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Upcoming Events
The Heat Project conversation at the next Climate Cafes on Thursday 2nd June 7pm and Tuesday 17th June, 1pm. The venue is the Moulin Hall. In April 2022, energy bills have rapidly increased for many households across the UK. The amount varied between households, but a typical energy bill increased by approximately £700 a year or more and could go up again in the autumn. We will be having a conversation with Martin Mathers from The Heat Project who can chat to us about ways to help reduce energy bills and improve energy efficiency of houses. Everyone is welcome so please let your friends and neighbours know. If you are interested in either event please let me know just so we have an idea of how many are coming. And of course if you want to attend virtually then I can organise that too if you let me know.
Food Waste Reduction & Recycling Project with PKC: Food waste is a major contributor to climate change so following their Food Waste Survey earlier in 2022, Yvonne Bell from the PKC Waste Minimalisation Team in association with the climate cafes is looking to deliver various events with local communities to promote food waste reduction and/or food waste recycling over the coming months. We will be working with her on a composting project over the summer, which will finish with a Zero-waste Food Waste Action event on Saturday 1st October 2022 of Climate Week. More information soon and in the meantime if you are interested please let me know/. The Pitlochry Garden Share is Anna Stokes idea, inspired by the Taybank Growers Cooperative. The idea is to form a network of gardens in and around Pitlochry for food production by a team of enthusiastic volunteers who lack growing space of their own ie matching the labour to the land, very similar to Lend and Tend, but more like a community garden where a team of people share the workload and cooperate. There are lots of different ways to contribute, from offering garden space, tools, plants, seeds etc, to working in the garden, to sharing ideas and knowledge. Any extra produce can be sold in Handam and proceeds used to save up for eg equipment such as a polytunnel. The idea is not only to facilitate growing fruit and vegetables for interested individuals, but also to eventually increase the amount of local, affordable produce for everyone in the area. It is early days so there is one garden and 5 volunteers involved. More information to follow. If you are interested in this project then please get in touch. Carol Aitken caaitken.naturaldesign@gmail.com 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. Our next Climate Cafes are this Thursday (7th April), from 7pm and next Tuesday (12th April), from 1pm, either in person in the Moulin Hall or virtually.
Please let Carol know if you will be attending either Climate Cafe and whether it will be in person or virtually so she can send a zoom link to you. caaitken.naturaldesign@gmail.com 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 These willl be this Thursday 4th November 7pm and Tuesday 9th November 1pm at the Moulin Hall.
Please let Carol know if you will be attending either Climate Cafe - caaitken.naturaldesign@gmail.com |
