Mum and climate activist, Jess Pepper, started a trend in Little Dunkeld eight years ago that has now spread across the world.
And it all started with a cuppa.
In 2015, Jess sat on the very table in Birnam Arts Centre where she is tonight and came up with an idea.
What if we get local people talking about the climate?
From then, the concept spiralled into a global phenomenon, connecting this small community in Perthshire with the likes of North Carolina and beyond.
All thanks to the power of conversation.
Jess could see that simply talking – with the help of biscuits and hot tea – could inspire change.
Sense of climate agency for Dunkeld community
And ever since, the Dunkeld and Birnam Climate Café has “created a space for chat and action” on climate change, and inspired communities worldwide to do the same.
Jess says: “It’s something about people coming together, being together and connecting.
“Maybe coming from completely different perspectives, but sharing that interest and thinking about ideas and seeing what is possible.
“And if those spaces showcase some of the things which people are doing in that community, that inspires that chat and excitement about what can be done what can be achieved.
“You know, if your next door neighbour actually has done something remarkable and you hear about it, that’s quite exciting.
“It’s energising and it gives everyone a sense of agency.”
Back then, Jess never expected her climate meetings to take off the way they did.
“We just thought, we’ll put on the kettle and we’ll provide some biscuits.
“And if folk want to turn up and talk about climate change… Who will?” she laughs.
But they did, and they kept coming back.
Cakes for commuters, water efficiency and more
During the last eight years, Climate Café members have made a difference in their community, from food sharing initiatives to helping Dunkeld and Birnam become Scotland’s first water efficient village.
They also provide ‘cakes for commuters’, a scheme to encourage locals to limit their emissions by choosing public transport.
Climate Café had a pop-up sat COP26 in Glasgow and their upcycled bunting made it all the way to COP21 in Paris.
The work of locals has inspired groups across the world, including an upcoming Climate Café in Finland, and possibly Melbourne and New York next.
Jess said that the biggest change has been the attitude in their community.
“I think what really has shifted is our climate literacy,” she says.
“We talk about climate stuff all the time. And everyone brings their own insights and experience to those conversations.”
To any climate change-deniers, Jess invites them to pop along to a Climate Café.
“I think they would be amazed that all these connections and all this momentum can come from a cup of tea.
“I’d invite them to network meeting to tune into what folk are saying, because it is remarkable what has been done communities.”
Political back-tracking ‘not a distraction’ for Dunkeld Climate Café
While the community in Dunkeld and Birnam works hard to make a difference, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has back-tracked on net zero targets.
But Jess said this hasn’t left the group distracted or disheartened.
“It doesn’t even need to be a distraction right now,” she says.
“It’s sad and hard to understand. Especially when the impacts of climate are on those who did the least to cause it and are the most vulnerable.
“But dealing with a climate emergency is going to take everyone. And if everyone can connect in their communities, and those communities can connect with one another… Any politician will be tuning in to see the difference we can make.”
Dunkeld and Birnam Climate Café a ‘marvellous endeavour’
MSP for Perthshire North, John Swinney, will be speaking to parliament about the benefits of Climate Cafés this Thursday.
He says: “The first thing that I’ve been able to do from the back benches in this space I am doing about Climate Cafés.
“Why? Because I am very, very proud of what has been achieved in the community here and what it has led to – this extraordinary global movement.
“Also, the topic is so, so important. And I’m seized of the importance of why we need to act on climate emergency.”
The former Deputy First Minister of Scotland adds: “When we look at really big problems like the climate emergency, the temptation is to look at it and say ‘that is too difficult for me to do anything about’.”
But the Climate Café, John says, has spiralled from small steps into something much bigger, to become “a marvellous endeavour that is making a difference around the world, and it started off right here in the heart of our community.”
Conversation