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Strengthening Community-led Research: RSE Awards Over pound sterling339K to 24 Initiatives in Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards
EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 21 -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news:* * *
Strengthening community-led research: RSE awards over pound sterling339K to 24 initiatives in Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards
Across Scotland, 24 community research projects will receive a share of pound sterling339,464 funding through the RSE's Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards, developed in partnership with and funded by the Williamson Trust.
First initiated in 2023, the Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards are now offered under two strands:
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Awards ... Show Full Article EDINBURGH, Scotland, May 21 -- The Royal Society of Edinburgh issued the following news: * * * Strengthening community-led research: RSE awards over pound sterling339K to 24 initiatives in Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards Across Scotland, 24 community research projects will receive a share of pound sterling339,464 funding through the RSE's Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards, developed in partnership with and funded by the Williamson Trust. First initiated in 2023, the Healthy Planet, Healthy People Awards are now offered under two strands: Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Awardsare designed to enable community-led research across any discipline that promotes the health of individuals by fostering healthy communities, environments, and food.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Awards are a new expansion of the Catalyst Award, offering major funding to standout Catalyst Award-winning projects to grow and scale their work.
These awards encourage knowledge exchange and collaborative research practices amongst and between local communities. The resulting findings and outputs are often scalable, producing valuable insights that can be used by similar groups working in other areas of the country and beyond.
Professor David Salt FRSE, Chair of the Williamson Trust, said,
"The trustees at the Williamson Trust are delighted to fund 20 exciting community-led projects from across Scotland in the third round of the Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Awards. As this community-led work continues to grow, there can be no doubt that communities across Scotland can build local solutions to the ongoing challenges to our environment, our communities, and our food. This round, we have projects spanning seed saving, community growing, fermentation and composting, coppicing, tree identification, accessing green space, transhumance, and repair cafes. An amazing array of projects.
This year, the Williamson Trust have introduced the Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Awards. These larger awards allow successful Catalyst awardees to take their learnings and experiences and develop solutions to deliver broader impact and sustainable outcomes. The Williamson Trust is funding four Change awards in this first round on sustainable tree guards, flax and the new textile commons, closing the island's food loop and a community food hub. It will be so exciting to see these projects grow and develop.
The Trust hopes that with these new awards we continue to build a movement of committed people to find solutions to the challenges faced by local communities, and that these solutions can have a wider impact."
RSE Vice President, Research, Professor Anne Anderson OBE FRSE commented,
"This marks the third successful round of Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Awards, which were introduced to expand the type of research the RSE supports. At this time, we are also very pleased to announce the first recipients of the Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Awards; a new development of the Healthy Planet, Healthy People Programme, which extends the support offered to grassroots groups and demonstrates the Society's commitment to empowering community-driven research focused on positively impacting sustainability, health, and community resilience. I congratulate all those awarded under both schemes, and I look forward to following their progress and achievements over the coming year."
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Catalyst Award recipients:
Community: Upper Ballaird Farm Co-op with Lauriston Farm
Project: UnBEANlievably tasty
Location: Stirlingshire and Edinburgh
Taking place at two market gardens--Upper Ballaird Farm Co-op, Stirlingshire and Lauriston Farm, Edinburgh--the UnBEANlievably Tasty project aims to investigate which bean varieties can perform well in market garden conditions whilst also providing tasty, nutritious legumes for local consumers.
Over 20 varieties suitable for producing beans with good drying properties will be grown at the two sites during the 2026 season. Flavour, yield, pest and disease resistance, and processing qualities will be assessed using the Organic Seed Alliance's on-farm trial framework.
Alongside collecting agronomic data, local community members will be given the opportunity to participate in events to test taste, appearance, and cooking quality. This combined approach will help identify varieties that are both productive and desirable to eat.
By focusing on market gardens--where barriers faced at field scale are reduced--the project aims to accelerate learning and adoption. The results will be shared with growers, researchers, and food networks to support the expansion of locally grown, diverse, and climate-friendly protein-rich crops in Scotland.
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Community: Edinburgh Agroecology Co-operative CIC, Sustainable Kirriemuir and Upper Ballaird Farm Co-op
Project: Seeds of change
Location: Edinburgh, Fife, and Stirlingshire
The Seeds of Change project will support the development of the Scottish Seed Hub; a co-operative of growers aiming to increase the production and dissemination of locally-adapted, open-pollinated seeds grown using optimal agroecological practices. By improving access to seeds suited to this country's climate, the Hub hopes to enhance the biodiversity and resilience of Scotland's food system.
The lead investigators, in collaboration with colleagues at Sustainable Kirriemuir, Lauriston Farm, Upper Ballaird Farm and Beth Webb in Galloway, will use a participatory action research approach by engaging growers, seed savers, and community stakeholders as co-researchers. Through surveys, focus groups, collaborative workshops, and learning from similar initiatives--such as the Gaia Foundation's Seed Sovereignty Programme, Seeds of Scotland, and Wales Seed Hub--the Hub's project will explore effective organisational structures, governance models, and strategies for sustainable growth.
Outputs of the research will include the development of a flexible organisational framework, insights into the systemic opportunities for Scotland-based agroecological seed producers, case studies, and resources for use among wider seed networks, and a validated pathway for scaling the Hub's work across Scotland.
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Community: Rhyze Mushrooms Co-op
Project: Protecting crops and soils using waste
Location: Edinburgh
Vermicompost--a nutrient-rich product of the decomposition process that uses worms to aid and accelerate composting to create a mixture of decomposed food waste and worm castings--has been shown to outperform traditional compost and reverse soil damage from synthetic fertilisers.
Working with local food businesses, the Rhyze Mushrooms Co-op will explore how vermicomposting can prevent business waste from ending up in landfill by transforming it into high-quality soil improvers that enhance the health, yield, and nutrition of crops.
The Co-op's research will also assess whether different waste types--brewers' grains, coffee chaff, agricultural waste, and food scraps--produce a variety of vermicomposts with varying benefits for crops.
The waste products will be processed in separate worm bins, then analysed through lab testing and field trials with local growers under real-world conditions. By combining both types of analysis, this research hopes to develop optimised vermicompost "recipes" suited to different crops. The findings will support sustainable waste management, improve soil health, and help communities produce more nutritious food, while sharing practical knowledge with growers and volunteers.
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Community: Northmavine Community Development Company
Project: Northmavine community composting project
Location: Shetland
The Northmavine Community Development Company (NCDC) will use their Catalyst Award to launch a new community composting scheme to boost food resilience, reduce waste, and support sustainable living in rural Shetland.
The challenges of remote location result in many residents importing soil to the Islands at a high financial and carbon cost, while organic waste is often underutilised or sent to landfill. Using an industrial composter generously gifted by COPE Ltd., local food and garden waste will be converted into nutrient-rich compost for households, schools, and businesses. This circular system will improve soil health, reduce reliance on landfills and transport-related emissions, and foster outdoor community participation.
The project will start at a social housing estate and expand to schools and local businesses. The group will test the balance of carbon-rich materials such as cardboard and tree prunings for optimal composting. The resulting compost quality will be compared with commercial alternatives using test plots. NCDC will also run workshops and develop a household composting toolkit to encourage participation and education around soil health and sustainable practices.
