Scottish Ecological Design Association

@scotecodesign.bsky.social

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SEDA shares knowledge, skills and experience of ecological design and promotes sustainable thinking and behaviour. https://seda.scot

Landscape-scale governance Mon 21st September 4-6pm Online – free admission Landscape-Scale Governance is the third in the CHAMPIONING THE LOCAL series of SEDA Land Conversations. This conversation will explore when it may be appropriate to scale up the model to regional or national level. Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) and bioregions are models bordered by natural geographic and landscape boundaries such as mountain ridges and watersheds. Both adopt a natural capital approach to understanding their regional landscapes. This addresses issues in a cross-sectoral way, using a systems approach, rather than simplifying the issues into sectoral silos. This is a challenging ambition, since it means grappling with the complexity, uncertainty and trade-offs inherent in large scale, closely coupled, socio-ecological systems, but policy and land use decisions (such as natural flood protection measures) are often best made at such a scale. This Conversation will include inspirational models, using these as a springboard for a broader discussion of the subject, addressing obstacles along the way and how to overcome them. CHAIR: Lucy Filby, Head of Land & Forestry Transition, South of Scotland Enterprise SPEAKERS: Andrew Williams, Local Programme Manager, Verture Clare Cooper, Co-Founder & Co-Director, Bioregioning Tayside Lizzie Williams, Regional Land Use Partnership (RLUP) manager, NW2045 McNabb Laurie, Manager, D&G Woodlands Henry Leveson-Gower, Founder and CEO, Promoting Economic Pluralism Anne Thomas, Trustee, Highland People’s Power
Championing the Local, part 2 SPEAKERS: TBC, North Ayrshire Council Sarah Gowanlock, Partnerships Manager, Soil Association Scotland Sue Guy, Director, People, Place & Resilience Scotland CIC Iain MacPherson, director, Reorient Places Mike Staples,CEO, South of Scotland Community Housing (SOSCH) Emma Fletcher, founder & chair, Heating Swaffham Prior Chris Martin, CEO, Social Enterprise Scotland Councils need to buy better Monday, 14th September, 4-6pm Online – free admission Councils Need to Buy Better is the second in the CHAMPIONING THE LOCAL series of SEDA Land Conversations. This conversation will highlight the critical role that local authorities play in enhancing local economies. The Scottish Government is committed to integrating social value and wellbeing into public procurement through not only the Procurement Reform (Scotland) legislation, but also the Scottish National Performance Framework strategy. In April 2023 the Scottish Government published the first Public Procurement Strategy for Scotland. Local authority procurement – on the long-term contractual basis – can give communities the much needed confidence to invest and kickstart new enterprises. This could be particularly transformative for Scotland's rural and remote communities which often face unique challenges, including economic fragility, limited employment opportunities, and infrastructural deficits. Local procurement fosters local employment, enhancing skills, and improving local infrastructure. This event aims to ensure that councils, health boards and other public bodies are given the means to enact the bill. This Conversation will include inspirational models, using these as a springboard for a broader discussion of the subject, addressing obstacles along the way and how to overcome them.
Photo of Neil McInroy, Global Lead for Community Wealth Building, Chair EDAS, adviser, writer, researcher, speaker, organizational leader and activist. Championing the Local 1 - Building vibrant local economies Monday 7 September 2026 4:00 pm 6:00 pm Building vibrant local economies is the first in the CHAMPIONING THE LOCAL series of SEDA Land Conversations. Online – free admission This Conversation is aimed at helping community groups realise their ambitions We will explore alternative business models, including co-operatives, social enterprises and employee-owned businesses, and how they can make LVC’s possible, as well as the best scale at which such issues can be addressed – local, regional or national.
Championing the Local, part 1 Building vibrant local economies Monday, 7th September, 4-6pm Online – free admission Building vibrant local economies is the first in the CHAMPIONING THE LOCAL series of SEDA Land Conversations. This Conversation is aimed at helping community groups realise their ambitions We will explore alternative business models, including co-operatives, social enterprises and employee-owned businesses, and how they can make LVC’s possible, as well as the best scale at which such issues can be addressed – local, regional or national. At present, Scotland has plenty of micro examples of Inclusive and Democratic Business Models (IDBMs). We will look at ways of scaling these up, and rolling them out across the country, in areas such as food, renewable energy and retrofit. One aim is to highlight the interconnectedness of all these issues, and how thinking about them together brings wider benefits, with different sectors learning from each other. This Conversation will include inspirational models, using these as a springboard for a broader discussion of the subject, addressing obstacles along the way and how to overcome them.
Poster for 'Championing the Local,' a series of three SEDA Land events in September 2026, promoting local value chains. This will include exploring local value chains in the food, housing and energy sectors.
Paisley Central Library on the High Street in Paisley features a distinctive facade designed by Collective Architecture utilising sculptural, bent metal fins.
Davina Bowers, head of The Forest Nursery and The Forest Junior School, Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh
