Scottish Government rewards community action for the environment
TODAY (Monday 31 March), five community projects have been announced as this year’s winners of Scotland’s Greener Together Awards.
The winners are:
* South Seeds (Glasgow – Southside)
* Gorbals Recycles Project (Glasgow)
* The Children’s Wood (Glasgow)
* Forth Environmental Link (Stirling)
* Remade (Edinburgh)
Says a spokesperson: “The awards celebrate and reward communities for their environmental action. They are part of the Scottish Government’s national campaign, ‘Greener Together’, which encourages everyone across the country to play their part in making Scotland a cleaner, greener place.”
All of the winners will be presented with a Greener Together Award plaque created by Scottish artist, Kate Ives.
The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, said: “We introduced this award to recognise and reward hard-working communities who are playing their part and helping make Scotland a cleaner, Greener place for us all to live.
“It’s great to see some truly excellent work being done across Scotland and I’m very pleased to announce the 2014 winners.
“We received a high calibre of entries from across Scotland, all of which demonstrate how communities are working together to bring greener living to life in their local area.
“It’s hugely encouraging to see such passion and commitment across a range of projects. I hope it encourages even more inspirational initiatives to get their entries in next year.”
One of the winners, South Seeds, a community-led charity based in Glasgow, helps residents lower their energy bills, build community gardens and tackle waste issues – making Glasgow a more sustainable place to live.
Lucy Gillie, project manager at South Seeds, said: “It’s brilliant to be recognised with this award – we are passionate about helping our local community and the wider environment and work hard to make a difference.
“Being presented with a Greener Together Award plaque means a great deal to staff, volunteers and residents, and we will continue to do our greener bit.”
The judging panel, which included representatives from WWF Scotland, Living Streets, and Scottish Natural Heritage, was delighted with the number and quality of the community projects and initiatives nominated.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
Greener Together Awards is part of Greener Together and aims to recognise and reward hard-working communities who are doing a fantastic job making Scotland a greener, cleaner place to live.
The Scottish Government has committed to ambitious climate change targets of a 42 per cent reduction in CO2 by 2020 and an 80 per cent reduction by 2050.
To help achieve these targets the Scottish Government Greener Together campaign encourages everyone across the country to play their part in making Scotland a cleaner, greener place to live.
It demonstrates that every greener effort – big or small – does make a difference. By showing we can all contribute, the campaign seeks to empower people to recognise greener living benefits for them, their families and Scotland as a whole, now and for the future.
Greener Together sits under the Scottish Government’s Natural Scotland superbrand, which represents all strategic activity towards achieving a greener Scotland.
For more information on the Greener Together campaign, please visit:
Website: www.greenerscotland.org
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoGreenerTogether
Twitter: https://twitter.com/greener2gethr and use the hashtag #GreenerTogether
For further information on the Greener Together Awards, please contact: Kirsty MacLeod or Chelsie Harris at Stripe Communications on 0131 561 8628 or email greener@stripecom.co.uk
Background
The winners of the Greener Together Awards 2014 are:
Stirling Cycle Hub
The vision of the Stirling Cycle Hub is to work towards a healthier, greener future by encouraging and supporting more people to cycle. The hub, located at Stirling train station, opened in May 2013 and has had almost 3,000 visits. The hub acts both as a source of encouragement and inspiration to those less confident about getting on a bike.
Remade in Edinburgh
Remade in Edinburgh is a community-led reuse and repair centre. The project shares repair skills, prevents household goods from going to landfill, and promotes the vision of a zero-waste Edinburgh as an alternative to a culture of cheap, disposable items.
The project helps people to lower their rates of consumption, reduce their carbon footprint and make financial savings by giving them the skills to repair and maintain their computer hardware and to mend and alter clothes and other household textiles.
The life of these items is extended, delaying the purchase of replacements and reducing the amount of waste going to landfill. The service hopes to extend to include furniture in the near future.
The Children’s Wood
The Children’s Wood, situated within the North Kelvin Meadow, is a space where the community can connect with nature, and children can play freely.
The Children’s Wood project uses the Children’s Wood to educate people about the value of nature on health and well-being, with activities designed to bring the community together.
Most importantly, all activities are designed to impact positively on the inequalities within our community.
Gorbals Recycles Project
This not-for-profit community charity was founded in 2004 when a community consultation recognised the lack of recycling facilities in the local area. The residents were keen to change this.
The project aims to divert as much domestic waste from landfill as possible and they promote recycling within their community through events and work within local schools.
The project contributes significantly to meeting the city’s recycling targets, helps some of its most excluded citizens through building their self-esteem and skills.
It also promotes healthy lifestyles through selling affordable refurbished bikes to adults and children.
South Seeds
South Seeds is a community led charity based in the Southside of Glasgow.
The charity supports residents to lower their energy bills and build community gardens – making the Southside of Glasgow a more sustainable place to live.
The charity runs workshops and have created ‘how to’ guides to help residents with energy efficiency.
The Greener Together campaign is delivered in partnership with a range of public, private and voluntary organisations, the Greener Together campaign seeks to improve Scotland’s natural and built environment and the sustainable use and enjoyment of it.
A variety of organisations are supporting the campaign including WWF Scotland, Energy Saving Trust, Zero Waste Scotland, COSLA, Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre, Consumer Focus Scotland, Scotland Food & Drink, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Retail Consortium and Citizens Advice Direct
Chelsie Harris
Account executive
t: +44 (0)131 526 3061
w: www.stripecom.co.uk
86 Commercial Quay, Edinburgh, EH6 6LX
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