Through measuring compost production, waste diverted from landfills, and community engagement, the project aims to create a replicable model for other rural areas to inform future circular-economy initiatives.
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Community: Lady Lane Community Garden
Project: Demonstrator micro-greenspace for nature, wellbeing, and environmental engagement
Location: Paisley
The Lady Lane Community Garden group in Paisley has been awarded to develop a temporary, modular micro-greenspace, designed to assess and refine ideas that will inform the future permanent regeneration of the Argyle Street/Lady Lane site.
The demonstrator garden will include raised beds, pollinator planting, and solar lighting. The community will also deliver youth engagement activities, group design sessions, food-growing workshops, and events on biodiversity monitoring. The community also hopes to create a hydrochromic environmental sculpture--a rain-activated artwork--to provide a unique educational component on climate awareness that could become a signature element in the eventual permanent design. All structures will be designed to be fully dismantled and relocated to ensure that the site can be cleared for permanent landscaping works without loss of investment.
The project aims to improve access to nature, enhance well-being, and generate data on the environmental and social impacts to help inform the long-term design of the garden. It is also hoped that the outcomes will support wider use by Renfrewshire Council, the University of the West of Scotland, and local partners, and contribute to evidence-led community placemaking across Paisley.
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Community: Green Aspirations Scotland CIC
Project: Aberfoyle Coppice Creatures
Location: Stirling
Coppicing is a traditional woodland management technique that was popular before the First World War but has been underused in Scotland since. Coppiced trees are cut at their base to encourage stronger, straighter regrowth, allowing more light to reach the forest floor and potentially increasing biodiversity by supporting a wider range of plant and animal life.
The Green Aspirations Scotland group will use their Healthy Planet, Healthy People award to investigate whether restoring traditional hazel coppicing can enhance biodiversity in a woodland that has been unmanaged in certain areas for over 25 years.
In collaboration with local primary school pupils, the community will survey areas of the woodland at different stages of the coppice cycle to identify any variances in biodiversity. Engagement with schoolchildren will include input from Dr Angela Newton, an experienced research scientist, and Kirsten Milliken, a Scottish folklore storyteller. Through classroom visits and field surveys, the pupils will support the research and follow-up analysis and assist in presenting the findings.
This project aims to engage local young people in ecology, cultural heritage, and storytelling traditions. The group also hopes its findings will help inform future woodland restoration projects and give coppicing a prominent role in climate policy.
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Community: Ieva Chaleckyte and the Mandala Garden Project
Project: Fermenting community
Location: Nairn
Through the Fermenting community project, Ieva Chaleckyte, a fermentation revivalist, will work with the Mandala Garden Project in Nairn to utilise overabundant seasonal fruit and vegetables, increase fermented food consumption, and build a strong community network through group production of fermented food.
The health benefits of fermented food products are widely documented. This project responds to the growing interest in fermented foods for improved well-being and aims to better understand the barriers that prevent wider production and consumption--perhaps a lack of time, knowledge, confidence, or access to organic foods--and how they can be minimised.
Participating community members will be surveyed during the workshops, and economic viability data will be collected by looking at the time and effort required to process the surplus food.
A key outcome of the project is to foster a strong local community around the Mandala Garden that encourages active participation, enhanced community connection, and future collaborative working.
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Community: Community Champignons in partnership with Govanhill Baths Community Trust
Project: Community Champignons: Embedding sustainability in peer-led community projects
Location: Glasgow
Community Champignons is a wellbeing initiative centred on supporting participants--many from disadvantaged or isolated backgrounds--to develop skills and confidence through oyster mushroom cultivation. Founded in 2024 as a response to local interest in growing sustainable food and community enterprise, the project investigates whether urban mushroom cultivation can be scaled and diversified to benefit the wider community.
The Healthy Planet, Healthy People award will be used to continue the project's twice-weekly training sessions in mushroom cultivation, harvesting, and food hygiene. It will also enable the development of research into whether the production of multiple mushroom varieties is feasible in an urban community context, and to what extent project sustainability can be achieved via selling mushroom grow kits via local shops and farmers' markets.
Community Champignons aims to turn local participation into community impact. The project has already produced over 100kg of mushrooms for The People's Pantry, directly benefiting the local community. Over the funded period, the group hope to maintain the established growing environment and community workshops, to scale production and develop the volunteer-led enterprise, creating a sustainable model that continues beyond the award.
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Community: Fixing for a Future
Project: How green is too green?
Location: East Lothian
Promoting climate action using a narrow 'green' or environmental frame can limit public support and engagement. Fixing for a Future, a circular economy project initiated in 2020, runs a tool library, repair cafes and volunteer-led sewing skills workshops at schools and libraries across East Lothian.
This research will explore the motivations of volunteers, tutors and participants at Fixing for a Future to reveal the extent to which their ongoing involvement has been influenced by framing climate action as being about social and economic rather than explicitly environmental benefits: empowering people by teaching skills to repair belongings so they can save money; improving health and well-being by providing opportunities for people to work together towards shared goals: and delivering social events where people can expand support networks.
Through in-depth interviews and focus groups, this research will gain valuable insight into what motivates people towards and what puts people off climate action to determine 'How Green is Too Green?'. Findings will inform the basis of a toolkit to be used by groups and organisations seeking to engage new audiences in climate action and contribute to amplified engagement and impact.
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Community: Lizzie MacKenzie, in collaboration with researchers at UHI Inverness
Project: Becoming wild: Transhumance to support the well-being of people, animals, and nature
Location: Oban/Highlands
This awarded pilot project will explore the concept that the well-being of people, animals and the land is interconnected. The researchers will employ small-scale community transhumance--a traditional practice of moving with animals through seasonal grazing areas--to determine whether the custom can support wellbeing across all three. By walking alongside native animals, it is hoped that participants will build connections and deepen their relationships with the land and animals. The group will also monitor whether the animals benefit from natural movement and herd life, and whether the land gains from their grazing patterns, which can open scrub, enrich soil, and support biodiversity.
Using participatory methods, this project will document early signs of interlinked benefits, imagining a future in which people, animals, and land thrive together. Short interviews and informal conversations will explore feelings of connection, benefits of outdoor activity, and the sharing of intergenerational knowledge. Observations of horses and cattle will provide an opportunity to note social interaction, movement levels, stress behaviours and grazing patterns. To assess any benefits to the land, ecological observations such as visual soil assessments, vegetation notes, and photographic monitoring will be used to identify visible changes in ground cover, scrub, and biodiversity after grazing cycles.
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Community: Unicorn Markets CIC
Project: The Bathgate Repair Cafe: A community sustainability study
Location: West Lothian
The Bathgate Repair Cafe is a 6-month, community-led pilot project designed to research and deliver a practical solution to household waste and the cost-of-living crisis. The awarded group will establish a monthly repair hub at their community market, where a skilled fixer and volunteers will repair broken items for free, diverting them from landfill.
The research will collect data on the weight of items saved, types of repairs, and financial savings for families. The researchers will also gather qualitative data on how learning repair skills improves community resilience, wellbeing, and feelings of social isolation. The findings will be used to create a "Community Repair Hub Toolkit", a practical, scalable guide for other communities to replicate our model.
