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1) Community Woodland update. Mark Aquilina has heard back from Pitlochry Estates He wrote to them to see if there may be any woodland available. Mr Charles Butter responded, and said that unfortunately there is no suitable land at present. So other options will have to be explored. The Woodland Group will meet again soon.
Allotments were discussed at Community Council on 11/4/22. No further forward at present. 2) Green badge to be set up locally for accommodation providers update. ECO business providers in Pitlochry will be able to apply for a Green badge in near future for their hotel/B&B/holiday let's etc. Meeting with Growbiz was very successful. Would anyone be interested in helping Alison Robb with this. Graeme Fish from Torrdarach House B&B is going to help Alison Robb with looking over the questionnaire for her. 3) Repair Cafe,and difficulties re premises for Repair Cafe, Men’s Shed and Sprout (Eco-Hub) Julia Harriman is particularly interested in trying to get this started up. A post on the local Pitlochry Community Facebook page produced quite a few responses from people with various skills, and one or two folk also expressed an interest at the recent Community Action Plan event at the Town Hall ( where the Climate Cafe had a table). A few people attended a virtual Repair Cafe workshop recently organised by Circular Communities Scotland. The Glasgow Repair Cafe may be designing a “start-up pack “ for new Repair Cafes which would be useful. It is hoped that the Repair Cafe could happen on a reasonably regular basis, eg once a month. Kaja feels that a Repair Cafe could operate out of Handam, especially if a gazebo could be put up outside the back of Handam to provide extra space and shelter. This would probably be at days or times when the Handam shop was closed. Also some workshops and events may happen in the Moulin Hall, and a Repair Cafe could be held at the same time. There are a few possibilities re premises. The toilet block behind Handam is an option and has been discussed with the PKC. However, the roof is now leaking and the price of fixing it could be considerable. The “Drama Hut” is another possibility but is very full of “stuff” with no alternative home. There is a possible space in the Townhall too 4) Community Action Plan Feedback March 25th/26th was very well attended. People very engaged and keen to see improvements in many aspects of environment and life generally in Pitlochry. Preliminary findings suggest especially concerns around lack of facilities for young people in the environment. Early findings to be reported on shortly. We included some posters with information on - What the Climate Café is. What Sprout the Community Eco Hub will be, A local Repair Café, Men’s Shed, Community Woodlands group etc and a list of workshops and presentations we have organised so they can be promoted to a wider audience. 5) Piffl Boxes Gothenberg. Deirdre Maceachern has relatives in Sweden where they have this system which enable people, young and old who don’t have of cant afford access to sports equipment and games to play in parks in the city. Equipment is stored in a large compartmented metal cabinets...ie Piffl box. They are accessed via an app and you need to input a credit card number although you wont be charged unless you keep the equipment. . Deirdre is hoping to find out more when she visits Sweden next month. This would seem to be a possible idea for Pitlochry. 6) Proposed New Forestry Road across Moulin Moor from the Ballyoukan Forest to join the A924 between Pitlochry and Kirkmichael See Carol Aitken’s recent email dated 7th April re this for more details. This issue was discussed at the Community Council meeting, Monday 11th April, and 10 members of the Climate Cafe attended. Councillors John Duff and Xander McDade were present. The main points of concern are: proposed timber extraction route over Moulin Moor, which is an SSSI. Possible disturbance to surrounding wildlife/plantlife, especially birds. Also potential damage to areas of deep peat and/or adverse affects on local water supply. An Environmental Impact Assessment has been carried out, but some further studies need to be completed re peat depth/quality and bird life. There is also great concern re the potential number of timber lorries passing along the A924 and then through Pitlochry. In view of the level of interest in this proposed road, The Community Council have contacted Neil White of Scottish Woodlands and organise a public meeting. 7) Hustings – prior to local elections a Hustings was held in Aberfeldy Town hall on 27th April 2022. Aberfeldy Climate Cafe organised this event and there were a few people from Pitlochry Climate Café attended. A question was asked about the proposed timber extraction from Ballyoukan Forest. Not much has happened yet but they are not going to start extracting timber until 2024 and they are looking at taking the timber lorries through Kirkmichael as the timber would be headed for the East Coast and Aberdeen. Not great for Kirkmichael and those who live along those roads. 8) Update on Sprout, The Community Eco Hub. The creation of Sprout is to help the Climate Café and other groups to apply for funding for any projects like a Repair Café. Workshops and Conversations. Carol is on the process of organise a number of events for the community. Events on Food waste to assist householders in reducing the amount of avoidable food waste. Along with other events on Energy, Water, childrens activities focused on recycling and climate change, gardens and biodiversity etc. Once the dates etc are sorted the list will be sent to you. Do you have any other ideas for topics for presentations and workshops you would like to see happen? 9) Earth Day 22nd April 2022: Deirdre organised an event in response to Earth Day and the Global Clean Up Project 2022. Eight people from our local Litter pick group and Climate Café volunteered to helped with the Big Sweep down Atholl Road from The Auld Smiddy to Escape Route. It was dirty and untidy but there was a great response from local people and visitors 10) Climate Fringe week late Sept, early October – What can we do to make it a week long event? Story telling and Science, Music, Quizzes…. Some events activities discussed were Food Waste Activities with PKC Yvonne Bell eg. Using up leftovers, freezing safely, foraging. Any ideas welcome. 