Quick Summary

Kirkmichael Community Garden are a charity, just starting out, and are looking for support to help fund the development of our garden. This money would go towards building raised beds, our welfare shed and potting/ tool sheds. We are hoping to get cracking with this work and the growing this spring, so we have produce to share with the whole community in the summer time. We have 23 volunteers lined up and the primary schools kids will have thier own space in the garden to learn about growing.

Description

is a SCIO established in November 2022, following around 1.5 years of work by our association to source land and consult with the community. We took ownership of 0.8 acres of land in June 2023, donated to the charity by a local land owner. We have a professional design, which includes community growing plots, 15m polytunnel, area of the primary school and scouts, wild flower area, sensory area and a large welfare shed, with potting/ tool shed.

We carried out a survey through our local newsgroup in Mid 2021 with 17 positive responses of local people, since then we held a community meeting in Summer 2023, to give a project update and carry out consultation on what the community would like to see in the garden. We currently operate a volunteer WhatsApp group which has 23 members, from this around 10 have volunteered so far with some of the initial development work. Once the garden is developed and ready for planting we plan to hold weekly volunteer session.

When we acquired the land we immediately dug a small plot with the school kids, so they could get started this season. They sowed seeds and harvested the first produce in October for their harvest assembly. Longer term, we plan to have raised beds and a small polytunnel for them to learn from, we have agreed with the Craig Loudon that the kids will work towards the RHS School Gardener Award next term, which the charity plan to support as much as possible.

We also eventually plan to deliver workshops for local to come and learn, not just for the community garden but to increase their skills for tending their own garden.

We have just been grant planning permission for the design and are hoping to get started with the main development this Spring.

Resilience

The heart of this project is about creating space so the community can grow food. Investment in this project will have an amazing, positive impact on the village now and for generations to come. Not only will the garden provide space for this it will also facilitate learning and spark interest in growing your own. We plan to have a large polytunnel also to optimise the growing season.

Within the garden there will also be wild flower areas to attract pollinators and to improve biodiversity, this work is already underway. The kids will also have a bug hotel. Kirkmichael does not have any significant outdoor space for the community, except a small seating area in front of the village shop. The garden will provide a space for outdoor community gatherings. There will also be space set aside for people to come and spend time, reflect and relax.

The garden produce will be given to our volunteer group for free, with the rest being offered to the community for an optional donation, through our own veg shack and through the village shop. Those who are adversely effected by the cost of living crisis can directly benefit from getting his healthy food from the garden. In addition, having the food available in the village could mean there is less need to travel to Blairgowrie and Pitlochry to food. 

Engagement

The community garden will provide a space for local people to come together to enjoy being outside in nature, while starting new or strengthen friendships, helping to address social isolation particularly for those who live alone in this rural area. Many people who live alone can lack the confidence to connect with others in a social setting, the garden creates a great opportunity for people to come and engage a little bit or a lot, just helping with odd jobs, so they can gradually develop stronger relationships in this setting. 

We plan to hold 2 volunteering sessions per week, where locals can come and help with the garden up keep. This will be a great opportunity for people again to connect and learn where guidance can be given on experience can be shared. We have already had a lot of interest in this, people with all level of experience and skills. We will offer the fresh, organic produce to the community as well as cooking workshops. Gathering to share recipes and good food will create a nice sense of community, health and well-being.

Community Action Plan

The best expression of local priorities can be found in the recently updated Mount Blair Community Action Plan (CAP). Amongst the issues highlighted by the CAP that align with the Community Garden project include the need to build better community involvement, spirit and resilience, better local facilities (particularly for children), the desire to tackle areas of abandoned or undeveloped land and the encouragement of projects that help establish, nurture or protect natural habitats and eco-systems.

The community survey activity that informs the CAP outcomes was undertaken in early 2022, so one huge issue it does not reflect are the effects of the tanking of the UK economy in September 2022, the war in Ukraine and the corresponding crises in inflation and the cost-of-living. These events bought the issue of increasing numbers of local households falling into food and fuel poverty into sharp focus. This has cast a new light on the ambitions of Garden which provides people with the opportunity and means to grow their own food.

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.

Our project collects surplus food from the Blairgowrie Tesco, Sainsburys, Lidl and 2 Co-op supermarkets and utilises it in several ways:

Saturday & Wednesday lunch clubs, Home cooked frozen meals, Surplus food store and Community larders

Over the past 2 years we have saved over 100 tonnes of food from going to waste. The store is open to all and offers surplus food for free or a donation to help with running costs and hance has a major impact on reducing waste as well as dramatically redcuing food purchase bills for locals.