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Community: North Glasgow Community Food Initiative
Project: Community-led insights into gardening, cooking, and pantry participation at the Royston Food Hub and their effects on well-being
Location: Glasgow
Royston, North Glasgow, is considered a food desert, where residents face economic disadvantage, limited access to fresh produce, and social isolation. The North Glasgow Community Food Initiative will explore how the Royston Food Hub's connected activities--community gardening, local food growing, cookery classes, and the community pantry--together influence health, wellbeing, and food security.
This RSE award will support a series of Food Hub Groups, where residents can share their experiences, priorities, and ideas for how local food spaces can better meet community needs. The research will combine feedback from participant discussions, health and wellbeing surveys, and creative participatory methods to understand what works, what barriers remain, and what changes people want to see. By placing community voices at the centre, this project will generate new knowledge about how integrated, community-led food hubs can support healthier diets, stronger social connections, and a more sustainable local food environment--informing future development across North Glasgow.
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Community: Orkney International Science Festival
Project: Can rock dust improve soil and crops?
Location: Moray
UK food self-sufficiency has declined to 62%, with a heavy reliance on imported food from regions that can be vulnerable to drought, fire and flood. Scottish Islands, once able to survive for weeks without a boat, are today at the end of the distribution line and need to rebuild food security.
This funded project, inspired by the story of an 1845 Icelandic eruption, which coated Orkney with volcanic dust, resulting in the improved flavour of that year's potato crop, aims to explore whether locally sourced rock dust--currently a large, unused quarry by product--can enhance crop flavour and support greater community food resilience.
Building on small-scale trials with potatoes in 2023, tomatoes in 2024, and carrots in 2025, the next phase, supported by this award, will see potatoes grown by local community groups, including the Westray Development Trust, the North Ronaldsay Trust, Stromness Community Garden, the Eday Partnership, NHS Orkney, and St Colm's Day Centre. The crops grown with the Orkney quarry dust will be compared against control soils. Soil microbiome analysis by Durham University will investigate how rock dust supports soil health, and taste testing will be conducted at the Orkney International Science Festival.
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Community: Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust
Project: Finding and overcoming the barriers to choosing to eat locally grown vegetables in Blairgowrie & Rattray
Location: Perth and Kinross
The Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust's project aims to understand what prevents local residents from choosing to eat locally grown vegetables, despite several community initiatives--such as the BaRI Store, a volunteer-run shop stocking surplus food from supermarkets to help reduce food waste and to increase the use of refill--promoting local, healthy food.
Through a community wide survey, the group's research hopes to explore which vegetables people currently buy and eat and to identify barriers such as limited availability, uncertainty about preparation, or lack of awareness of local options.
The findings will help to inform planting decisions for a new 0.5 acre growing space, adjacent to the established Rattray Community Garden. By aligning production with community preferences and needs, the project will also support two of the Blairgowrie & Rattray Development Trust's current initiatives--the BaRI Food Project and Biodiversity Blair, a volunteer group which aims to improve the environment for all species by growing food around Blairgowrie and Rattray-- in their shared goal of increasing local food access, reducing waste, and encouraging healthier choices.
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Community: Sustainable Kirriemuir
Project: Kirrie Community Farm - Meadowland
Location: Angus
For decades, the intensification of farming has contributed to severe biodiversity loss in Scotland. This, coupled with increasing climate instability, is making it more difficult to grow food in this country.
Recognising the importance of enabling biodiversity to support food security, Kirriemuir Community Farm has recently taken on a 17-acre plot where, with the support of the Catalyst Award, they plan to explore how regenerative land management can support both local food production and nature recovery.
As part of the planned 12 month participatory action research project, the volunteer group will sow meadow and wildflower areas to support a rapid transition to regenerative local food growing. Working with native wildflower grower Scotia Seeds, the group will examine different meadow management practices and assess how a mosaic of habitats can improve biodiversity, ecosystem services and resilience.
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Community: Lochaber Environmental Group
Project: Seed Circle Lochaber
Location: Highlands
Seed Circle Lochaber is a community-led research project that explores how a locally organised seed-saving network can strengthen food resilience, food cultures, biodiversity, and community wellbeing in Lochaber. It will involve food growers of every scale, from people who grow herbs and vegetables on a windowsill to crofters, small producers, and community food-growing projects.
The project will map the use of open-pollinated seed within the local food system, gather stories and traditional knowledge related to food growing in the region, and run a pilot Seed Circle that supports people in growing, saving, and sharing locally adapted food seeds. Using participatory research methods, the project will record the practical, cultural and environmental benefits of food seed saving, identify the barriers faced by new community food growers and assess how food seed diversity can be strengthened in Lochaber.
By working with Scottish seed initiatives and Seed Sovereignty Scotland, the project will generate new knowledge, practical resources and a tested model that can be expanded locally or adapted by other communities seeking to build resilient food systems.
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Community: Loch Ken Trust
Project: Citizen-led research on potential impacts at Loch Ken, with implications for the wider catchment
Location: Dumfries and Galloway
Residents of New Galloway have longstanding concerns about pollution in the town's main freshwaters, particularly from sewage effluent and other inputs. This was identified as the top issue in a recent Community Council survey, which will inform the forthcoming Local Place Plan.
The awarded research project will establish a community baseline on pollution sources and water quality by:
* Mapping inputs: Collating information on public and private wastewater infrastructure in and around New Galloway to provide essential sub-catchment context.
* Citizen-science monitoring: Tracking aquatic invertebrates and analysing water chemistry upstream and downstream of effluent discharges into the Water of Ken, while piloting a novel lakefly monitoring system.
* Supporting constructive dialogue: Convening positive, iterative conversations to share stories about the freshwater ecosystem, highlight best practices, and discuss emerging findings. The project will also identify and prioritise potential measures to improve water quality, where appropriate, and establish a steering group, with key stakeholders, to guide ongoing work.
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Community: Jennie Martin, in collaboration with Scottish Forestry and the International Conifer Conservation Programme at Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh
Project: Conifers aren't just for Christmas!
Location: Scotland-wide
Conifers make up 30-35% of our world's forests; however, despite originating in the late Palaeozoic period and surviving major mass extinctions, they often dominate recovery ecosystems, yet 34% of the species are under threat today.
Recognising that there is no accessible, simple field guide in Scotland (or indeed the UK) to help readers recognise and appreciate conifers' diversity, origins, and cultural significance. The Conifers are not just for Christmas project aims to change this.
Jennie Martin will collaborate with Scottish Forestry and the International Conifer Conservation Programme at Royal Botanical Gardens Edinburgh to develop the guide. Afterwards, additional research will be collected through workshops, during which participants can use the guide and provide feedback.
With an accessible field guide full of colour photographs and accompanying workshops, the researchers hope this project will kick-start a more conifer-literate society amongst forest school leaders, ecological surveyors, wilderness guides, and nature lovers alike.
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Community: Unity for Integration Project
Project: Our Food, Our Health, Our Future
Location: Glasgow
Access to healthy, affordable, and culturally appropriate food is vital for good physical and mental well-being. Despite this, many minority families in Scotland face structural barriers and find their voices are missing from health and food policy discussions.
Over the next year, the Unity for Integration Project will engage with local families through focus groups and surveys to understand the barriers they face in making healthy food choices, such as cost, availability, and cultural fit.
The researchers hope the findings will propose solutions shaped directly by those most affected, as the participants will co-design actions to improve access, such as community cooking sessions and local food-growing opportunities.