11)PKC Managed for Wildlife Trials Public Consultation – October 2022 This year PKC will be managing some green areas in selected parks and open spaces in a special way - and they want to know your thoughts! Selected green areas will be managed on a trial basis with view to benefit native flowers, bees, butterflies and other wildlife. This will be achieved by allowing the grass to grow freely in some areas, while other areas will only have one single grass cutting this year, and the rest will see a combination of both methods. Let them know your comments on both the trials as a whole, and to tell us which areas matter most to you. You can read more information, view the trial areas, as well as fill in the survey, at the following link: https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/communities/managed-for-wildlife/ 12)The Green Lie Documentary interesting documentary looking at Palm oil and companies like Unilever and Nestle and the impact they are having on the biodiversity in countries like Indonesia. And how not green or sustainable these plantations are and its not just our spending power but talking action too. https://www.takeoneaction.org.uk/film/the-green-lie/ Purchase or free. There are other films too that I could look into for screening in Pitlochry. 13) Aberdeen's Climate Action Climate Cafe Event - What if your Pensions or Investment could change the world, Was Tuesday 1st March There is a copy on their FB page and youtube if anyone is interested https://www.facebook.com/aberdeenclimateaction/videos/4378500812250569 14) Street Bank tool exchange. Alison is part of this group and although it is small it is up and running. Would this be of interest to you so more people could share and borrow tools etc from each other and get to know their neighbours. There are also websites to help recycle, upcycle and pass on items such as Freegle, Trash Nothing, Gumtree and Facebook etc Next Climate Café:- Thursday 5th May and Tuesday 10th May Climate Cafes are either 1st Thursday in month from 7pm or 2nd Tuesday in month from 1 pm. (virtual or in person). All to be held in Moulin Hall.
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Over the two weeks of COP26, it was a busy time in Pitlochry with a number of events organised in response to it. The Pitlochry Community Tattie Bogle and Tumshie Festival, and two craft workshops on stone painting and bunting making with Pitlochry Community Support Group. Our Zero-waste Festival on Sunday 7th November, all of which have been great successes and were focussed on reusing resources. And there are more events to be organised over the coming months.
We want to finish our response to COP26 with the screening of the Australian Climate Solutions film, 2040. We realise some of you will have seen this documentary already but it is such a positive film that we wanted to re-screen it for everyone to enjoy again. There are 3 screenings, two in person screenings (Dates and Times are Saturday 27th Nov, 6.45pm and Sunday 28th Nov, 2.30pm) or a virtual screening (you can watch anytime between Saturday 27th Dec from 6.30pm to Sunday 28th Dec 6.30pm) so you can choose which version you are most comfortable with and the in person screenings will take place in the Atholl Centre as they have a screen and projector. Link to the Eventbrite pages are below to book your places and we have made it a free event for everyone. Any problems please come back to me. Please share with your family and friends as we have 100 tickets all together to use . I would like to add a reflection or two from some Climate Cafe experiences of the Global Day of Action March during COP26. “Glasgow on Saturday, 6th November was cold, wet and windy - a day to coorie in with a good book. But one hundred thousand people, fired up to call for real action on the climate crisis, chose otherwise and gathered in Kelvingrove Park to march through the city to Glasgow Green. The march was strongly multi-cultural, local people walking alongside others who had travelled thousands of miles to advocate for their countries, many of which were very seriously and immediately threatened. Multiple disparate groups were represented, all unified by a common passion and purpose. The grass roots climate movement is growing fast, dispelling the myth that individuals can make minimal impact in the face of political inertia and corporate power. On Saturday the turnout of people embracing the old adage “far better to light a candle than curse the darkness” testified to this. “ "It was obvious from the huge variety of groups attending how much climate change issues are bound up with Justice, politics and human rights” Our final Climate cafe meetings of 2021 were to be held on Thursday 2nd Dec, 7pm to 9pm and Tuesday 14th Dec, 1pm to 3pm both in the Moulin Hall. The CC on Tuesday 14th Dec was originally organised for Tuesday 7th Dec but will now take place the following week. To come along and watch 2040 in person on Saturday 27th November 6.45pm, please use this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cop26-pitlochry-district-climate-cafe-event-the-film-2040-tickets-207373578957 To come along and watch 2040 in person on Sunday 28th November 2.30pm, please use this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/cop26-pitlochry-district-climate-cafe-event-the-film-2040-tickets-207400379117 To watch 2040 virtually. The 24 hour virtual Screening from Saturday 27th November 6.30pm to Sunday 28th November 6,30pm, please use this link: https://2040pdcc.eventbrite.co.uk Ruth Hunter Pepper. Recycling our Waste: While we know that PKC have installed recycling bins in different places for people to use which are then manually and mechanically sorted through elsewhere, and the waste team spend time educating people on how to recycle more effectively, in other councils like East Lothian they have conducted a pilot study into different ways of diverting more of their waste from landfill.