Flier for SEDA event at Briggait, Glasgow to celebrate the life and legacy of SEDA co-founder, architect, activist and educator Jim Johnson who died on January 19 aged 91. He was one of the first architects to realise and act upon the climate crisis. He helped instigate the community-based housing movement, co-founding ASSIST Architects; was involved in conservation and urban regeneration of Edinburgh Old Town and co-founded the Scottish Ecological Design Association.
Pioneers of outdoor education: Davina Bowers, head of the forest nursery & junior schools at Merchiston in Edinburgh, and Louise Licznerski founder of Little Bugs, which operates outdoor nurseries for nursery and primary children in West Lothian and Fife, will be outlining the many benefits of outdoor learning and how this can be extended to include primary-school pupils at this SEDA Land event on 29 April. Both Davina and Louise have been running forest school nurseries for several years and will describe their different approaches to expanding outdoor learning to primary school education, as well as how learning out-of-doors can galvanise the imagination of each individual child. They will also explain how risky play helps build resilience and confidence among younger children and fosters an understanding of sustainability and stewardship of the environment. Better Outdoors? aims to persuade local authorities and The Scottish Government to systematically roll out outdoor learning across the Scottish education system. Louise is founding director of the Scottish Outdoor Learning Association (Sola). Other speakers at the event include Alexia Barrable, PhD senior in education at Queen Margaret University and Carol Murdoch. 📅 Wednesday 29th April 2026: in person 5-8pm, online 5:30-7:30pm 📌 Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh 🤑 Free to attend
Seda Land event BETTER OUTDOORS In person 5-8pm, online 5:30-7:30pm - Free admission Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh Light refreshments available Forest schools and outdoor nurseries are becoming more prevalent in Scotland and their benefits are well-known, so why are they not being systematically rolled out or integrated into the Scottish education system? Join us for a conversation covering the benefits of outdoor learning, both at primary and secondary level, and how local authorities and the Scottish government can be persuaded to recognise the part it could play in a more enlightened curriculum. Outdoor learning is not limited to rural schools. We will explain how, with a little imagination, it can be done in a tarmacked playground. This will be an informal discussion with leading UK educationalists and practitioners – including nursery school managers and rangers. Speakers: Dr Alexia Barrable, senior lecturer in education, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh. Davina Bowers, head, the Forest Nursery and Junior School at Merchiston Castle School Louise Licznerski, founder, Little Bugs Nursery, Fife Carol Murdoch, founder, Love Outdoor Learning Jo Cooke, ranger, Midlothian Council Rob Heasman, Beeslack High School, Midlothian Gail Halvorsen, Halvorsen Architects & chair SEDA Land (chair)
Seda Land event BETTER OUTDOORS - speaker Dr Alexia Barrable is senior lecturer in education, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh In person 5-8pm, online 5:30-7:30pm - Free admission Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh Light refreshments available Forest schools and outdoor nurseries are becoming more prevalent in Scotland and their benefits are well-known, so why are they not being systematically rolled out or integrated into the Scottish education system? Join us for a conversation covering the benefits of outdoor learning, both at primary and secondary level, and how local authorities and the Scottish government can be persuaded to recognise the part it could play in a more enlightened curriculum. Outdoor learning is not limited to rural schools. We will explain how, with a little imagination, it can be done in a tarmacked playground. This will be an informal discussion with leading UK educationalists and practitioners – including nursery school managers and rangers.
Women of SEDA Land, clockwise from top left - Bea Nichol, Megan MacInnes, Flora Fraser, Magdalena Blazusiak, Lucy Filby, Savannah Fishel, Sophie Cooke, Professor Dame Lorna Dawson, and Gloria Lo.
Poster for SEDA Land event on Wednesday 29 April 2026 Forest schools and outdoor nurseries are becoming more prevalent in Scotland and their benefits are well-known, so why are they not being systematically rolled out or integrated into the Scottish education system? Join us for a conversation covering the benefits of outdoor learning, both at primary and secondary level, and how local authorities and the Scottish government can be persuaded to recognise the part it could play in a more enlightened curriculum. Outdoor learning is not limited to rural schools. We will explain how, with a little imagination, it can be done in a tarmacked playground. This will be an informal discussion with leading UK educationalists and practitioners – including nursery school managers and rangers. Panel: Alexia Barrable, senior lecturer in education, Queen Margaret University Carol Murdoch, founder, Love Outdoor Learning Davina Bowers, head, the Forest Nursery and Junior School at Merchiston Castle School, Edinburgh Louise Licznerski, founder, Little Bugs Nursery, Fife Jo Cooke, ranger, Midlothian Council Rob Heasman, Beeslack High School, Midlothian Chair: Gail Halvorsen, chair SEDA Land
Liz Barron-Majerik, Scotland director of Lantra, welcoming students to the SEDA Green Careers Fair at Glasgow University Union on 24 September 2025.
Group of 10 SEDA and Glasgow University volunteers wearing the newly designed SEDA T-shirts at SEDA Green Careers Fair on Wednesday 24 September 2026. The event was held in the Glasgow University Union from 10am to 4pm.
250 Stop Climate Change Scotland followers and associates met 30 MSPs inside Dynamic Earth. The group was photographed outside the Scottish Parliament.