By centring lived experience, this project aims to improve health, strengthen community integration, and provide evidence for more inclusive food policies that reflect the realities of diverse communities in Scotland.
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Community: Scottish Youth Parliament
Project: Green spaces for everyone: Youth-led research into intersectional access to green spaces
Location: Edinburgh
Through the awarded Green Spaces for Everyone project, the Scottish Youth Parliament will coordinate youth-led research into young people of colour's safe access to and meaningful participation in the design and development of green spaces locally and nationally.
The research will take an intersectional approach, exploring additional challenges, including gender and rurality. Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament will act as co-researchers to design and lead the investigation.
Through this project, the Scottish Youth Parliament aims to challenge the structural barriers faced by young people of colour when accessing natural spaces and provide evidence and tangible actions to decision-makers on what needs to change. Young people involved in the project will gain skills and knowledge, as well as building a supportive network of peers.
Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Change Award recipients:
Community: Bat's Wood, Growing Space & Bike Track
Project: Willow Worlds 2: Cut and plant
Location: Kirkcaldy, Fife
In Spring 2024, funded by a Catalyst Award, the Willow Worlds project was established in a public park in Fife, growing willow branches to protect young trees from deer. The project aimed to assess whether living structures could offer a natural, attractive alternative to plastic tree guards.
Today, the original Willow World structures are thriving and providing the foundation for the next phase of work. With the Change Award, Willow Worlds 2: Cut and Plant will explore how willow's ability to grow from cuttings can drive expansion. Environmental workers will harvest local willow and create new Willow Worlds across Fife and the Forth Valley, building skills while reducing costs, capturing carbon and supporting wildlife, all without the use of plastic.
Through gathering findings from across multiple sites, the group hope to demonstrate how this approach can be repeated further afield. All their findings will be documented openly and supported by short films that share their progress and reflections in an accessible way.
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Community: Hyperborea Research Station, Bragar
Project: Annlan: Flax heritage and sustaining the new textile commons
Location: Isle of Lewis
Annlan--meaning sustenance--is a research project that blends oral tradition with contemporary technology to explore how flax could strengthen a local circular economy rooted in the commons.
Building on the earlier Catalyst Award-funded work, which explored the Uist food system and how the community could combine innovation with traditional crofting practices, with the aim of improving the resilience and sustainability, the Change Award-supported project will see the group grow a flax crop and build linen processing machinery based on designs created to be part of a textile commons. In collaboration with local wool producers, the community aims to use fleece--an abundant by-product of sheep farming--to produce a flax-wool blended fibre with a home-grown provenance. As well as fibre production, the project will also investigate alternative uses for flax, examine economic models to understand how flax production could interconnect with and sustain a local circular economy, and publish a practical flax growing guide.
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Community: Cupar Development Trust
Project: Cupar Foodstation: Community masterplan
Location: Cupar
Over the last decade, the Cupar Development Trust has grown from a volunteer led group into a registered charity delivering major community driven planning initiatives.
The charity's ambition is to become a self-sustaining Trust that delivers meaningful and long-lasting community benefit without relying on annual funding rounds.
Last year, with the support of the Catalyst Award, the Trust developed an outline business case for Cupar Foodstation, a food-themed enterprise and welfare hub in Cupar, offering a community-led solution and a people-centred approach delivered through local organisations and food producers.
The Trust now hopes to build on the momentum and use the Change Award to build a case for a community asset transfer with the Cupar Foodstation as its core, enabling public, third sector and private entities to work together as part of a unique community hub. The study aims to demonstrate community support, organisational viability, and best value. Its findings will help shape a strategy to deliver long term social, economic, and environmental benefits for Cupar and its surrounding communities.
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Community: Eday Partnership and Stronsay Development Trust
Project: Scraps to suppers: Closing the island's food loop
Location: Orkney Isles
Supported by a Change Award, the Scraps to Suppers project aims to explore how small island communities can create an affordable and sustainable food growing system by reducing waste and reliance on imported goods, and by closing the local resource loop.
Building on the previous Catalyst Award research into community composting, the new project aims to expand the compost initiative island-wide to support further waste reduction. Further to this, the groups will also investigate cardboard waste recycling between Eday and Stronsay to produce low-carbon fuel.
Through collaboration between the two island communities, the project will assess what food waste management processes are practical, affordable, and regulation compliant. By supporting residents and local businesses to grow more food locally, the project aims to reduce food miles, strengthen resilience during supply disruptions, and lower costs. Ultimately, the project seeks to create a replicable model for establishing and sustaining a circular food production and waste system in island and rural communities.
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Original text here: https://rse.org.uk/strengthening-community-led-research-rse-awards-over-339k-to-24-initiatives-in-healthy-planet-healthy-people-awards/
Boston Foundation: ADUs are Growing in Popularity in Mass., Report Finds, But Issues With Cost, Local Codes Blunt Statewide Permitting Impact
BOSTON, Massachusetts, May 21 -- The Boston Foundation issued the following news release:* * *
ADUs are growing in popularity in Mass., report finds, but issues with cost, local codes blunt statewide permitting impact
A new report from Boston Indicators, the research center at the Boston Foundation, and Abundant Housing Massachusetts finds that Massachusetts' new statewide permitting pathway for accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, has sparked notable growth in the number of ADU permit applications and built units. But the report, ADUs Turn One: Regulatory Barriers to Production in Massachusetts ... Show Full Article BOSTON, Massachusetts, May 21 -- The Boston Foundation issued the following news release: * * * ADUs are growing in popularity in Mass., report finds, but issues with cost, local codes blunt statewide permitting impact A new report from Boston Indicators, the research center at the Boston Foundation, and Abundant Housing Massachusetts finds that Massachusetts' new statewide permitting pathway for accessory dwelling units, known as ADUs, has sparked notable growth in the number of ADU permit applications and built units. But the report, ADUs Turn One: Regulatory Barriers to Production in Massachusettsand Ideas for Further Reform, also notes that ADU production still lags the pace needed to reduce the state's housing shortfall, with construction costs compounded by local regulations that delay or derail homeowners' plans.
"The statewide approach to zoning reform has proven necessary to spark concrete results at a pace to make a real impact on housing supply," said Amy Dain, Senior Fellow at Boston Indicators and lead author of the report. "But while statewide ADU permitting is making ADU construction more possible, our fragmented, complex system of local fire, septic, stormwater and other regulations creates challenges that discourage homeowners and make ADU construction less likely."
The Commonwealth reformed the state Zoning Act as part of the 2024 Affordable Homes Act to legalize ADUs "by right" statewide, partially overriding local zoning prohibitions and other restrictions for ADUs of no more than 900 square feet of floor area or half the floor area of the principal dwelling, whichever is smaller. However, the Act does allow for "reasonable" local zoning regulations and for other local regulations.
The Act's passage unquestionably sparked an increase in ADU applications and permitting. To measure the impact, the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities surveyed building officials in all 351 municipalities in Massachusetts. 293 responded, reporting receiving a total of 1,639 applications for ADU building permits and issuing 1,224 permits. Those numbers underestimate the real counts - as 58 communities did not respond and 65 others only provided numbers for the first half of the year. But they give some sense that the legalization did spark a wave of interest in ADUs across Massachusetts.