We are applying for funding to help with the running costs of the BaRI Building which houses our store but also is a base for local mental health support provided by service providers as well as a meeting place for community groups etc. Running the building costs:

£12,500 rent £7,400 electricity

The store is open 4 times per week with people in the building to setup, run and close totalling 12 hours per week hence around 1/3 of working week. We are applying for £3,000 to help cover the rent and utilities to allow us to continue to reduce surplus food.

Ember has introducd an all electric bus service between Dundee and Edinburgh, with the availability to alight/disembark in Bridge of Earn.  Zero exhaust emissions means it is good for the environment enjoying a smoother, more peaceful journey – no engine rumble or fumes.

This service has been well received by the residents with in the Earn Ward.  However, presently no bus shelter for a very exposed stop.  This service also offers the opportunity for disabled users to travel and likewise cyclists with storage available for chairs/bikes.  The success of this service is also attracting cyclists to use the service, and SUSTRANS now have a project underway for the provision of a bike rack nearby to leave bikes safely.

A bus shelter would compliment this stop and be most welcome by users.

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 

Our congregation is carrying out a major refurbishment of the church sanctuary to create a new flexible space available for community use, with an Air Source Heat Pump heating installation to improve comfort levels in the building.

The current heating system is approx. 100 years old, lacks flexibility of control and is inefficient. Using renewable technology will improve energy efficiency, be environmentally friendly and be more versatile in its control.  The new space will allow larger community gatherings and activities to take place, with direct access created to our existing kitchen facilities.

The new flexible space will increase the capacity available to support the various Warm Space initiatives and Youth Drop In that we have started in the last year.  The building will be more accessible, less damaging to the environment and provide an improved public space for community use.

The community will benefit from our ongoing activities tackling social isolation and providing groups with a warm and comfortable place to meet.

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 

Greener Glenfarg is an informal organisation, formed in February 2023 with the aim of informing and supporting Glenfarg to become a greener community. Our activities are designed to increase awareness of the climate crisis and provide verified information on the ways an individual can help to tackle climate change.

We looked at what issues were already being addressed in the village, such as the Community Transport initiative, identified gaps, asked the residents what extra could be done and set about putting plans into action.

In the last nine months we have arranged a trip to the V&A plastics exhibition, held two cinema events on the climate crisis, organised clothes swaps and tool shares, carried out litter picking, visited rewilding and flood mitigation projects, and held a Sustainable Transport workshop which led to the creation of the village's e-bike loan scheme "Freewheelers". These free events have been funded through the Community Council's access to windfarm funds.

We are now seeking funding to support our activities in early 2024. These will include an Energy Fair, cinema events, clothes swaps, tool shares and a talk /discussion led by an applied environmentalist with knowledge of the Binn Eco Park. We have just started a Glenfarg Grow Club to share skills, seeds and produce. The first meeting was so successful, with a room full of participants, that we are now seeking funds to support this new club for its first year. All these activities will help us to be part of the work to tackle climate change, but will also assist individuals with the cost of living crisis, as they will -

• increase public awareness and engage our community in tackling climate change
• discourage purchasing and reduce waste by sharing items within the community
• inform residents on how to reduce energy consumption, make use of green energy and save on energy costs
• explore ways in which the community can move forward with the new recycling technologies and community energy projects
• explore possibilities for rewilding and flood mitigation

This funding bid to the Green Living Fund, if successful, will materially help Auchterarder Community Bus Group (ACBuG) maintain at least a three-day a week timetable on the Auchterarder Town Bus Service from April 2024 for the subsequent 12 months.  If sufficient funds can be generated a fourth day will be added.

Auchterarder Community Bus Group (ACBuG) was formed to address community concerns about a lack of public transport provision within the residential areas of Auchterarder.  For a not insignificant proportion of the local community carrying out relatively straight forward daily activities, such as shopping or going to a medical appointment, was difficult or even impossible.  Social isolation was clearly seen to be a real issue for some residents.

Since its launch the Town Bus Service has successfully helped an increasing number of residents to participate more fully in their community. 

In early 2023 the ACBuG faced some significant financial challenges, and the Town Bus was only able to operate for two days a week from June 2023.  Fortunately, with crucial funding support received from Friends of St Margaret’s, The National Lottery Community Fund and through the Perth & Kinross Warm Welcome Fund, amongst others, a four-day a week timetable was implemented from 06 November 2023 and will continue up to the end of March 2024. 

