Energy usage for the Centre will be from renewable sources through replacing gas heating with a renewable energy source.

We will convert our heating to a renewable energy source through installing air source heat pumps.

This will reduce emissions and increase our viability in providing services for the vulnerable in our community.

Letham4All operates Community Fridge Projects in the Letham, Muirton, and Moncrieff areas of Perth City, collecting good surplus food from local supermarkets and suppliers to prevent going to waste. All the food is distributed, free of charge in the 3 community fridges and also shared with partners such as Martha's Kitchen and Giraffe to be used and prepared in their kitchens for free distribution in the community. Around 350 people a week access food from our Community Fridges and last year we prevented 5.4 tonnes of good food from going to waste, saving 13.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Initially, Letham4All collected only ambient fresh food products, bakery, unprepared fresh fruit and vegetables, etc, however, we have been testing our ability to collect fresh prepared food products such as ready meals, meat and meat products, fish, and other prepared food products. To carry out this test we have been lucky enough to borrow a blast freezer from Giraffe Check-In Works and have all the necessary environmental health policies and procedures in place to allow this to happen. By being able to blast freeze food on the evening of collection we are preventing more good food from going to landfill, as well as providing valuable sources of protein into people's diet. All the Community Fridges have freezers where the food can be accessed free of charge by local people.

We now need to return the borrowed Blast Freezer and are seeking funding to purchase our own, now we know that we can operate the collection and distribution of fresh foods safely and that these products are valued by people who access the Community Fridges . Very soon, we will be operating our Community Kitchen in the new Letham Community Hub and we will also use the blast freezer to enable surplus food to be processed and frozen for future use, such as bread, vegetables, etc. 

Letham Climate Challenge is an established local charity, based in North Perth, which aim is to help people reduce waste , recycle , reuse and raise awareness of how people can contribute to tackling climate challenge. They operate the Letham Community Swap Shops in Garth Avenue, and also manage the Kingswell and Kinloch Terrace allotments. The organisation encourages both families and schoolchildren to grow their own food and discover the many health benefits of gardening and every plot is taken and there is a waiting list.

Water supply:

Letham Climate Challenge regularly engage with the plot holders, trying to improve the allotments and support their development. As result of listening to plot holders from the Kinloch Terrace site, Letham Climate Challenge is trying to improve access to water for the plot holders. Previously they group have tried to have water supplied to the site, but this proving challenging in terms of access to the supply and the cost is prohibitive. Plot holders have come up with the solution of installing 1000litre  water tanks together with water butts to be fixed to the communal shed in order to collect enough rainwater to support the site. This would the reduce the need to carry water to the site in vehicles and be beneficial in terms of encouraging the healthy growth of produce on the site. Furthermore, easier access to water would encourage participation from plot holders and volunteers as the task is less strenuous having water sources throughout the allotment,  and knowing that plants they have taken time to cultivate can indeed be watered. If we attached 2 waterbutts to the shed with guttering and drainpipes them we could collect rain water which could keep us going until the fire service can next refill the 1000litre water tanks.

Connecting Swap Shop and Allotments:

Letham Climate Challenge wish to encourage a better collaboration and community awareness between our Swap Shop based on Garth Road and our allotments at Kingswell and Kinloch Terrace.

In order to do so, we propose installing raised flower beds outside of the Garth Road store to give locals and shop-goers a taste of gardening to then signpost them to greater opportunities at our allotments.

We want to encourage everyone in our community to get involved in gardening, and learn new skills and techniques from our volunteers. We would like to educate people about organic growing for food security: Everyone can see the results of cooperation, hard work, and patience when they finally taste the fruits of their labour. By building raised flower beds which can be accessed by wheelchair users, we are encouraging everyone of all abilities to interact with nature and hopefully assist the next generation of eco-friendly eaters. Gardening can be a very sociable experience so by creating a wellbeing space and connecting with wellbeing groups we believe that we can foster positive social interactions for those suffering from poor mental health. Many people are suffering from isolation and loneliness due to the COVID-19 pandemic and we wish to alleviate these stresses by bringing people together in a safe and welcoming environment.  Within the flower beds, we wish to plant a fruit tree/ bush in each to create a free fruit supply for the local community.

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.

YMCA Tayside’s Eco Ambassador programme is aimed at raising environmental awareness and promoting sustainable practices through five key local community partnerships that YMCA Tayside works with. This includes working with communities in Perth City, North Perth and South Perth.

The primary objectives are to empower young people and local communities to engage with energy reducing practices, promote active travel, reduce, reuse and recycle waste, learn about local food growing and increase public awareness on the necessity to engage with sustainable practices.

The project lead will work with a group of 5- 10 young people throughout the year. The group will be assigned the role of Eco Ambassadors and receive training, support and guidance to be equipped and confident in their role. The project lead and ambassadors will visit the 5 communities over the year to deliver a wide range of activities and workshops that will shape the local community and increase their knowledge and confidence in this topic. The five partnerships we will be working with are: Bertha Park Community Hub, Craigie & Moncreiffe Parish Church, North Muirton Youth Project, Perth Congregational Church and Kinnoull Parish Church.  

