Notes for 13th November and 11th December meetings

PKC engagement on Climate Change consultation with Pitlochry & District Climate Café, Friday, 13th November 2020 (Jess Pepper and Eirini Kourtesi, Climate Change Graduate from PKC in attendance)
 
This meeting was focussed on PKCs Climate Action Plan and was the 3rd in a series of open meetings hosted by the Highland Perthshire Climate Cafes with PKC officers who are drafting their Climate Action Plan in response to the Climate Crisis. 
 
All of this, as you probably know, is the start of a community engagement with online surveys (links below) with a closing date of January 5th followed by a number of events focussed on specific issues in January and February. Details to follow. 
 
Some of the changes PKC will want to introduce will depend on public support so we are all urged to speak up. As Peter Marshall  from PKC Sustainable Planning mentioned at the Blairgowrie Climate Café session often a few negative voices objecting to changes hold more sway than they should, so the Council needs to hear the positive supportive voices too and be encouraged to be ambitious!


General:https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/climateemergency_phase1/ 

Energy and Buildings: https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/copy-of-climate-emergency_phase2/

Land use: https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/copy-of-copy-of-climate-emergency_phase3/

Transport: https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/climatechange_phase4/
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Business & industry: https://consult.pkc.gov.uk/housing-environment/climatechange_phase5/

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PKC engagement on Climate Change consultation with Pitlochry & District Climate Café.


Here are a list of possible solutions we could take for the biggest Environmental impacts on our homes (energy), transport, food and stuff choices. 


Food – Create more opportunities for communities to have access to fresh, seasonal, organic, local, less but better-quality meat, less dairy.

Community Allotments and Orchards.

Responsible Agriculture - Reduce, remove intensive farming practices in Perth and Kinross for more sustainable future. 

Tree planting where it can be done especially native trees, and regeneration of peatland to help with floods and droughts. Stabilize soils and maintain vegetation cover to prevent erosion.

Protect ponds, streams and watersheds from drainage of chemicals, pollutants, fertilizers and sewage, especially in storm runoff.

All part of education about our food systems and how to improve them .

Change Food share banks to Give and Take banks too then people can empty their cupboards of food they don’t or wont use. 


Transport – 
Help people to avoid using their cars for short journeys, 
Shift people out of their cars so improve public transport. 
More safe cycle and walking routes.


Why are you building Cross Tay Link Road when we are trying to reduce travelling and car use etc? The money would be better spent on improving other systems such as looking at how we can create new types of buses that would offer a more personal experience – compartmentalize buses. Or improve taxi services so people do not use their own cars in towns. 


Energy - reduce consumption, improve energy efficiency, switch to green supplier, renewables, hydrogen not necessarily good news! EST freephone can help.


Resources – 
Remove, reduce, reuse, recycle as much waste as possible. 


Better reuse and recycling facilities – As people do not all have access to recycling centres then allow people to drop off and pick up usable products like furniture from municipal centres


Alison mentioned that bins have been distributed for the wild campers during lockdown. They are now not being used. We have been asking for recycling bins in Pitlochry for 18 months now as a trial to see how well they could encourage people to stop dropping litter and recycle more in town, The Rural situation was going to be talked about next. Was supposed to be sorted just before Lockdown started. I am contacting both Aberdeen and North Berwick Climate Cafes to see if they have been able to address and resolve this problem with their respective councils  


Local Bottle return scheme that businesses could get involved with?


Mobilise money - divest savings and pensions out of fossil fuels – PKC 


Health and Well-being – We could look towards the Sustainability goals to help us inform any changes we would like to see PKC make? 


So let’s fill out the surveys, explain to the Council where they need to make changes (better bus services, recycling facilities, warmer homes, access to locally produced food, repair facilities.). 


Anyone could also write to the Cabinet Secretary to ask for the Route Map and updates from the FM! 


Verges – why do all of them need cut back? What about the biodiversity of these areas as verges were always a place left to go wild when I was younger? They were a place where many wildflowers could grow. Why is the litter along the verges not being picked up before they are cut? You walk along the road beside Faskally Woods and there are cut up drinks cans lying around for a child or animal to hurt themselves on. 


Comes back to what can be done about our littering problem in nature?  


Support and Education – Our plan to create an Eco One Stop Shop alongside Kaja’s Refill shop  – eco hub/information centre/educational workshops for repair/reuse. Work with other groups to create a network of Eco Hubs/information centres to give people easy access to up to date information and advice? The distribution of information and advice has been too confusing for people at times. But it could also include Men’s Shed and Repair Café workshops, presentations and talks, Zero waste events and any other ideas we have that helps and supports our community including the ones above.


Other ideas and information:
Find creative ways to get everyone interested and involved such as -  
Providing opportunities for people to watch informative films and programmes in their communities. Such as 2040 https://togetherfilms.org/2040-screenings 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.

Would you be interested in joining in to watch this inspiring film? 

National Trust of Scotland membership cards. From Nicky King - for this year have written on them 'This card is 100% plastic free and recyclable with your paper and compost' printed on them. They feel just like the plastic ones they have always used till now - so it can be done. 

Compost  - Deirdre Machearan has been told this service has started up again and is based at Inveralmond Recycling Centre...down the far end of Ruthvenfield Rd on RHS. The compost is free of charge and limited to 2 x 25kg bags per day. It was suggested that she call before she goes just to make sure that they have compost ready with it recently started again. Deirdre is going to see what the centre is like and let us know. 

Terracycle  - The bins at Infinityblu have been removed for the time being. However the Coop have a crisp bin for Grandtully School. 
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Idea - Garden Water butt – to recycle rainwater for watering the garden, maybe a PKC Initiative?


​Carol Aitken