1000 Better Stories

This vignette explores the magic of people from all walks of life coming together in a protest for a cause, demanding a better future for their communities. It was recorded on 25 October 2025, the day of Scotland Demands Better march and rally in Edinburgh, organized by Poverty Alliance. Kaska speaks to Sandy Greene from ScrapAntics in Dundee who shares her personal experience as a lifelong activi...

In this crossover, we share a standalone podcast episode from Transition St Andrews about their reuse and repair initiative. You will hear about the programme’s projects and activities and its positive impact on students, staff and local residents within the community.   Enjoying the podcast? Share the story with others, review or rate our show.   Credits: Ruth Sanderson, Senior Communications Man...

In this crossover, we share an episode of the CycleHub Stories podcast A Journey of a Bike Time. Cycle Hub. Org director Scott Francis talks about why the organisation was formed. We meet David, who comes to the Dundee Cycle Hub to donate a bike with a story. We also hear from Fiona Brunton, Engagement Coordinator for the Students Association at Abertay University.   Enjoying the podcast? Share th...

In this crossover, we share an episode of Edinburgh Communities Climate Action Network’s new podcast series Climate Jam. Host Eirini talks to Pianodrome’s co-founder Tim Vincent-Smith about the story behind building the world’s first Pianodrome in Edinburgh. They discuss the importance of community, circular economy and how a project needs a soul to make it work. Enjoying the podcast? Share the st...

In this episode, Kaska Hempel explores the ideas behind the Narrating Change workshop - a creative experiment in using storytelling to bring community voices into climate adaptation policy-making. You will hear from researcher and workshop lead Emma Yule, and community participant Luke Fraser who is based in Orkney. They share what they got out of the session, and reflect on their wider ideas of a...

In this cross over we share a 2022 episode of The Highland Good Food Podcast, published by Highlands Good Food Network. Host, Laura Dorantt, speaks to Anna from Planet Sutherland, Mairi from the Fearn Free Food Garden and Emma from the Auchtertyre Community Garden. They discuss the importance of community food projects, which offer a space for learning, a place to gather and grow. Enjoying the pod...

In this cross over we share the first episode of the Paperboats podcast, associated with the Paperboats collective of Scotland-based writers focussed on nature and environment in a time of climate and ecological breakdown. Host, Ian Grosz, talks with Paperboats co-founders Sandy Winterbottom and Elaine Morrison about the ideas behind the movement and its work so far. Enjoying the podcast? Support...

2024 marked the five-year anniversary of Greener Kirckaldy's ownership of their community building and 100 years of the community land ownership movement in Scotland. This is a story of this community’s journey to community ownership and how that empowered them to do more on climate, build resilience and help people in need. SCCAN podcast has lost it's funding . While we look for other sources, yo...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to the creative duo behind Art Moves Fife, Gillian McFarland and Kate Downes, about slow movement through landscape as a means to mobilise creative response to climate crisis, creative patience in thinking about solutions and tails wagging dogs. You can find the audio tour illustrating the essence of the creative process during the first art move at Tayport He...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, speaks with Marie-Anne Brown, a manager at Magpie in Banchory, about embracing a circular economy lifestyle, balancing social and climate responsibilities, and planning for extreme weather. This is a final episode in our mini-series on climate driven extreme weather and adaptation in Scotland, marking the first anniversary of the devastating October floods in North...

We continue on our theme of climate change fuelled flooding and how we are adapting to it in Scotland. In the last two episodes we touched on responses from creative organisations and farming. Today we focus on future-proofing of newly built public buildings.  In a podcast crossover, we share an episode from CampusCast series at Fife College, which focused on their Dunfermline Learning Campus as a...

In this episode, we share a recording of a panel discussion on Farming and Water held at the Groundswell Outreach regenerative farming meet up at the Falkland estate in Fife, last July. The session explores how landscape-level, regenerative management can help us adapt to the climate-induced extremes of floods and droughts. It also touches on the barriers to implementing such an approach.  The pan...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska, talks to Everyday Changemaker Simone Stewart at the Barn’s “Plenty?” Festival in Banchory last October. They discuss degrowth and snails, storm Frank’s influence on the Barn’s creative direction, and the value of improvisation and community in an emergency. One year on, they also reflect on the impact of last year’s flooding which interrupted the festival.   This is the fi...