What they discovered from this study was that the most time and cost-effective method to improve the efficiency of their recycling rates was to take away all on street recycling bins leaving only the normal bins. It seems bizarre to do this, but East Lothian Council have proved that they were able to recycle more of their waste through saving money from landfill costs and the provision of bin lorries for contaminated recycling bins. The money they saved covers the cost of mechanically sorting all their public waste (including landfill). As far as I know East Lothian Council certainly mechanically sort the on street bins. Commercial waste is separate I think and Household waste is sorted at home into boxes . (From August 2021 recyclable material will be collected from households on a weekly basis with all materials collected on the same day. This refreshed recycling service is designed to help us all recycle more than ever before. The more frequent collections mean that you might not need to use as many boxes.) So maybe something to go back to PKC with? Takeaway Packaging Compostables Binns Group will dispose of compostables and recycle them properly. But there are another two companies in Scotland. Viridor is one but they are more expensive than Binns. Tiffin Boxes The reaction in North Berwick is the customers love them. We could try a small pilot project here to see how well received they would be. They could be trialed in one or two takeaway or deli outlets or in the Handam shop? We could try to get some funding to buy some then the takeaways could charge a small deposit so they become self-funded to get more should they be successful. One consideration would be the additional cleaning and storage required to store the Tiffin Boxes. We could make posters to advertise businesses who are offering these Tiffin Boxes. Or compostables like A Plaice to Be use. But they could be used for school and work lunches, picnics etc. Takeaways could brand them to advertise themselves. The other thing is you can just open them up and serve from them at the table. They can go in the oven. You could use them for camping too. What kind of cutlery could be used outside. There are a number of types now that are bamboo or wooden. If we do want to start this scheme here then there are takeaway owners in North Berwick who would be happy to speak to local takeaway owners and Ruth is happy to continue to advise us on any concerns. Ruth would like to chat about the Refill shop at some point as they have lost their local shop. For information about litter: Keep Scotland beautiful https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/scotlands-litter-summit/ https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/community-and-place/clean-up-scotland/ Bottle Return scheme has been pushed back to 2022 https://depositreturnscheme.zerowastescotland.org.uk/ Verges Rosie mentioned that there was a big bank between the Episcopal Church down towards the distillery that was covered in violets last year. She had been admiring them and then someone came and mowed it including all the violets. So she wrote to the distillery asking if they owned the bank. They said they did and that they had a policy, that if it was non public facing, then they didn't mow it. They also said as they were a Gold award business they would make sure that it wasn't mowed in future and would speak to their gardeners. And then bank was mowed. When Rosie spoke to them again they were going to double check to see if it was the council, and if it was they were going to ask if they could adopt the cutting of the bank. Plantlife (Plantlife.org.uk) I am not sure if you are aware, but the organisation Plantlife is currently conducting a national campaign re verges. They recommend that cutting be avoided as much as possible during the times when flowers are setting their seeds. They have produced a document called "Managing grassland road verges" which suggests a variety of different ways to manage verge cutting throughout the year, whilst minimising disruption to wild plant populations, and hopefully boosting biodiversity in these. Balfour Beatty, the road engineers, have an environment officer - quite helpful when I got in touch about ‘spraying’ around newly planted saplings. Plants and a Seed Exchange Box: There is a Plant and seed exchange box at Handam Shop for any unwanted/spare plants or garden seeds you have? Come see what we have. Drop some off and pick some up. Climate Café Network Website is now operational. Jess has included lots of great information as well as links to all the climate cafes along with the climate cafes on soils etc. www.climate.cafe Climate Conversation: 2040. We had 50 people sign up to watch the film on the 24th May along with a few attending the climate conversation afterwards. Maybe once the restrictions allow it, we could organise an in person screening of it in Pitlochry? Other talks for future Climate café meetings? Water Saving Campaign: I will be contacting Scottish water to see if they would be interested in helping us with a water saving project – supply water saving devices for our cisterns and water butts? Then advertise it to the accommodation providers and community. Tayside Biodiversity Catherine Lloyd would be happy to come chat about some projects we could do here with the school. Pollinators stepping stones – wild flower corridors. Hedgehog project, Swift surveys to name a few. Green Hyrogen? Would anyone be interested to hear about this new source of energy? Our next meeting is Friday 11th of June and the topic is LoveMyBus. Carol Aitken Joyce Veheary - Lend and Tend Joyce came along to tell us about her project and talk us through the process. With Lend and Tend, garden owners can offer parts of their gardens to people who would like to garden and can help with tasks like weeding or digging, cutting grass, composting and growing veg, fruit and flowers which they can share. There is also the social aspect which is important too. If you are interested there is a link to her Garden Share applications for lenders and Tenders on the lendandtend website. If you would like to contact Joyce directly with any questions or any other information her email is Lendandtend@gmail.com You can also get a paper copy of the allocation forms from Kaja if someone doesn’t have access to the internet. They can be filled in and returned to Handam Shop to be photocopied and sent onto Joyce. But we also have a local mobile number to call 07504 488873. Joyce is seeing a growing number of people wanting to be