Boston, Plymouth, Lawrence, Nantucket, Lowell, Milton and Somerville led the list of communities granting the most permits in the survey, with at least 32 communities granting more than 10 ADU permits under state and local regulations in 2025.
Even with the progress, there are clear obstacles to ADU construction that have emerged which are slowly the process for applicants, particularly at the local level, where each of the state's 351 municipalities has its own sets of building, fire, septic, wetlands, energy and stormwater codes that complicate the permitting process for both property owners applying to build ADUs and communities managing the approval process.
"If we are to truly unlock the potential of ADUs to create new and much-needed housing in Massachusetts, we must recognize that the Affordable Homes Act was just a first step," said Jesse Kanson-Benanav, Executive Director of Abundant Housing Massachusetts. "Homeowners seeking ADU permits face a tangled web of local barriers related to zoning, building codes, fire codes, septic systems, stormwater, and wetlands that vary from community to community. Standardizing, regionalizing and coordinating regulations around ADUs are necessary next steps to build upon."
The report makes a series of recommendations to sustain the gains underway. They include:
* Clear, uniform state regulatory standards for ADUs, with minimal opportunities for municipal-level variation
* A review of state regulatory standards for ADUs and revision to support ADU production while protecting health, safety, and the environment.
* Regionalization of permit review processes to reduce the burden on applicants and the staffing and technical expertise requirements for cities and towns.
* Improved cross-departmental coordination at the local and state levels to make the system easier to navigate for applicants.
The report also spells out a series of recommendations for state-level regulatory reforms to clarify ADU requirements, reduce unnecessary or redundant regulations and provide consistent and strong safety, health and environmental protections.
The report is available now at bostonindicators.org.
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REPORT: https://www.bostonindicators.org/-/media/indicators/boston-indicators-reports/report-files/2026/adus-turn-one.pdf
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Original text here: https://www.tbf.org/news-and-insights/press-releases/2026/may/adu-one-year-report
WLF Urges Third Circuit To Review Certified FCRA Class Containing Uninjured Members
WASHINGTON, May 20 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Washington Legal Foundation issued the following news release:* * *
WLF Urges Third Circuit To Review Certified FCRA Class Containing Uninjured Members
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Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to review an order by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that certified a class likely containing thousands of uninjured individuals. WLF joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers Association on the amicus brief, which was drafted by Adam Unikowsky and ... Show Full Article WASHINGTON, May 20 [Category: Law/Legal] -- The Washington Legal Foundation issued the following news release: * * * WLF Urges Third Circuit To Review Certified FCRA Class Containing Uninjured Members * Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to review an order by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania that certified a class likely containing thousands of uninjured individuals. WLF joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Bankers Association on the amicus brief, which was drafted by Adam Unikowsky andDaniel Schwei of Jenner & Block LLP.
The case arises from plaintiff Lesley Kaplan's submission of an identity theft report and supporting documentation to TransUnion after a fraudulent charge appeared on her Wells Fargo credit card account. TransUnion responded with its standard form Letter 775, declining to block the information because it determined that one of the Fair Credit Reporting Act's (FCRA) statutory exceptions applied, and it later verified the charge as legitimate with the creditor. Over TransUnion's cogent objections, the district court certified a nationwide class of approximately 280,763 consumers who received similar denial letters.
In the amicus brief, amici argue that the district court's interpretation of the FCRA is flawed because it would require consumer reporting agencies to block information immediately upon request before determining its validity. Because Article III injury is an individualized issue here, mere receipt of the denial letter does not establish concrete harm for every class member, necessitating mini-trials on standing that defeat predominance. This error threatens to undermine the integrity of the consumer reporting system upon which businesses and consumers depend.
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Original text here: https://www.wlf.org/2026/05/20/communicating/wlf-urges-third-circuit-to-review-certified-fcra-class-containing-uninjured-members/
Statement From Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, on Ebola Outbreak
NEW YORK, May 20 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following statement by President Rajiv J. Shah on Ebola outbreak:* * *
Statement From Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, on Ebola Outbreak
The news that the current Ebola outbreak in Central Africa may have circulated undetected for weeks and is now crossing borders is a reckoning for everyone with a stake in global health -- from leaders at the World Health Assembly this week to heads of state, local health departments, frontline clinics, and each of us. Pandemic prevention is in all our interests: The Rockefeller ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, May 20 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following statement by President Rajiv J. Shah on Ebola outbreak: * * * Statement From Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation, on Ebola Outbreak The news that the current Ebola outbreak in Central Africa may have circulated undetected for weeks and is now crossing borders is a reckoning for everyone with a stake in global health -- from leaders at the World Health Assembly this week to heads of state, local health departments, frontline clinics, and each of us. Pandemic prevention is in all our interests: The RockefellerFoundation urges leaders at the WHA and beyond to take urgent action to make it a reality.
Twelve years ago, Ebola reminded the world the hard way of what happens when we are unprepared. That outbreak killed more than 11,000 people across West Africa, infected more than twice that many, and reached American shores. Many of us pledged to never let such an outbreak happen again.
In the years since, countries across Africa have made real strides on regional laboratory and surveillance systems. The United States and many others have also supported that work through overseas development assistance and other avenues. For example, U.S.-supported programs led by USAID helped countries detect outbreaks earlier, trace contacts faster, strengthen laboratories, and train frontline health workers.
The disease threat has not changed: Ebola and other viruses do not respect borders, politics, ideology, or any transactional deals. But we've let our frontline defenses down. Last year, countries, including the United States, cut overseas development assistance by $40 billion, including for health services. That's historic decimation of what we know works to prevent viruses and other threats from breaking out.
At The Rockefeller Foundation, we believe we can urgently work together to protect people everywhere. The answer is not to rebuild the old system but to build a smarter one -- pairing AI-powered surveillance, genomic sequencing, and real-time data with strong local health systems and sustained investment in frontline capacity, especially in fragile regions where outbreaks spread fastest.
This is not charity, it's common sense. Recent polling found 88% of Americans and 91% of people worldwide believe international cooperation is essential to tackling outbreaks. We are ready to work with anyone who shares that conviction. The time is now.
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Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/statement-from-rajiv-j-shah-president-of-the-rockefeller-foundation-on-ebola-outbreak/
Special guest confirmed for David Suzuki's 90th birthday benefit concert
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 20 -- The David Suzuki Foundation posted the following news release:* * *
Special guest confirmed for David Suzuki's 90th birthday benefit concert
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David Suzuki Foundation fundraiser promises to be an extraordinary night full of all-star performances
VANCOUVER | TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORIES OF THE xwm@thkw@y@m (MUSQUEAM), Skwxwu7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND s@lilw@tal (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) FIRST NATIONS, May 20, 2026 - A special guest has joined the lineup of artists and speakers confirmed to perform at David Suzuki's 90th birthday benefit concert, Legacy: A Celebration ... Show Full Article VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 20 -- The David Suzuki Foundation posted the following news release: * * * Special guest confirmed for David Suzuki's 90th birthday benefit concert * David Suzuki Foundation fundraiser promises to be an extraordinary night full of all-star performances VANCOUVER | TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORIES OF THE xwm@thkw@y@m (MUSQUEAM), Skwxwu7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND s@lilw@tal (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) FIRST NATIONS, May 20, 2026 - A special guest has joined the lineup of artists and speakers confirmed to perform at David Suzuki's 90th birthday benefit concert, Legacy: A Celebrationof David Suzuki at 90, in concert with Vancity, on Friday, May 22, at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The event, presented in partnership with Vancity, honours David's milestone birthday and his lifelong dedication to the planet.