In this cross over episode from Harbour Voices podcast by Open Road, we hear a story of Hans Unkles' all electric lobster boat. This is first episode in Harbour Voices Festival of the Sea series which gives an important historical perspective to the stories of Torry People's Assembly we published recently. Credit Open Road Resources “Harbour Voices” podcast: https://www.openroadltd.com/projects/ha...

Retrofit coordinator, Matthew Clubb, talks through benefits and options of the retrofit project for Torry in Aberdeen. This is a recording of a talk from GO Torry! event in June 2024. Credits Recording and edit: Kaska Hempel Resources Listen to "GO Torry - growing resilience one year after peoples' assembly" https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-736yg-16bfd67 Community-driven regional retrofit support ser...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska, revisits Torry in Aberdeen for a GO Torry event, celebrating community's growing resilience in the wake of People's Assembly and its Declaration last Spring. We hear of RAAC and retrofit, outdoor classrooms and stealthy resistance, poetry and community with a heart. Credits Production: Kaska Hempel Resources 1000 Better Stories podcast episode about Torry Peoples’ Assembly...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Gareth Allenby from YMCA Glenrothes about weaving climate action into life journeys of young people experiencing homelessness and the joys of judging coleslaw competitions. YMCA Glenrothes Healthy Living Garden project was one of the community groups that received a small community grant from the Fife Climate Action Hub last year. Apply for your grant here:...

In this Edinburgh Fringe special, Kaska speaks to Lewis Coenen-Rowe about the trees and myths that inspired his deforestation opera STUMPED, becoming an artist activist, and about the importance of coming together for storytelling like this to help us imagine a better future and take collective action.  STUMPED is showing at the Scottish Storytelling Centre starting this week and each performance...

Kaska Hempel reports from the Fife Climate Hub gathering in celebration of their first year. We hear how they have built on longstanding partnerships, welcomed new faces and the critical importance of leadership from governments in support of the urgently needed community climate action. Consider this leadership when voting in general election on the 4th of July. Reviews of party manifestos on env...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Rebecca Gibbs from SCCAN about rollerblading for sanity, turning NET zero into NOT zero and the invitation to get into climate adaptation planning with us. Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-rebecca-gibbs-sccan/(opens in a new tab) Credits Interview, recording and sound production: Kaska Hempel Resources Rebecca can b...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Alex Daniels from Transition Dundee about gleaning, fair access to fresh food and his favourite glut-busting recipes. Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-alex-transition-dundee/ Credits Interview, recording and sound production: Kaska Hempel Resources Register for 1000 Better Stories Collective skillshare with Manuela...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Paul and Chloe about making dreams come true and turning the forgotten patch of land into a safe place for community connection and play. The story is the last one in the five-part Dumfries series of Everyday Changemakers.  Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-paul-and-chloe-sandside-community-garden/ Credits Interview,...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Martin O’Neill from The Stove network about coming home and creative placemaking with his community. The story is the fourth in a five-part Dumfries series of Everyday Changemakers.  Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-martin-the-stove/ Credits Interview, recording and sound production: Kaska Hempel Resources The Stove...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Rachel Cooper of The Crichton Trust about taking large strides and small steps in their journey towards their zero carbon future teeming with life.  The story is the third in a five-part Dumfries series of Everyday Changemakers.  Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-rachel-the-crichton-trust/   Credits Interview, record...

Our Story Weaver, Kaska Hempel, talks to Tom Burns, Marketing Officer from Shax, about the circular economy with a heart. The story is the second in a five-part Dumfries series of Everyday Changemakers.  Transcript  See our website: https://sccan.scot/blog/everyday-changemakers-tom-burns-shax/ Credits Interview, recording and sound production: Kaska Hempel Resources Shax https://shax.org.uk/   Cir...