lenders or tenders. She offers this service on a voluntary basis and operates a "Pay-What-You-Can" basis. The suggested donation is £12.99. PKC Community Food Growing Strategy. Update from Alison Robb– She spoke to PKC for growing fruit trees and bushes, and they have provided her with a few suggestions. Part of the recreation grounds might be ok. A community orchard and allotments could be created at the end of Ballinlochan Terrace. SSE owns the area of land near the Dam but have suggested it wouldn’t work there but that may change. There was a recent Forestry Commission consultation that Alison sent me regarding Fonab and Grandtully forest land management survey and I missed sending it out to everyone before the deadline, which I apologise for. However, I have been in contact with Nick Gough and asked if we could still add our opinions and he said yes as they would appreciate everyone thoughts. Here is the website https://forestryandland.gov.scot/what-we-do/planning/consultations/fonab-and- grandtully-land-management-plan-consultation and if you have any comments, please send them directly to him. Nick.Gough@forestryandland.gov.scot Our concern is the use of those non biodegradeable tree guards as there are so many of them being used. I have wondered if someone goes around and collects them when they are no longer needed. Or are they just left? Jess Pepper - Water Saving Project in Dunkeld and Birnam, 2019 Their Climate Café was approached by Scottish Water and Home Energy Scotland to help them conduct a trial in the town to take simple steps to reduce their daily water consumption and improve water efficiency. Our drinking water takes a lot of processing and energy to reach the level of quality we are used to, then heating it brings its own costs. In a year they saved 1 million gallons of water. Click here for more info. Energy Saving Trust can offer devices such as eco-showerheads, shower timers and toilet cistern displacement devices and possibly water butts. They can also give literature and advice showing people how to change their day to day behaviour to save water. Water saving packs can be requested from Home Energy Scotland on 0808 808 2282 or email WaterSavingPack@est.org.uk For more information on water saving, click here. So, a project this year for Pitlochry? - We are looking at contacting Scottish Water to undertake a small water saving project in Pitlochry using toilet Cistern Displacement devices and water butts (if possible) to see how much water we can save over a given period of time. The idea would be to ask everyone to commit to saving some water when flushing our toilets. Between water butts and cistern water saving devices we could save quite a bit. Alison worked out that the average household size in Scotland last year was about 2. And if you were to place a 1 litre displacement device in the cistern and flush only four times per day that would be a saving of 8 litres/day. Over a year that would be 2920 litres of water saved per year! Mary McDougall– Update on Verges - Is anything happening with changes to local practices on the use of pesticides and cutting verges – nothing to report at the moment. Community Eco Hub: As part of the development of a local Community Eco Hub we are continuing to focus on the information space situated in the Handam shop where we will have leaflets, books, presentations on issues with waste, energy efficiency in homes, food, transport and nature. Kaja has been in touch with Zero Waste Scotland who have a lot of resources we can use, leaflets and webinars which we could make available to all the climate cafes too. We have completed a short community engagement survey for everyone to fill in and return to us asap or by Saturday July 31st 2021. Here is the link but you can also fill it through the IRIS magazine, or you can pop into Handam Shop (behind Davidson's Pharmacy and Coffee Break) to pick up a paper copy of the survey. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated, and if you could pass these links to others as we would like as many people as possible to participate in the survey, Thanks. Jess Pepper – Update on COP26 – is a global United Nations Summit about Climate Change and how countries plan to tackle it, which is a huge event and is coming to Glasgow the first 2 weeks in November and will be in person covid permitting. For more information check here. Another group the COP26 Coalition is a civil society coalition made of groups and individuals from a range of constituencies in the UK will be running another few days of live events for people to participate in from a different perspective to COP26. In the run up to the main event we have pre - events such as the G7 in Cornwall and a climate change conference in Bonn in June and the Pre – COP26 summit in September/October in Milan so lots happening. If you would like to know more, you can sign up for the COP26 newsletter, or check out some of the other groups like Stop Climate Chaos Coalition. In regard to Climate Cafes, Jess and I have been chatting to other UK Climate Reality Leaders about them and they are eager to learn and support the opening of more Climate Cafes throughout the UK. Climate Reality team have applied for a space at COP26 and we plan to create a number of then around Glasgow using our Climate Café ethos to get as many folks talking. People who are already involved in our Climate Cafes or who would like to be, can help support and participate in these conversations. Climate Café Craft project - As well as the Big Tree project. There is another - Stitches For Survival is a group of crafters creating a heart-felt message for COP26 climate talks. They are knitting, crocheting, stitching and crafting 1.5 miles of climate messages for the negotiators to urge them to take bold and binding action together to put the Earth centre-stage at COP26! Could this be a project not just for COP26 but for a local event too? Len Seal – Update on open meeting to form a Communities Woodlands group. There is a lot of interest to create a local woodlands network around Perth and Kinross. And if you are interested in being involved with this group, please contact Len at lenseal210@gmail.com. And there is more information on Blairgowrie and Rattray Climate Café here. As an example there is a Woodlands Project that is near Stanley, You may have heard of it. I have included it for your information. Alan McDonnell from Trees for life came along to tour meeting as he is interested in creating a Climate Café or something similar close to where he lives and works. So for reference here is Alan's email alanm@treesforlife.org.uk and CWA a organisation that supports community woodland groups. Last months Climate Conversation Forest Gardening was from Alan Carter: His talk was very interesting. He also has a book called Food Forest in your Garden. Click here for his website. Next Climate Conversation is the Australian film, 2040 is on Monday 24th May, (all day) Damon Gameau explores what the future in 2040 could look like by the time his daughter is 24 years old. He focuses on promoting some of the best climate change solutions available to us now and shifting them rapidly into normal practices that we could use to help improve our planet. For those of you who can,t make the evening event, but would still like to see the film, we have also been given the opportunity to watch it at our convenience throughout the day on Monday 24th May as well. All you need to do is sign up for the event on Eventbrite and you will be sent an email with the link(s) to the film and zoom that morning. The evening event will take the form of - We individually watch the film then come onto zoom at 8.30pm for an after the film chat. Seed Exchange Box: There is a seed exchange box at Handam Shop for any unwanted/spare garden seeds you have? Come see what they have. Drop some off and/or pick some up. Ecosia: Some of you may already be using this site, Ecosia, "the search engine that plants trees". They donate at least 80% of their profits to non-profit organisations. Carol Aitken PKC Community Food Growing Strategy/Allotments meetings in February. – I have been sent the information from the other organisations presenting at these meetings and have forwarded then onto everyone. Some good information regarding the setting up of community gardens etc.