"David Suzuki and the David Suzuki Foundation have a long legacy of bringing musicians, celebrities, activists and Indigenous leaders together on tours, campaigns and special occasions," said David Suzuki Foundation executive director Pierre Iachetti. "There are so many elements to this special night you won't want to miss."
Participating artists and speakers include Bruce Cockburn, Tara Cullis, Jane Fonda, Al Gore, Rick Hansen, Chantal Kreviazuk, Janelle Lapointe, Sarah McLachlan, Danny Michel, William Prince, Sam Roberts Band, Snotty Nose Rez Kids, Suzanne Simard, George Stroumboulopoulos, David Suzuki, Tanya Tagaq Trio, Uzume Taiko and Tia Wood, plus a special guest.
"All my adult life, musicians have stepped up to join me," David Suzuki said. "Nothing compares to being immersed in music with other people. Music cuts through all the barriers and goes straight to the heart!"
Tickets to the in-person event start at $259 plus tax. To buy tickets, visit https://show.ps/l/36825796-1/. All event proceeds support the David Suzuki Foundation so it can continue its work protecting nature, curbing climate change and creating resilient communities.
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For more information and media pass requests, please contact: dsf@ninepointagency.com
* Note : David Suzuki and Pierre Iachetti are available for select interviews on request; opportunities for interviews with select talent may be available to accredited media outlets.
The David Suzuki Foundation is a Canadian environmental non-profit organization, founded in 1990. We operate in English and French, with offices in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal. We aim to collaborate with many different people in Canada, including Indigenous leadership and communities, all governments, businesses and individuals to find solutions to create a sustainable Canada through scientific research, traditional ecological knowledge, innovative policy and legal solutions, communications and public engagement. Our mission is to protect nature's diversity and the wellbeing of all life, now and for the future. We envision a world where we all act every day on the understanding that we are interdependent with nature and each other.
Vancity is a values-based financial co-operative serving the needs of its 588,000 member-owners and their communities, with offices and more than 60 branches located in Metro Vancouver and Squamish, the Fraser Valley, the Sunshine Coast, the Vancouver and Gulf Islands and Alert Bay, within the territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw Peoples. With $41 billion in assets plus assets under administration, Vancity is Canada's largest credit union. Vancity uses its assets to help improve the financial wellbeing of its members while helping to develop healthy communities that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.
David Suzuki is a grandfather, scientist, former host of CBC's The Nature of Things, emeritus professor at the University of British Columbia and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Through radio, television and more than 55 books, he has communicated about humanity's collective impact on the natural world, which now threatens the future of human life. Among his many accolades, Suzuki has been conferred with more than 30 honorary degrees from universities in Canada, the United States and Australia. He has been honoured with adoptions and names from eight Indigenous nations in Canada and Australia.
Bruce Cockburn has enjoyed an illustrious career shaped by politics, spirituality and musical diversity. His remarkable journey has seen him embrace folk, jazz, rock and worldbeat styles while earning high praise as a prolific, inspired songwriter and accomplished guitarist. He remains deeply respected for his activism and humanist song lyrics that thread throughout his career. On all his albums, Cockburn has deftly captured the joy, pain, fear and faith of human experience in song. Cockburn has won 13 Juno Awards, an induction into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, a Governor General's Performing Arts Award and has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada, among many other accolades. He has 22 gold and platinum records including a six-times platinum record for his Christmas album. Cockburn continues to tour internationally.
Tara Cullis is an award-winning author, activist and president of the David Suzuki Foundation. She has been a key player in environmental movements in the Amazon, Southeast Asia, Japan and British Columbia. She co-founded the David Suzuki Foundation with David Suzuki "to collaborate with people in Canada from all walks of life, to conserve our environment and to find solutions that will create a sustainable Canada through science-based research, education and policy work."
Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor, producer, author, activist and fitness guru. Her career has spanned over 50 years, accumulating a body of film work that includes more than 50 films and significant contributions to political causes such as women's rights, Indigenous rights and environmental protection. She is a seven-time Golden Globe winner and was honoured with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021. She accepted the Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. In April 2024, Fonda accepted the TIME magazine Earth Award. She also received the SAG Life Achievement Award in February 2025.
Al Gore, former vice-president of the United States, is the founder and chairman of The Climate Reality Project, a non-profit devoted to solving the climate crisis, a founding partner and chairman of Generation Investment Management and a co-founder of Climate TRACE. He is also a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, a member of the World Economic Forum's board of trustees and a past member of the board of directors at Apple.
Rick Hansen, C.C., O.B.C., six-time Paralympic medallist, is a Canadian icon best known as the "Man In Motion" for undertaking an epic 26-month, 40,000-kilometre journey around the world in his wheelchair. He is the founder of the Rick Hansen Foundation, an organization committed to inspire, create and deliver innovative solutions that accelerate a global movement to remove barriers to inclusion for people with disabilities.
Chantal Kreviazuk made her critically acclaimed full-length debut, Under These Rocks and Stones, in 1997. Since then, the Winnipeg-born and internationally celebrated three-times Juno Award and Grammy winning singer-songwriter and musician, classically trained pianist, actor, movie producer, philanthropist, humanitarian and proud wife and mother of three has recorded 10 albums, including a live album, a holiday album and a collaboration with her husband and Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida. A prolific songwriter, Kreviazuk has written global smashes for the likes of Drake, Gwen Stefani, Pitbull, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Shakira, Kelly Clarkson and Kendrick Lamar. Equally committed to helping those in need, Kreviazuk was awarded the Order of Canada in 2014 along with Maida, for their efforts to raise awareness and support for human and animal rights, mental health, education and the environment. Kreviazuk has been an ambassador to War Child for more than two decades and one of the organization's founding artists.
Janelle Lapointe is a climate justice and Indigenous rights organizer from Stellat'en First Nation. She is of mixed Black, Dakelh and French (Quebecois) ancestry. Currently, she is a senior adviser at the David Suzuki Foundation and a guest on Treaty 13 territory, the traditional lands of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Huron-Wendat peoples, as well as the Mississaugas of the Credit. Janelle was previously a regular contributor on CBC Vancouver's The Early Edition climate panel and is a member of the Indigenous Climate Adaptation Working Group, board member of Common Horizon and Sacred Earth Solar, council member of SevenGen Energy and an instructor of Simon Fraser University's Foundations in Climate Action course. She leans on her lived experience growing up on a small reserve in northern British Columbia to ensure that intersectionality is at the forefront of environmental narratives, to build power and help others see their stake in fighting back against the status quo.
Sarah McLachlan is one of the most celebrated singer-songwriters in entertainment with over 40 million albums sold worldwide. She has received three Grammy Awards and 12 Juno Awards over her career and has been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriter's Hall of Fame. Sarah's music embodies the art of songwriting on its most personal level, and her indelible vocals resonate with people everywhere. Her songs have had a profound influence: "Angel," "Building A Mystery," "Fallen," "I Will Remember You," "Adia," "Sweet Surrender," "World On Fire," "Possession" and countless others are an inspiration to music lovers around the globe.
