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![Logo of the Pitlochry Garden Share](https://pkc.communitychoices.scot/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBTUT09IiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--2b06e016f14c116c52cfdb439082ec8497649d83/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdDam9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2REdkeVlYWnBkSGxKSWd0alpXNTBaWElHT3daVU9ndHlaWE5wZW1WSklnMHhOREI0TWpRMVhnWTdCbFE2Q1dOeWIzQkpJaEF4TkRCNE1qUTFLekFyTUFZN0JsUTZDbk4wY21sd1ZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6InZhcmlhdGlvbiJ9fQ==--a28cf12f37ed39b2029e86e72d8c5b786779a78d/379049958_288999127181007_3906851428074690031_n%20(1).jpg)
Community Food Growing in Pitlochry
2023-12-11 • No comments • • Highland
INTRODUCTION
The Pitlochry Garden Share was founded in May 2022 by 5 local residents with the aims to facilitate food growing in our community, reduce food poverty, support mental and physical health and increase biodiversity in our gardens. We are an unincorporated organisation with currently 28 members. We share private gardens to grow organic food, sharing the work, the tools and the harvest, and we donate some of the produce to the food bank. We recently established a larger community garden and have been working hard to develop it. We also hold a stall in town once a month to share any excess produce and seedlings in exchange for donations that help us cover the costs of buying seeds (we are learning how to save seeds too). We engage with the wider community in various ways: for 2 years in a row we picked apples/plums in private gardens around town to avoid food waste and we organised our first apple pressing event this year. The excess produce from the gardens is also used at monthly community cooking events called the Open Kitchen, free to attend, where we share recipes and tips on preserving fresh produce to reduce food bills and food waste.
We collaborate with other organisations like the charities Tayside Woodland Partnership (creating a community woodland) and the Atholl Centre (food bank), and we also support the local Community Action Plan Trust by holding a stall at their events.
Our IMPACT this year
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No of Volunteers: 30
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No of volunteer hours: 1290h (garden & admin work)
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Produce grown: 650kg
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No of households we helped reduce food bills: 60
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Produce donated to the Food Bank: 70kg
PLANS FOR 2024
We have been developing the community garden and our plans for 2024 include the following three elements which we are seeking funding for:
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Part One – Build a 4m x 10m polytunnel to extend the growing season; build a 3m x 6m shed to store produce and provide a shelter for volunteers; build a rain catching system using IBC tanks and pump to create a steady water supply for the garden.
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Part Two – Create a child friendly area in the garden so parents can bring their children to learn about where their food comes from and grow their own vegetables.
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Part Three – Developing a fruit tree nursery to bring on fruit trees and bushes for future planting in the community garden. This will be used to share learning about grafting and other tree growing techniques. This will also create a free/or by donation supply for the wider community.
Supporting the project is a local Arboriculturalist, Woodland Ecologist & Horticulturist, an Ecologist & Master Shed Builder, and a Garden Manager. More information and photos available on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pitlochrygardenshare
Open Gate Festival
2023-12-14 • No comments • • Highland
The Healthist Town project aims to promote positive health in our community and envirnonment. The Open Gate Festival is part of our work to encourage people to eat local, real food, to connect people to food sources, to encouage more growing of food and to reduce food waste. We aim to encourage as mnay local growers and food producers, both commercial famrs and amateur producers, to open their gaes to the pubilc. The Fesival will run over a week in August. Ther will also be a number of workshops and talks on throughout the week on topics such as composintg, growing food in a window box, oudoor coooking and cooking with left-overs. We will also have a community feast using simple, local produce. Schools, and community groups will be invited to get involved either by visiing gardens or hosting an event or activity. The Open Gate Festival encrouages and enables people to eat better and more cost effecitvely, undersatnd food and growing and to reduce food waste We are working with Perth and Kinross Council who are working on a wider good food plan. The Healthiest Town project is helping HIghland Perthsrhie be at the fore-front of the good food and food waste rvolution! The Open Gate Festival is good for our community, good for local business, good for our health, and good for the planet.
![The Birks Cinema](https://pkc.communitychoices.scot/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBOdz09IiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--16553f38518a846d42f600d0a95c9e1e89d4deee/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdDam9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2REdkeVlYWnBkSGxKSWd0alpXNTBaWElHT3daVU9ndHlaWE5wZW1WSklnMHhOREI0TWpRMVhnWTdCbFE2Q1dOeWIzQkpJaEF4TkRCNE1qUTFLekFyTUFZN0JsUTZDbk4wY21sd1ZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6InZhcmlhdGlvbiJ9fQ==--a28cf12f37ed39b2029e86e72d8c5b786779a78d/Birks.jpg)
Empowering folks to envisage tangible action through film screenings discussions
2023-12-06 • No comments • • Highland
We would like to raise awareness and promote discussion about climate change through thought provoking film, lived experience and information sharing by delivering a monthly programme over the next year. This programme would include topics which relate to the criteria identified by the Green Living Fund.
In order to be able to do this in the current climate, with no barriers, we would like to make this programme available at little or no cost to participants.
To facilitate this we propose joining an organisation called Take One Action –
“Take One Action nurtures communal exploration of the stories, ideas and questions at the heart of positive social change. Through film screenings, conversation and enquiry, we bring people together to inspire a fairer, more sustainable and more fulfilling world, in Scotland and beyond our borders”
This enables us to access a film catalogue and screen 6 films in a year without a license.
After each screening we propose to have a discussion on the topic, have information available and refer participants to other organisation locally that they can contact to take action locally – or nationally if relevant.