An update from Alison Robb about growing fruit bushes and trees randomly on small areas of land around Pitlochry. She contacted Peter Marshall PKC again and he reiterated that he still had to check these sites and that we would have to do some kind of community consultation regarding the planting of fruit bushes and trees in these areas. She mentioned we could help them with this and that there would be an educational element to this situation such as children and youths knowing where their food comes from and also address some anti-poverty issues. Alison has been in contact with SSE too about the piece of land by the Old Armoury building down towards the Dam. They will check with their land management team and get back to her asap. Lend and Tend (Lend and Tend.com) or Garden Share: There are lots of people here hoping for an allotment one day, so until then we are going to promote the sharing of gardens either as a garden owner or a garden tender. We have been in touch with Joyce Veheary from Lend and Tend and she is really interested to help us set up a garden share group here and helping to match people. She has a registration form we can use, which we can include a link to on our website, along with some information about it. In our April advert in the Pitlochry Life and The Quair I have also included Alison’s mobile number for those who are interested but don’t have internet. They will be able to pick up a paper copy of the form from Kaja in Handam to fill out and return. I have asked that they return these forms by Saturday May 1st 2021 as it would be good to get people matched asap as the growing season will be started soon. But we will continue to promote it after that too. Would anyone be interested in helping with a wildflower turf/plugs idea in a meadow just outside Pitlochry, please get in touch? The idea would be to plant seeds in plugs which could be sold to others who would like wildflowers in their grassy areas. Maybe the Den of Heartland Kids club would be interested in this? Another great source of information on different issues with gardening is Roots and All have some podcasts on lots of subjects. - https://rootsandall.co.uk/ Yvie recommends their podcasts. You can pick up some native Scottish wildflower seeds from here, https://www.scotiaseeds.co.uk/ Pesticides and verges – I have been in contact with Sally Spaven from Pitlochry in Bloom and she has forwarded my email to Kate Howie who is now the Chairman of PIB. I am waiting to hear back from her. I have asked her about any other landscape contractors who cut or weed kill the verges etc (Alistair McLaughlin. Yvie Stewart mentioned there is an interesting podcast about wildflowers verges and councils from Roots and All. https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/more-than-weeds-and-more-with-sophie-leguil/id1399040612?i=1000490309717 Anne Urry and Yvie Stewart mentioned that Dundee has been doing a lot of work with wildflowers and rewilding spaces and the Botanical gardens may be involved too. So, they may be a good example to look to regarding their existing practices for verges. Here is a video on how Foamstream works which can be used as an alternative to weedkillers.. https://youtu.be/4o1RooBfGxY Waste and Resources. I mentioned before that Sheila Best from PKC had said that PKC was trialling a communal recycling waste system in Perth City Centre and some folks were not recycling as well as they could, so they are approaching these people to discuss what support they can give them to improve this situation. Peter Marshall also mentioned of creating a one stop shop which would be a roving team to go round communities to discuss waste and how to be more successful with reusing, recycling etc. For reuse, there is places like Remake, freecycle, Transform, Facebook pages, Tayside Upcycling & Craft Centre, British Red Cross shops as well as Heart Foundation. I emailed John Fergusson of Pi Polymer Recycling about an update on his progress with getting his project funded to develop the first large rigid plastics recycling facility at the Binn Eco Park in Tayside as part of Project Beacon. He is talking to funders at the moment and when he has some more news he will come back with an update on his progress. I recently met Ruth Pepper (Jess’s sister) from North Berwick Climate Café and have asked her about having a chat about their Climate Café, recycling waste issues etc as a tourist town. I am organising another meeting with her for a longer chat, especially as their group has been going for 7 years now. Plastic Lite Pitlochry. (accommodation providers). Anna Stokes is helping Alison with calls to accommodation providers regarding reducing their plastic waste, providing alternative solutions but also promoting active travel around Pitlochry area, using bikes, walking and public transport. There are lots of ideas on our website. Alison has discovered that Knockendarroch have installed 2 electric charging points. Some accommodation providers are using local produce, reducing plastic packaging through using compostable containers. Using refillable eco products too. Anne Urry from Rosemount Hotel is working towards becoming a greener, energy efficient business/building and quite a few would like more information on how they can move towards this too. Graeme Stewart from Highland Perthshire Gourmet although almost plastic free except for a plastic film on some containers mentioned he would really like to know more about what products are out there that he can use. He also said he was going to start promoting how to recycle all the containers etc he uses. A few of us are getting together in the next week or so to chat about this - such as creating a list of suppliers and alternative products to make it easier for accommodation providers to choose replacements to the ones they use at present. Organise small groups of accommodation providers to discuss how we can help them with information etc. And we have some examples of sustainable businesses in Pitlochry like Handam Refill Shop who have experience of the different issues involved in becoming a sustainable business. There are a few more established sustainable businesses farther away like Jessie Macs in Birnam and Scottish Deli in Dunkeld. It was our plan to hold a Zero waste event last year but these smaller zoom meetings could replace it. But there is