Danny Michel is a Canadian songwriter and producer who has built a decades-long career on curiosity and creative risk-taking. Blending rock, pop, folk, world and even classical influences, his "musical ADD" has earned him a devoted fan base, multiple Juno and Polaris Prize nominations, CBC's Heart of Gold award and CFMA honours, including Producer of the Year and the Oliver Schroer Pushing the Boundaries Award. Beyond music, he founded the DM Ocean Academy Fund to support a non-profit high school in Belize and has performed at milestone celebrations for Jane Goodall and David Suzuki, as well as toured with Stuart McLean's Vinyl Cafe.
William Prince is a songwriter shaped by powerful legacies of family and craft. His perspective is both singular and resonant. His fifth LP, Further From the Country, is a striking work of reflection and ambition, marked by clarity, humanity and emotional depth. The distance travelled on this new album is generational, aspirational and deeply personal. Expansive and declarative, the record finds Prince meeting the challenge of writing enduring songs for an age of uncertainty. A two-time Juno Award winner, Prince continues to build an exceptional body of work, earning the John Prine Songwriter Fellowship and an Americana Honors & Awards nomination. From the Newport Folk Festival to sold-out performances at Massey Hall, from NPR's Tiny Desk to tours with The War and Treaty and Yola, he has appeared on some of music's most storied stages. In June 2025, Nipissing University awarded him an honorary Doctor of Letters (honoris causa) recognizing his contributions to music, storytelling and cultural bridge-building.
Sam Roberts Band is an award-winning rock act with over 125 million career streams to date. They maintain their tradition of delivering chart-topping singles, consistently surpassing expectations with their music. Originating from Montreal, the double-platinum-selling band is known for their radio hits since their debut album We Were Born In A Flame, which included hit singles "Brother Down," "Don't Walk Away Eileen," "Hard Road" and "Where Have All The Good People Gone?" Sam Roberts Band continues to release critically acclaimed and fan-loved albums, touring constantly throughout Canada and the world. The band is a perennial favourite and continues to bring new fans into the fold. Their legacy of hit singles is now etched into the Canadian music landscape. Songs such as "We're All In This Together," "Bridge to Nowhere," "Them Kids" and "Picture of Love" continue to be heard on the airwaves, rock and lifestyle playlists and at unforgettable shows.
Suzanne Simard is a professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia and leads the Mother Tree Project and Program. Her research -showing that forests are cooperative, connected networks -has revolutionized forest ecology. Her TED Talk has reached millions, and her bestselling book Finding the Mother Tree continues to capture global interest. Named one of TIME 's 100 most influential people in the world in 2024, she champions regenerative forestry rooted in Indigenous knowledge.
Snotty Nose Rez Kids tore into the music scene with an unmistakable talent and an unforgettable name. Showing off their lyrical prowess and natural storytelling ability, Yung Trybez and Young D jumpstarted the band with back-to-back albums in 2017. Their follow up albums, Trapline, Life After God and Im Good, HBU? have solidified their career with greater industry recognition, collecting 13 Western Canadian Music Awards, a Prism Prize award, two Juno nominations and four appearances on the Polaris Prize shortlist. The band has taken their high voltage live show to the road, performing hundreds of shows across six countries. SNRK has gone on to dominate hip-hop music, most recently achieving their biggest milestone, signing to Sony Music. SNRK are blazing their own path, weaving together a musical fabric of hard-hitting lyricism, revealing stories about the struggles they and their people have encountered, empowering protest songs for the frontlines and a humour that keeps even the heaviest of topics something you can vibe to.
George Stroumboulopoulos is a globally renowned storyteller, broadcaster and producer, synonymous with music, television, film and the creative arts in Canada. For more than three decades, he has shaped the national conversation through iconic prime-time news and late-night programs, including CBC's The Hour and George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, his interview series on CNN and as anchor of Hockey Night in Canada. He also fronted and produced The Strombo Show on Apple Music, further cementing his reputation as one of the most trusted and influential voices in contemporary culture.
Tanya Tagaq Trio comprises Tanya Tagaq, Jean Martin and Jeffrey Zeigler. Tanya Tagaq is an internationally celebrated artist from Ikaluktutiak (Cambridge Bay, Nunavut). She is an improvisational singer, avant-garde composer and bestselling author. A member of the Order of Canada, Polaris Music Prize and Juno Award winner, and recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is an original disruptor and a world-changing figure at the forefront of seismic social, political and environmental change. Jean Martin is a drummer, multi-instrumentalist and producer based in Toronto, but with a network of collaborators that extends throughout Canada and internationally. He was nominated in 2004 as 'Best Drummer' at the National Jazz Awards and received the 2004 Freddy Stone Award for excellence in contemporary music in Canada. As a producer, Jean is best known as the Artistic Director of Barnyard Records. Cellist and multidisciplinary artist Jeffrey Zeigler has a body of work that spans genres, themes, and formats, from solo to opera to chamber and interdisciplinary collaborations. As a member of the internationally-renowned Kronos Quartet from 2005-2013, he is the recipient of the Avery Fisher Prize, the Polar Music Prize, the President's Merit Award from NARAS (who present the GRAMMY(tm) Awards), the Richard Bogomolny National Service Award from Chamber Music America, and The Asia Society's Cultural Achievement Award.
Tia Wood followed her heart from the Saddle Lake Cree Nation rez in central Alberta to the bright lights of Los Angeles to make her musical dreams come true. Her powerful, soulful voice carries the spirit of her peoples' songs that have echoed from her homelands since time immemorial. Growing up in Treaty 6 territory in a home rich with music and culture, Wood began singing as soon as she could talk, inspired by her parents, siblings and dual Plains Cree and Coast Salish heritage. Her father, Earl Wood, co-founded and was a member of the renowned powwow group Northern Cree, while her mother Cynthia Jim and sister Fawn Wood are also accomplished musicians. These early influences shaped Wood's artistic path and continue to inform her work today. Her debut songs, including "Losing Game," "Dirt Roads," "Sky High," "Catch and Release" and "Sugar and Cream," are as eclectic and rich as the young adult experience. With sonically rich vocals and deeply personal storytelling, Tia Wood is carving out a distinctive voice in today's music landscape.
Uzume Taiko has developed a reputation as one of Canada's most dynamic performing ensembles. Their repertoire includes a variety of drum-playing styles, exciting rhythms and powerful beats that the audience feels. They create new cross-cultural taiko music by combining the festival drumming style from Japan with contributions from various musicians and artists. Uzume Taiko has performed in all corners of Canada, from the Arctic to both coasts and many points in between. The group has toured their evening concerts, festival and youth shows across North America, the United Kingdom and Europe. The troupe leads taiko drum workshops in schools and communities for people of all ages, for health and wellness.
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Original text here: https://davidsuzuki.org/press/special-guest-confirmed-for-david-suzukis-90th-birthday-benefit-concert/
Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust Announce Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy
NEW YORK, May 20 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release on May 19, 2026:* * *
The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust Announce Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy
* GCNP aims to mobilize and coordinate philanthropic capital to accelerate efficient, safe, secure, and equitable nuclear energy deployment globally -- 0.1%-0.2% of climate philanthropy currently goes towards it.