The two-day operation saw the average number of daily journeys increase significantly, with an overall average of 56 passengers per day.  Initial figures for the four-day timetable look encouraging and the usage target(s) will be reassessed to better reflect the enhanced timetable.

ACBuG believes that a three-day timetable offers a reasonable degree of accessibility for local residents to the shops and community facilities in central Auchterarder, as well as to the health and social care facilities at St Margaret’s; whilst this would be materially enhanced with the operation of a fourth day.

How the Town Bus helps improve quality of life in our community

Clearly the overarching aim of ACBuG has been to make our community more accessible, so that individuals do not find it as difficult to participate in community life.

Through on-going survey work, ACBuG has received numerous positive statements with accessibility to shops and other community facilities for those with no car or limited mobility an important benefit highlighted.  Complementing accessibility, bus users also mentioned the bus providing them with independence to get out, including reducing isolation.

Whilst the Town Bus service is open to the whole community, our focus has been on assisting people in need by reason of age, ill-health, disability, or residential isolation.

The timetable and routing of the bus service, which operates hourly during the day, is intended to make it attractive and easy to use.  ACBuG also offers one-to-one support to potential new users through Travel Assistance for Independent Mobility.  An increasing number of residents with wheelchairs and other mobility aids regularly use the bus.  With the bus operating on a ‘hail and ride’ basis, the driver can also be particularly sensitive to the mobility needs of passengers.

How does the bus help people in our community with the cost of living

The Town Bus is a registered local bus service and, as a result, most passengers travel free if they have a valid National Entitlement Card.  For the elderly, people with a disability and young people under 22 years of age, this is important because it avoids any fiscal barrier to using the service.  For those that must pay to use the Town Bus, a low flat fare of just £1.20 single applies to all journeys.

LEARN HOW TO UPCYCLE FURNITURE

Tayside Upcycling & Craft Centre is a “Not for Profit”, Community Interest Company set up to champion the environmental and social benefits of Upcycling.

We showcase the creations of close to 40 Artisans all of which produce unique items which have been either upcycled or recycled. We also offer free advice on upcycling whilst selling all the materials customers need to embark on their own upcycling journey.

We are very proud of the impact we make in Perthshire having diverted over 50 tonnes of furniture from landfill and especially proud that as individuals and businesses aim for net zero, we are way beyond that and are Climate positive.

With this funding we hope to launch a series of upcycling workshops that will highlight the environmental and social benefits of Upcycling. We will hold some of them here in the Centre but also use a local Community Centre in order enable larger attendances. We will train attendees in basic upcycling step by step, giving each of them an item of furniture that was destined for landfill and teach them how to give it a makeover. We will explain the environmental/carbon impact of the project as well as highlight the cost benefit and affordability of upcycling, especially during a cost-of- living crisis. We will also evidence the fun and wellbeing of the creative process and how it benefits mental health as well as the pocket.

ENGAGEMENT How have we identified the demand for this your project in our community?

Based on the success of our current Upcycling outreach project (funded by Perth and Kinross Council Community Investment Fund), we have been inundated with requests on giving Upcycling workshops/courses as a direct result of the educational talks we have given. We also have visitors to our centre asking regularly if we could teach them how to upcycle an item of their own furniture. Visitors more than ever now understand the financial and environmental benefits of Upcycling but need a helping hand to start their own project. We will also lay on specific workshops for parent/child (14 upwards) sessions and group bookings as well as we already have interest from many local groups.

We will try to ensure that every person that takes part in this project becomes an advocate and ambassador for the environmental and social benefits of Upcycling. We will hope to generate more workshops once the funding is spent but make them financially sustainable whilst ensuring that affordability is not a barrier for people that can't afford them.

WASTE- reduce, reuse and recycle.  Our aims to tackle this and Affordability

With the cost-of-living crisis and the climate emergency impacting on everyone we will demonstrate how much more affordable it is to upcycle rather than buy new as well as highlight that although they may be working on an item of furniture that is 50 years old, they can give it a makeover that will last another 50 years. Not only does this divert furniture from landfill, it reduces the amount of CO2 that would have been generated in producing a new item of furniture. The Upcycling process is a very rewarding one with both physical and emotion benefits, it can be hard work at times but we will demonstrate ways around this for those not fit enough whilst showing that the design and creative element is FUN! We now have Artisans selling their own creations here that started on their journey with us 3 years ago with no experience and mental health issues and now have their own small business.

We are very confident that our project will be fully subscribed due to the number of requests we have had from our Outreach project, from visitors to our Centre as well as the many Community groups  getting in touch with us.