also a request for information on creating more energy efficient buildings under the new regs coming out. Martin Mathers may be able to help with this. Tanya Ewing owns Glaze and Save, Perth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH_ZP8W8hJo which provides secondary glazing for sash and case windows. Draughtproof and energy efficient. Community Eco Hub – Update on space for information hub. As the shop is finished, we are now focused on creating the information hub and Kaja and I will continue to contact people and groups regarding supplies of up to date information (posters and leaflets plus any presentations/videos etc). Our Community survey is almost complete to hand out to local residents through Handam for feedback regarding what help they would like to have on offer from a Community Eco Hub. It will be online as well as downloadable from our website and hopefully the IRIS magazine too. I have asked if it could be completed and return to us by Saturday 4th July 2021. Although I have included times for both the Garden share forms and Survey returns, these are not rigid but asap would be great. Kate Kirby has put a notice on the Climate Cafe website about the Community Eco hub and will be posting updates on its progress there. She has also added the list of Climate Change, Social Justice, Solutions books to the website. If you have any books magazines, eco businesses etc you would like to add to this list, please forward them to me or Kate to share. They would be greatly appreciated. Climate Café Blog – Karen Lean has written a blog for the website on what weeds we can eat and a few recipes and she has offered to write some more for the group on different subjects that we can add to our website. 2040 Feedback so far for the film is yes. It’s a great feelgood film and I have booked it for Monday 24th May, all day, and we can use it as a Climate Conversation. (Damon Gameau explores what the future in 2040 could look like by the time his daughter is 24 years old. He looks at the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet and shift them rapidly into the mainstream.) I am also going to ask the schools if they would like to view it too. CAT Centre of Alternative Technologies – I watched a presentation about Building with Nature in Mind which I found very interesting. CAT have a series of podcasts on different subjects available for everyone to watch. Next meeting is Friday 9th April, 7pm Carol PKC engagement on Climate Change consultation with Communities. https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/climate-emergency_phase1/
Feedback – over 400 responses to all the surveys. The online sessions with the Climate Cafes produced lots of good idea for projects and actions many community-based. Results are expected in April. However, we can still contact Eirini and Clare if we think of any other ideas etc. Results will be out later in the year. List of PKC sessions - Energy and Buildings, Whole River System Catchment Management, Land Use, Rural Transport, Waste and Resources Management, Transport, Business & Industry finishing with a General one. I went to the Waste and Resources. Alison Robb had a meeting with Peter Marshall PKC and Andrew Holmes about planting fruit bushes around Pitlochry. Was anyone able to attend any of the other sessions? PKC Community Food Growing Strategy/Allotments meetings in February. - PKC has parcels of land around Pitlochry they would be happy for us to use to grow something like a community orchard or like and we now have the map so can see where they are. When Alison spoke with Peter and Andrew, she suggested the idea about using some of these parcels of land for informally growing fruit bushes and trees, just like the Walnut Trees at Tom Na Moan and they could be picked by everyone. Peter said he would check the areas and get back to her but some kind of consultation with residents would have to be undertaken. Peter also mentioned that if he was sent a list of those people interested in allotments then he could approach the local landowner to see if they would provide the community with a piece of and for Allotments. PKC had organised two meetings about allotments and community orchards. There are over 25 people interested in Allotments. Andrew Holmes from the Community Council has been gathering names and there will have an update at next Monday’s CC meeting if anyone is interested in what progress has been made. Lend and Tend (Lend and Tend.com) An idea that came from the Community Food Growing Strategy meeting where Joyce Veheary from Croydon gave a presentation about her group Lend and Tend. An idea similar to what Alison has also mentioned. As we don’t have allotments in Pitlochry at the moment but there are a number of large gardens where veg has been grown before, we wondered if anyone would be interested in sharing knowledge. skills and small areas of their gardens with others who would like to learn to grow veg but don’t have gardens or big enough gardens to do so. There would be an exchange support and manual help for veg or fruit grown in their gardens. But also there would be the advantage of some company too. We can do something locally or Joyce is happy to do the hard work to match people who are looking for a garden with those who are looking for help in their garden. She has a network of matches across the UK with only a few in Scotland at the moment. These could all lead onto a community garden or a community woodland somewhere close and it would be great to get all the schools both teachers and pupils involved. Garden Water butt idea – to recycle rainwater for watering the garden especially in summer, maybe a PKC Initiative? Local initiative? Will have to check with Jess Pepper as she suggested we apply to Zero Waste Scotland or Scottish water for funding. Neighbourfood market – The market is doing really well and we are hoping to get more producers on board to extend the range of products and to help more producers retain their businesses. More local businesses are still needed. And due to Brexit happening wondering if it would be a good idea to contact more local farmers and see if they could grow and sell their produce locally? PKC Waste and Resources Meeting. Sheila Best PKC – mentioned that PKC are trialling a communal recycling waste system in Perth City Centre and when residents do not use the bins properly members from the waste team are engaging with those residents to learn why they are not placing waste in the right bins and how they can educate them in how to recycle properly. We have been asking for recycling bins in Pitlochry for about 18 months now as a trial to see how well they could encourage people to stop dropping litter and recycle more in and around the town. So we have decided as they are doing these trials then we don’t need to keep chasing them. Carol Aitken Hi Everyone,