The ambassadors will visit each partner 4 times a year and work to create seasonal and relevant activities for the groups.

Example of Key Activities:

• Energy Efficiency Audit: Eco Ambassadors will work with their local community to conduct an energy audit. This can lead to cost savings and carbon footprint reduction.
• Sustainable Practices: Ambassadors will promote eco-friendly practices within the Youth Group/Events, e.g. encouraging the use of natural light, turning off electronics when not in use, and promoting waste reduction.
• Educational Workshops: Ambassadors will organise interactive workshops on climate change, renewable energy, growing your own vegetables and sustainable living to educate young people, youth workers and community members.
• Green Initiatives: Ambassadors will facilitate initiatives like a rewilding a community garden, beach/river Clean up, tree planting, or a "Clothes swap shop” campaign.
• Youth Led Summit: Bringing our community partnerships together to celebrate the work and progress made throughout the year. Keynote speakers, Dynamic Youth Awards, Volunteer Certificates and hopefully a Keep Scotland Beautiful Award.

By creating change in the local community through our programme of events we can empower young people and community members to become champions of environmental sustainability. Communities will have confidence in their ability to create change through increased knowledge and awareness, education, tools and resources, access to relevant funding and support from YMCA Tayside to apply.

It is estimated we will work with between 100 young people over the year.

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

• No of Volunteers: 30

• No of volunteer hours: 1290h (garden & admin work)

• Produce grown: 650kg

• No of households we helped reduce food bills: 60

• 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:

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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 

Earlier in 2023 we ran 6 sessions with local people showing them how to plant, nurture and grow their own fruit and vegetables and would like to repeast that again in 2024 to extend the reach and knowledge. The project provided the containers, compost and seeds and participants came along each week to learn how to plant their own which they took away to look after at home, complete the growing to fruition and ultimately enjoy the fruits of their labours! Costs cover all of the items for 20 people:

Compost & Growbags  - £250

Equipment (planters, potato bags, canes and sundries like gloves, twine etc) - £200

Seeds &Plants - £170

Admin £60

Total £680

The Core Path network in and around Milnathort encourages the local community, visitors and tourists the opportunity to explore the beautiful countryside and enviroment of the area .  This in turn promotes what the area has to offer for businesses and investors.

The Core Path Group, under the umbrella of Milnathort and Orwell Community Council, operates to maintain the core paths encouraging biodiversity by preventing overgrowth of single species and allowing monitoring of invasive/dangerous species such as Knotweed and Giant Hogweed.   By maintaining the core paths it promotes the natural enviroment to the community as a whole and offers learning opportunities for the local primary schools, tying in with the Curriculum for Excellence.

Failing to maintain the core paths means they would quickly become inaccessible, denying users the benefits of being able to engage in physical activity and improved mental well being by spending time in external environment.  

Milnathort Core Paths Group receives many plaudits both when we're out maintaining the Paths and through our Facebook page. Facebook comments include: "Thank you - I love walking the paths around Milnathort", "Thank you to everyone taking the time to help keep everything nice", "Amazing thank you so much", " I have two small children and the impact of the work you do on path clearing is so greatly appreciated!! Makes our walks less stressful 

In order to maintain the core paths the group, has overtime purchased and been donated tools, such as strimmers, hand saws, rakes and other pieces of equipment.   Following a successful application to the Community Investment Fund, the group have purchased a motorised flailing machine.   This flail allows vegation to be safely cut back from the path edges and negates the need for any chemical intervention such as glysophates.

As a result of the purchase of this specific piece of equipment and the collection of  various tools required to maintain the paths, it has necessitated the need to identify and provide secure storage.  To date, volunteers have agreed to store pieces of equipment in their own sheds/garages but it would be advantageous to hold all equipement in "one store" allowing acess at anytime to any of the volunteers to undertake path maintence, and removing the responsibilty of storage from any individual.

A suitable storage facility has been identified within Milnathort and it is for the rental of a storage container within this yard that this application is submitted.

The application is made for an initial 12 month rental of a storage container, which is housed within a secure yard, accessible 24hrs daily.   During this initial 12 month period it is envisaged that the group will seek to identify and secure a permanent storage option.   

Should the application be successful, the Core Paths Group would be open to sharing the storage facility with any othe local community organisation, to allow offset of costs.

The use of Core paths encourages active travel, promotes health and well being, aids resilience by managing biodiversity and engages the community by raising public awareness 

Our proposal for this fund is to investigate and research the feasibility of setting up and establishing a community Cycle Crieff Cargo bike delivery service! 

The easiest way to describe how we want operate is – A do anything local delivery service easily accessed using cargo bikes and helping reduce vehicle use.  Run by locals helping visitors and locals to use their community services and facilities. Pay what you can afford!!

Cycle Crieff Cargo!

How It Works

1. You call, email or contact us via the website and let us know what you need picked up and delivered, where it needs to go and by when.

2. We will confirm the details and price with you. If cost is an issue, please offer what you can currently afford!

3. Once all agreed, we will come and collect on our delivery bike.

4. Once we deliver your items, you will receive a confirmation message that it has been delivered safely.