We have piloted this idea with a film called Riverwoods - at the end we asked if any of those attending were interested in volunteering for a local rewilding project to leave their contact details. We checked with the project organiser recently and they were delighted by the number of folks who volunteered to help them.
Tool Library in Aberfeldy and Pitlochry
2023-12-15 • 1 comment • • Highland
Our project: Tool library We would like to create two tool libraries for our communities in Aberfeldy and Pitlochry. Tool library is a resource where our community members can borrow tools or equipment that they need for their projects at a low cost of yearly membership. Whether it will be a power drill, tinsel, slow cooker, paper-making kit, electric saw – things that are needed for a short period of time, every so often, or to try out before they decide to make the purchase. The average power drill is used for only 12 minutes over its lifetime. We want to change that and we strongly believe in providing people the tools they need to create the change they want. Buying tools costs money – hardware stores in the UK made over £12 million in 2018. There are some tools that people need to own and use regularly, but for everything else you could save the retail cost, and sign up for an annual tool library membership.
Borrowing from a tool library means there’s no need to store, maintain or buy your own tools in the first place, which saves money, reduces waste, and lowers barriers to access. We plan to start with a simple selection of tools that are mainly donated, repaired and saved from going to landfill. We already spoke widely about the idea of opening a tool library and it was always welcomed with enthusiasm.
![Highland Perthshire - Big Tree Country](https://pkc.communitychoices.scot/rails/active_storage/representations/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBmUT09IiwiZXhwIjpudWxsLCJwdXIiOiJibG9iX2lkIn19--e044fdce1aaff74d48fcde72f78b30f2a7aa74cc/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaDdDam9MWm05eWJXRjBTU0lJYW5CbkJqb0dSVlE2REdkeVlYWnBkSGxKSWd0alpXNTBaWElHT3daVU9ndHlaWE5wZW1WSklnMHhOREI0TWpRMVhnWTdCbFE2Q1dOeWIzQkpJaEF4TkRCNE1qUTFLekFyTUFZN0JsUTZDbk4wY21sd1ZBPT0iLCJleHAiOm51bGwsInB1ciI6InZhcmlhdGlvbiJ9fQ==--a28cf12f37ed39b2029e86e72d8c5b786779a78d/IMG_20221025_154005%201.jpg)
Community Eco Events in Pitlochry and Aberfeldy
2023-12-13 • No comments • • Highland
Pitlochry Community Action Trust (PCAT) in conjunction with the Aberfeldy Development Trust seek funding to stage two Eco Fairs, one in each town, next April (2024). The purpose of an Eco Fair is to provide opportunities for local people to engage with organisations and individuals who can help them use energy more efficiently, reduce their energy bills and their environmental footprint and help promote a more sustainable lifestyle to the whole community. The use of sustainable transport, including public transport, active travel, e-bikes and electric vehicles will be a theme of our next Eco Fair. Sustainable food, reduction of food waste and sustainable gardening along with reducing packaging waste and recycling are also part of our agenda.
Overall objectives are: to reduce the environmental impact of individuals and therefore the community. Specifically: • To encourage household energy saving through local energy advisors such as The HEAT Project, Warm Connections, Home Energy Scotland and Warm Homes Scotland. • To promote a more sustainable lifestyle to local people through local food initiatives such as Pitlochry Garden Share, • To promote active transport through businesses such as Escape Route (e-bikes) and government grants available to support the purchase of e-bikes, • To promote more sustainable travel, through public transport, Community Car Shares and electric vehicles.
We want to stage the Eco Fairs in our Town Halls partnered by The HEAT Project and Warm Connections. We need to hire these facilities and promote the event throughout our communities and outlying areas. Eco Fairs are family friendly events, and we want to put on activities for children and provide refreshments from sustainable sources to encourage families to attend the Fairs. We will market the Fairs in local magazines, in our schools, on our websites (www.pitlochryaction.org.uk/ and www.aberfeldydt.org/), as well as on those of our contributors, and through the distribution of flyers.
Participating organisations: The following organisations participated in a Pitlochry Energy Fair in November 2023. All reported that information was shared with enough individuals for it to be a worthwhile investment of their time and expressed interest in future events. The HEAT Project, Home Energy Scotland, Eolas Architects, Studio East Architects, RW Bell Green Energy, IS Plumbing and Heating Fife (Vaillant), Pitlochry Garden Share, and Escape Route.
In total around 50 people attended the event, with the Heat Project signing up 13 new clients. Activities for children enabled parents to engage with contributors in a relaxed way and free refreshments encouraged them to stay longer and discuss the potential of their new knowledge with one another and contributors.
Eco Fairs: If we receive funding we can expand on what we achieved on both our stalls in Pitlochry Coop and November’s event where we engaged with our community about what local support they needed in regard to both the ongoing Energy Crisis which an element of the Cost of Living Crisis and include an event in Aberfeldy and invite other organisations to participate including:
MG electric vehicles, who have already expressed their interest, Other electric vehicle dealers, Enterprise Car Share and CoMoUK Car Share, The Atholl Centre Food Bank and Community Larder, Breadalbane Community Larder, Handam Refill Shop, Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters and Wasted Degrees, Birdie’s Clothes Shop and Roobedoo Sustainable clothes, homeware and gifts, Aberfeldy & Pitlochry Repair Cafes, Healthiest Town, Aberfeldy and Citizens’ Advice, Dun Coillich Community Land Trust, Aberfeldy & Pitlochry Climate Cafes, and PKC Climate Action Team.
Outcomes: We will monitor the total number of people attending and seek feedback from participating organisations as to the number of clients arising from the Eco Fairs. We will produce a short report on each Fair for both Trusts and for Green Living should you fund us.