* The Coalition seeks to expand and align philanthropic support for nuclear energy as a driver of clean energy security, economic growth, energy abundance, and human development.
* Coalition ... Show Full Article NEW YORK, May 20 -- The Rockefeller Foundation posted the following news release on May 19, 2026: * * * The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust Announce Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy * GCNP aims to mobilize and coordinate philanthropic capital to accelerate efficient, safe, secure, and equitable nuclear energy deployment globally -- 0.1%-0.2% of climate philanthropy currently goes towards it. * The Coalition seeks to expand and align philanthropic support for nuclear energy as a driver of clean energy security, economic growth, energy abundance, and human development. * Coalitionmembers include Blue Horizons Foundation, CleanEcon, Founders Pledge, Ray Rothrock, and the Rodel Foundation with the Oppenheimer Project serving as Strategic Partner; like-minded partners are welcome to join.
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SINGAPORE -- At the Philanthropy Asia Summit, part of Ecosperity Week in Singapore, The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust today announced the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy (GCNP), a collaborative initiative to mobilize philanthropic capital in support of nuclear energy as a driver for clean energy security, economic growth, energy abundance, and human development. The Coalition welcomes philanthropic partners to join this effort.
From 2024 through 2026, the International Energy Agency (IEA) predicts some of the highest growth rates in electricity demand, driven by higher heat and increased consumption of energy. Meeting this need will require a range of energy options, including nuclear. Recent analysis, including The Rockefeller Foundation's 2025 work on nuclear and total system costs, shows that firm, safe, and non-emitting nuclear generation and variable renewables are mutually reinforcing: each makes the other more affordable and effective at scale.
"Universal energy abundance -- the kind that powers industries, anchors economies, and raises living standards for billions -- requires firm, clean power alongside renewables. The next generation of nuclear technologies, including small modular reactors, is advancing fast and costs are coming down, opening a real prospect that many developing and emerging economies could add safe, abundant, clean baseload power to their energy mix," said Ashvin Dayal, Senior Vice President for Power at The Rockefeller Foundation, during the convening at the Philanthropy Asia Summit. "Getting there will take serious work on policy, regulation, finance, and human capital. That is precisely why we are forming the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy now."
Philanthropy has, for decades, underinvested in the nuclear space. According to analysis by Founders Pledge drawing on ClimateWorks Foundation data, only 0.1-0.2% of climate philanthropy supports nuclear energy, less than $2 of every $1,000. Yet, interest and investment in nuclear energy are growing among policymakers, leading technology companies, and financial institutions.
"Nuclear power is a vital clean energy source that can help address the climate crisis. Through the Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy, we aim to convene like-minded partners to support informed dialogue and responsible approaches to nuclear energy in upholding the highest standards of safety, security, and responsible waste management," said Desmond Kuek, Executive Director and CEO, Temasek Trust.
Global Coalition for Nuclear Philanthropy:
The Rockefeller Foundation and Temasek Trust are part of a growing coalition of other foundations and supporters -- including Blue Horizons Foundation, CleanEcon, Founders Pledge, Ray Rothrock, and the Rodel Foundation -- committed to furthering philanthropic support for nuclear energy. This aligns with the COP28 Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy, a global pledge by over 30 countries to triple their nuclear power capacity by 2050 to meet net-zero goals.
Oppenheimer Project, which has co-developed the Coalition from concept to launch, will serve as Strategic Partner.
Upon the appointment of GCNP's Secretariat, TT Foundation Advisors, the philanthropy advisory arm of Temasek Trust, will provide infrastructure support for the Secretariat in its initial years, including tailored donor-advised funds and grant management services.
GCNP will grow and align philanthropic capital for nuclear across four strategic pathways, with the aim of supporting more countries in exploring the safe and credible integration of nuclear into their energy mix over the next 5 to 10 years:
1. Build the case: Develop data-informed, culturally grounded narratives that connect nuclear energy to concrete outcomes -- energy security, climate resilience, industrial competitiveness, and equitable development -- and build durable public support.
2. Grow the field: Expand the global talent, institutions, and networks needed to deploy and govern nuclear power safely and effectively.
3. Make it bankable: De-risk financing structures and attract the public and private capital needed to bring nuclear projects to scale.
4. Strengthen governance: Build upon successful initiatives to strengthen safety, security, and governance frameworks to ensure nuclear expansion is verifiable and robust.
The Coalition will also serve as a platform for funders to access shared knowledge, identify high-leverage opportunities aligned with their priorities, and build partnerships.
The GCNP will be informed by experts from government, industry, academia, civil society, and international institutions, with local stakeholders and practitioners serving as partners to identify priorities and design interventions.
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About The Rockefeller Foundation
Investing $30 billion over the last 113 years to promote the well-being of humanity, The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on unlikely partnerships and innovative solutions that deliver measurable results for people in the United States and around the world. We leverage scientific breakthroughs, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to make big bets across energy, food, health, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn, Instagram @rockefellerfdn, YouTube @RockefellerFdn, and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.
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About Temasek Trust
Temasek Trust was established by Temasek Holdings and is a steward of philanthropic assets. It aims to catalyze positive impact by protecting the planet, uplifting communities, connecting people, and advancing capabilities. By forging new pathways for philanthropy and impact investing with like-minded partners, Temasek Trust seeks to promote catalytic philanthropy as a force for good. For more information, visit www.temasektrust.org.sg. Follow us on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.
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Original text here: https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/news/rockefeller-foundation-temasek-trust-announce-global-coalition-nuclear-philanthropy/
How the UK can better protect pregnant women from extreme heat
LONDON, England, May 20 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release:* * *
How the UK can better protect pregnant women from extreme heat
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Our new report sets out practical, near-term actions the government can take, including:
* Recognising pregnancy consistently in policy, guidance and public communications on extreme heat.
* Ensuring maternity services are resilient to heat (e.g. cooler wards, clear clinical guidance for midwives and doctors)
Madeleine Thomson, Head of Climate Impacts & Adaptation, said:
"We are heading towards a 2degC+ world, and the ... Show Full Article LONDON, England, May 20 -- Wellcome, a charitable foundation, posted the following news release: * * * How the UK can better protect pregnant women from extreme heat * Our new report sets out practical, near-term actions the government can take, including: * Recognising pregnancy consistently in policy, guidance and public communications on extreme heat. * Ensuring maternity services are resilient to heat (e.g. cooler wards, clear clinical guidance for midwives and doctors) Madeleine Thomson, Head of Climate Impacts & Adaptation, said: "We are heading towards a 2degC+ world, and theUK has a responsibility to prepare for that reality now. Extreme heat is already increasing risks for pregnant women, including premature birth, and the Climate Change Committee has made clear that the UK health system is not currently equipped to respond to the growing threats from extreme heat.
"In response, we have identified practical steps the government can take now, from including measures to protect pregnant women in NHS guidance, to ensuring maternity wards stay safe in hot weather and equipping midwives with clear advice for pregnant women. These are changes that can make an immediate difference. The health impacts of climate change are already here, and acting now gives us a clear chance to better protect those most at risk."
Read the full report here: https://wellcome.org/insights/reports/heat-and-pregnancy
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Original text here: https://wellcome.org/insights/articles/how-uk-can-better-protect-pregnant-women-extreme-heat