After our meeting on the 19th February our next environmental chat on Zoom will take place on Friday 12th March 2021 from 7pm. Get in touch if you'd like a link for either of these get-togethers. A Climate Café is where people come together for an informal meeting which is open to everyone of any age whether they are familiar with climate change or not, but are interested in its effects on the environment. Come chat about any concerns or interests you have, exchange information, find some answers. If you're looking for something to read check out our new Book Recommendations page. Perth & Kinross Council's community engagement on Climate Action Strategy: the results are expected by April 2021. Thank you to everyone who took part in the surveys and the different phase online sessions. Our exciting news: By now we have taken those first steps in the creation of a local Community Eco Hub as the Refill Station will be open in Pitlochry. Our information centre will be open as soon as possible after that under the current circumstances. We will be gathering and making available up to date information on 1.Energy efficiency, 2.Food, 3.Waste and 4.Transport. Our intention is to provide regular sessions where you can come talk to an advisor on any questions you have regarding these topics and Climate Change. 1. Energy (includes creating more energy efficient buildings. Using household renewables over gas and coal. How can we use energy more wisely in our homes for heating, cooking etc.) 2. Food, water and soil waste (includes producing, processing, packaging, transporting and storing food. Growing food locally in community gardens and orchards. Reducing food waste by swapping/sharing veg and fruit. Changing diets, less meat, more plants based). 3. Waste (including building waste, packaging, clothing, footwear, toiletries, household goods. Reducing waste through reuse, repurpose, repairing and minimise overpackaging and stop using single use products rather than recycling) 4. Transport – (car sharing, use public transport, walking and cycling in place of car whenever possible. Minimum use of plane journeys) Carol Aitken Carol Aitken -
This meeting was focused on a presentation by John Ferguson, director of Eco idea M and founder of PI Polymers Recycling who is working at Binn Eco Park with Zero Waste Scotland on Project Beacon, a project developing a facility that will up-cycle all types of plastics even the ones we think are non recyclable. It was a very interesting presentation and the discussion afterwards gave us a better insight into these recent advancements of processing the many different types of plastics we use so we can reuse them. "He has brought different businesses together to build something entirely new. Each business – Ferguson’s PI-Polymer Recycling along with Recycling Technologies Ltd and Impact Recycling Ltd – uses new unique cutting-edge plastic recycling technologies. Their co-location enables the development of an integrated system with the power to suck all types of plastics out of the waste environment. One of the big barriers to recycling progress is that people are confused about what they can recycle or not. Project Beacon will demonstrate a system that enables householders to recycle all household plastics at the kerbside." I have included a few links from the past few years explaining more about what he is trying to achieve. https://www.recyclingwasteworld.co.uk/in-depth-article/plastic-pioneers-black-packaging-recyclable/192642/ https://www.letsrecycle.com/news/latest-news/scottish-plastics-facility-funding/ https://www.zerowastescotland.org.uk/case-study/project-beacon By Carol Aitken -
This was a very positive meeting on Monday with nine SNP Councillors. Myself, Len, (Blairgowrie & Rattray CC), Liz, (Dunkeld & Birnam CC) represented the local climate cafes and we had been invited to the meeting by Councillor Fiona Sarwar. We found the atmosphere amongst them very positive and we all agreed we need to keep the dialogue ongoing and open. Len emailed a thank you back to Fiona and we thought we should reiterate a few points that were discussed. Here is our list of points that Len emailed back to them:
By Carol Aitken -
Meeting with PKC Climate Action Plan Meeting 9th January was very interesting, and the PKC report is worth a look at. However what action will be taken remains to be seen but they are interested in public consultation and involvement at all levels rather than from the top down. One of the key milestones this year will be a Perth Climate Change Summit in May 2020 to showcase local best practices and stimulate private-public sector collaboration. There is also the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UNFCCC is expected to take place from 9-19 November 2020, in Glasgow, UK. They will be looking at Sustainable Development and Climate change along with other issues. For more information https://sdg.iisd.org/events/2020-un-climate-change-conference-unfccc-cop-26/ Mini recycling petition has been effective with over 200 names. Karen Reid CEO (PKC) replied to the query we sent to her back in September about more recycling facilities in the area, basically saying the same as Donna Rigby and that the answer was no to more recycling bins. However, Donna came to this meeting to discuss the petition and supply of additional bins etc. We had a lengthy conversation with her, in fact it took up all of that meeting and she has agreed to supply some recycling bins to pilot a study here to see how they are used and if they are used correctly then the waste can be diverted from landfill to recycling. We must work out where the bins will go in town. She has put me in touch with Malcolm Reid who is the community waste adviser for the Pitlochry area as he can work with us to agree a suitable location and will progress the internal consultation. It is a