsource images and artwork to tell Scotland’s climate story – past, present and future – through an online exhibition which will harness the power of Scotland’s historic environment and cultural heritage to inspire climate action.
The entries must align with one of the three themes: The Past was a Different Place; This is an Emergency; or A Greener Future. Images can include a historic photo that illustrates a less informed time before we first learned about climate change and began to see its impact; a moment of extreme weather, which is becoming more common in Scotland, and the impact it brings to our homes, streets and natural heritage; or a creative artwork such as a painting or sculpture which showcases a green, low carbon Scotland.
There will be £750 in prizes available across the categories which include Best Photograph, Best Mobile Photograph, Best Artwork, and Young Creative Awards for those aged between 12-17. Images will be judged on their ability to tell a story, as well as their visual interest, impact and relevance to the historic environment and climate change in Scotland. Shortlisted and winning entries will form part of an online exhibition.
Alison Turnbull, director of development and partnership at HES, said: “To get Scotland to net-zero, we need transformative change, and culture and heritage have the power to tell the stories about who we are and where we’ve come from, as well as pointing to where we want to go.
“We’ve already had some fantastic submissions to Visions of Climate Heritage, our first-ever crowdsourcing competition, and we’re keen that as many people as possible take this chance to help us tell Scotland’s climate story - whether it’s delving into the family archives, scrolling through mobile phone photographs, or creating a work of art such as a sculpture or painting.”
For further information or to enter the competition, visit the HES website at www.historicenvironment.scot/archives-and-research/online-exhibitions/visions-of-climate-heritage
