Joint approach to tackle lockdown litter launched
Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful has joined forces with Costa and McDonald’s to encourage their customers to help prevent lockdown litter by doing the right thing and putting takeaway rubbish in a bin or taking it home.
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, launches new online summer education programme.
Ten brand new interactive online learning courses will be available for young people across Scotland during the month of July. These exciting new online learning programmes have been developed to provide a fun and enjoyable way for young people to continue their environmental learning during the summer holidays.
The courses cover a range of topics and environmental activities which encourage young people and families to explore the world around them and to think how to protect and improve the places they love. Included are courses on Eco-Schools, heritage, food and the environment and climate change, as well as other environmental topics.
Each course consists of a combination of online learning and practical, fun activities, and all those who complete a course will be rewarded with a certificate of involvement.
Registration is now open for each course and the full list, more information and details about how to take part, can be found at: https://www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/learning
Daniel Barrie, Education and Learning Manager, said: “Following the huge demand for our online environmental education programme during lockdown from both educators and young people, we have developed a series of exciting and interactive courses for children to take part in during the summer holidays.
“These courses will provide a fun and engaging way for young people and their families to explore some important environmental issues, such as climate change and sustainable food, and the work completed can contribute towards their school’s next Eco-Schools Green Flag award. We have something exciting available for all ages – from nursery through to S6.”
As well as the online summer courses, Keep Scotland Beautiful will also be providing environmental education support to educators once blended learning begins in August. This will build on the existing partnership with E-Sgoil and will include a range of online learning activities for pupils coupled with professional learning for staff.
The Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) is open for a new round of applications.
Funding is available of up to £100,000 per organisation, per year for the next two financial years 2020-2022. Continue reading Climate Challenge Fund now open for applications
Easter Drylaw Park 10.30 – 3.30pm
Organisations unite to call for collective ownership of outdoor paths
Environmental charity, Keep Scotland Beautiful, has joined forces with Sustrans Scotland, Jog Scotland and Paths for All to encourage outdoor enthusiasts – from joggers to bungee jumpers – to take collective ownership for the paths that help to support their outdoor activities. Continue reading Outdoor enthusiasts encouraged to join Scottish spring clean
Community-led organisations from across Edinburgh and surrounding areas invite the public to join them on Saturday 18th March (1pm – 6pm) in Southside Community Centre for the second Climate Festival. Continue reading A free family-friendly event: Edinburgh Climate Festival
Tougher penalties for irresponsible owners
The fine for dog owners who fail to pick up after their pets has been doubled by the Scottish Parliament. The fixed penalty for dog fouling is being increased from £40 to £80 to bring it in to line with the fine for littering. Continue reading Talking ****: dog fouling fine doubles
£2.86 m to local communities to help tackle climate change
Two Leith-based community projects are among thirty-three organisations from across the country to receive grants from the latest round of Climate Challenge Funding announced today.
The Fund has helped communities throughout Scotland reduce, reuse and recycle their waste, increase the energy efficiency of homes and community buildings, encourage active travel and the use of low-carbon transport, and promote and produce local food.
Leith Schools Food Project will receive almost £109,000 and The Himalayan Centre Climate Change Hub will receive over £70,500 from the fund.
Leith Schools Food Project, run by Leith Community Crops in Pots, will reduce food-related carbon emissions through the establishment of community growing space at three local primary schools and initiatives to encourage production and consumption of local, lower carbon produce. Additional project activities include a programme to help reduce food waste and encourage composting. (£108,966)
The Himalayan Centre Climate Change Hub will operate from the Himalayan Centre for Arts & Culture in Leith, Edinburgh. Advice will be available to help the local community reduce home energy use and carbon emissions with the hub also providing a meeting space to learn more about climate change. A bike pool and cycle training will support lower carbon travel while swap shop events will re-use items that would have been destined for landfill. (£70,510).
Announcing the awards, Climate Change Minister Aileen McLeod said the awards will support local communities to take action on climate change and move to low-carbon living.
Dr McLeod said: “Climate change is one of the most serious challenges to global society and the natural environment both at home and abroad. We know that reducing greenhouse gas emissions isn’t easy, but the Scottish Government takes climate change extremely seriously. This is why we have set the most ambitious global targets to cut emissions.
“Some of the best initiatives to reduce carbon are devised and delivered at a local level. That is why I’m delighted to announce the latest round of grant awards. Beyond doubt, the Climate Challenge Fund is making a real difference in our transition to a low carbon future.
“To date we have invested £64.4 million in the Climate Challenge Fund and helped 527 community led organisations across the length and breadth of Scotland tackle climate change at a local level.”
Derek Robertson, Chief Executive at Keep Scotland Beautiful said: “We congratulate the latest projects to be awarded Climate Challenge Fund and Junior Climate Challenge Fund grants and look forward to working closely with them in the implementation of their projects.
“Keep Scotland Beautiful is very proud to support community action on climate change through our management and development of the Climate Challenge Fund on behalf of the Scottish Government and see it as part of our work to help make Scotland clean and green, today and tomorrow.”
Other city projects to receive good news today are Community Alliance Trust’s Magdalene Community Food Growing Project (£119,251) and central Edinburgh student-led co-operative SHRUB (The Swap and Reuse Hub) who receive over £87,000.
For all full list of successful applicants see below:
www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/climatechange/ccf/projects/CCF20
Supermarket chain Tesco has announced that the environmental charities Keep Scotland Beautiful and Keep Wales Tidy will benefit from an estimated £1.8m raised from carrier bag charges.
Compulsory charging for plastic carrier bags is to be introduced in Scotland next month. It is already in force in Wales, where it has raised more than £2.3m to support wildlife charity RSPB’s conservation work since 2011.
More than 27,000 Tesco customers took part in the vote to choose the beneficiaries of the levy, which is expected to be worth about £1m in Scotland and about £800,000 in Wales. Both charities, which were chosen from a list of 120 organisations, are planning to use the money to fund a variety of projects to keep local communities clean, green and tidy. The partnerships will run from 20 October 2014 for at least a year.
Greg Sage, community director for Tesco, said: “Our customers are the ones who will pay the charge, so we really wanted them to choose the charities that will benefit from it. The response was had was absolutely incredible – 27,000 people voted which is a fantastic turnout.
“Since 2011, the carrier bag levy in Wales has raised over £2.3 million for the local RSPB, which has been used for vital conservation work. Keep Scotland Beautiful and Keep Wales Tidy now have a fantastic opportunity to use the money raised from the bag charge to make a real difference to the communities they serve.”
Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful (KSB), said: “This is fantastic news for KSB and a tremendous opportunity for Scotland, a country whose people, organisations and institutions have really wrapped their arms around KSB and shown that they care about their environment by voting for Scotland’s own environmental charity.
“We would like to thank everyone who voted for us. We cannot wait to get started. Lots of local community groups and organisations that work in partnership with us, from all across Scotland, will benefit from this funding.”
Nominations also opened this week for the 2014 Tesco Charity Trust Community Awards Scheme, worth £200,000. The scheme will make one-off donations of between £500 and £2,500 to registered charities and not-for-profit organisations for working on local projects that support health, opportunities for young people and environmental sustainability.