result. Thanks to everyone who helped asking everyone to sign the petition. Working towards a Plastics Free Pitlochry – David Watters and Alistair Dickson (New Year Street Party) Update on event - Kaja, Lulu (her sister), myself, Peter, Karen and Sandy were there on the day stewarding the bins. Helping at the event was a success. Some people were amazing and spot on with using both the composting and dry recyclables bins, others needed some help to get it right but there were others who saw the bins and just threw their rubbish in irrespective of what the poster on the bin said. So that’s the challenge – what methods need to be found to help those who are still unsure but want to recycle and those who just see recycling bins as a bin. Binn Group provided the bins and we gathered in about 6 wheelie bins of food waste and compostables and 4 wheelie bins of dry recyclables. That worked out at halving the usual load of two large bin skips of waste sent to landfill. Is that not amazing? A Plaice to Be – once they have used their polystyrene containers, they will be using compostable containers, but now you can take your own container in or ask for a compostable one. So, if Enchanted Forest and the NYSP can be a success then what other events and businesses could be encouraged to be Plastic Free too. Jane King and Jenni Moncrieff with the Rotary Club continue to investigate how they can help local business etc create a plastic Free Pitlochry like Dunkeld and Birnam. And remember Simon from Scottish Deli is more than happy to come talk to others about the transition. Cathy Marshall has asked the Highland Games committee if they can do this too. There is also Etape, March into Pitlochry, Football Gala, anything else? We also spoke about getting a group together who are interested in helping with a Plastic free Pitlochry project? There is Jane, Jenni, Alison, Kaja and me, is anyone else interested in helping with this project as it’s a big one to take on with so many businesses to approach? Reducing/Eliminating Plastics in the Co-op Update. Alison Robb contacted the Co-op about reducing the use of plastic in the supermarket. Still not very helpful replies as they are not providing any answers to our questions So we would like to encourage everyone to call the CO-OP customer Services and pester them regarding reducing the amount of plastic they use on products. Veg, Fruit etc Tesco, Crieff Road, Perth– has a new collection Point for recycling inkjet cartridges, Water filters, Batteries and Light bulbs. Alistair Smith (Heartland FM) did an interview with Mike Williamson early in January, about the issues with camper vans in the area over the new year and lack of facilities. Alistair has loaded it as a podcast and tagged us Climate Cafe in on the FB Post. He is still keen to get any feedback if anyone in the Climate Café group are interested and have any possible solutions to this? He is also happy to chat to anyone in the Climate Café about their businesses, interests and views on different issues regarding Climate Change etc. Townhall and Multi-Purpose Environmental Advice Hub – I have applied for some funding from PKCs Community Investment fund (CIF) for a feasibility study to ascertain whether the local communities would be interested in having a Hub in the Town Hall to help with issues, questions, products, services like workshops and talks/presentations, and focus on what kind of info, services they would like it to provide them with. I was thinking as Ryan Graham from PKC said that our CC can start to offer different types of workshops and hold meetings in the Townhall as a way of establishing the group in Pitlochry and area. So, once I find out if the application has been successful then we can think about what kind of events we can create/provide to gather in this information. Maybe Plastic Free Businesses Event, another Festival event, workshops like Bike Maintenance, Upcycling products, Repair cafes, start a Men’s shed, talks and presentations by visitors? Other matters to discuss - Neighbourfood network – Kaja is part of the one in Blairgowrie. Would this be worthwhile setting up in our local area? Get some farmers involved? Crafts people, go a bit further out to D& D Dairies in Crieff? https://www.neighbourfood.co.uk/ https://www.neighbourfood.co.uk/markets/blairgowrie--rattray/20 https://www.neighbourfood.co.uk/markets/stirling/8?fbclid=IwAR3CuhquLjen0G-NaFPf0d058QsJjP0R-tKXawIbCEUncPljou_1sOSCoSc Zero waste Easter Festival to discuss. The Town Hall Community Group have the market trader’s licence so we can plan our next event for Saturday 18th April? As the suggested theme for our next event is Easter then it would be good to start to organise it. Would anyone be interested in helping with ideas etc? Funding for Projects - Funding – I also attended The Gannochy Trust/ National Lottery Community Fund workshop on the 15th January where they offer support and funding to many different types of organisations from £3000 to £500,000. Worth remembering for future funds for the group. Alison Robb is looking at Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund - to Fund a project regarding How to enjoy Pitlochry without a car. And encouraging hotels and tourist businesses to have a link to this page on our website which is currently under development. https://www.gov.scot/news/tourism-fund-now-open-for-applications/ Website – Kate is continuing to create our website. Kaja has written an introduction for waste, Martin is going to write an introduction for energy, Karen has written an intro for Food. And Alison has written and intro for Transport. If anyone finds any relevant information, websites, have any ideas or thoughts which they would like to share or feel would be useful to include on the website regarding any of these topics or other issues please can you send this information to me or Kate. #BigClimateConversation, Jess Pepper has finally finished the report from the Big Climate Conversation in Birnam Arts so I will forward a copy to you once I am sent the final copy. Jane King – Has some raised beds in her garden needing used and was wondering if anyone would be interested in using them to grow veg etc? The next Climate Café meeting will be Friday 21st Feb not the 14th as it is the school mid term so the children will be off. |
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