Scotland's in the grip of a green revolution

Published Date: 10 January 2009
By Jenny Haworth Environment Correspondent

HUNDREDS of communities across Scotland have stepped up to the challenge of fighting climate change as a green revolution sweeps the country.
One year has passed since The Scotsman changed the colour of its masthead to green for a day and encouraged readers to go green too. And in the 12 months since the Let's Go Green Together campaign was launched, the results have been phenomenal.Not only have 4,700 people signed up to ten pledges to lead greener lifestyles, but 225 community groups have devised schemes to help the environment. Of those, 32 groups have been given a share of almost £2 million handed out from the Scottish Government's £27 million Climate Challenge Fund. These range from projects to install energy-efficient lamps at a sports pitch in Penicuik, to the creation of allotments in Forres.In Fife, efforts are being made to generate electricity from sewage, while in Toryglen, Glasgow, a community composting scheme is being set up.Dozens of other initiatives, from setting up community wind farms, to starting cycling schemes, holding awareness-raising sessions, and providing electric public transport, have started across Scotland over the past year.Evan Williams, UK manager for The Climate Project, a scheme set up by the American climate campaigner Al Gore, this week visited Going Carbon Neutral Stirling, an initiative aimed at making the city the UK's first carbon neutral community.He told The Scotsman he thinks community action is the key to fighting climate change. "The biggest thing anybody can do is to commit to making a change themselves and then to talk to their neighbours about it," he said. "If the community you live in is good at recycling, you are more likely to do the same. The whole way we organise our lives is going to have to change. There is no plan B. We have to seriously start tackling this problem."He threw his support behind Let's Go Green Together, and said action must be taken urgently."By 2050 if we haven't made a huge effort then it's too late and we basically have lost control of the climate," he said."Scottish people might well be able to survive that relatively well but we are talking about massive disruption across the world."The Scottish Government is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.Richard Lochhead, environment secretary, said he was "heartened" by the number of Scots making efforts to go green."Many Scots are already taking decisive action and thinking about the consequences of their actions – recycling more and using more energy-efficient light bulbs as well as buying more seasonal and unpackaged produce," he said. "These small but significant changes are helping to reduce our impact on the environment."Our Climate Challenge Fund continues to attract widespread interest from community organisations across Scotland. "Schools, sports clubs, churches, community associations and residents groups have come forward with ideas for projects to reduce their carbon emissions."He added that taking steps to help the environment can save money.The average household could save up to £340 a year just by taking some simple energy efficiency measures.The Climate Challenge Fund was proposed by the Scottish Greens during the 2007 election, and adopted by the Scottish Government as part of the budget negotiations in 2008.Going Green Together with ten pledges…LET'S Go Green Together encourages people to sign up to ten pledges: • Recycle household waste using local facilities • Turn the tap off when brushing your teeth • Switch to using energy- saving lightbulbs • Leave car at least once a week and cycle, walk, share a car or use public transport • Use rechargeable batteries • Re-use store carrier bags • Buy more seasonal and unpackaged food • Hang your washing up to dry rather than use a dryer • Organise or volunteer in an environmental project&149 Pay back environmental impact of any flights you take and choose not to fly when there's a suitable alternativeYou can sign up at www.scotsman.com/gogreen or at www.infoscotland.com/gogreener Stirling signs up to one woman's carbon-neutral dream RACHEL Nunn, the force behind a scheme to turn Stirling into the UK's first carbon-neutral city, has set her sights high.She is so passionate about fighting climate change that she aims to get one in three people in the city signed up to Going Carbon Neutral Stirling.Already, less than a year after it launched, a fifth of the people in the city are involved in the project. And it has gained the backing of the Scottish Government, with a grant of £800,000 from the Climate Challenge Fund. Mrs Nunn said: "There's a huge amount of excitement, which is what I had hoped we would generate."We're not just about focusing on how terrifying the situation is, but on what the solutions are."Going Carbon Neutral Stirling is focusing on raising awareness and changing behaviour. The project's seven staff visit groups across the city, ranging from schools to churches, to encourage them to sign up to carbon-cutting tasks.Each group creates its own carbon-cutting plan, involving taking steps such as using cooler temperatures in washing machines, switching off lights and changing to buying local and seasonal produce. To measure progress, utility companies are being asked to provide information on the city's energy use, and the amount of fuel sold in local petrol stations will be monitored.Town is warming to plan for lightening its footprintFITTING homes with insulation street by street is just one of the bold aims of a green-minded Perthshire community.Comrie has received almost £300,000 from the Scottish Government for initiatives to cut its carbon footprint.The Comrie Carbon Challenge project includes not just a street-by-street insulation programme, in conjunction with Scottish and Southern Energy, which could save up to 1,350 tonnes of and £300,000; the group also plans to install renewable energy devices on community buildings and build a compost scheme.Added to that, the town has bought the 90-acre former Cultybraggan Army Camp, under the Land Reform Act, and is aiming to use it to provide allotments, cycle paths and workspace to cut down the need to travel.The "radical" plans have attracted praise from Richard Lochhead, the environment secretary, who said it was a superb example of what communities can do with money from the Climate Challenge Fund. He urged other Scottish communities to follow suit. Already people in Letham, near Perth, are gearing up for a similar home insulation project.Islanders dig in to grow their green credentials GETTING hold of local produce has always been a challenge on the islands of Barra and Vatersay.Most of the food on the two islands in the Western Isles has been shipped from Oban.The five-hour journey uses fuel, which churns out emissions that add to climate change.So to help the environment, islanders decided to start a project to grow fresh food for the 1,150 residents.The Barra and Vatersay Northbay Garden Project has received a £61,671 grant from the Climate Challenge Fund. The money will be spent expanding the Northbay community garden in Barra to enable it to increase the production of vegetables.The produce will then be sold to hotels, businesses and residents. Vegetable seedlings will also be grown so that islanders can grow large amounts of the food eaten on the island.And there are plans to provide a greenhouse, heated using renewable energy, to extend the growing season. As well as saving on food miles, the scheme will cut back on packaging.The islands also aim to install a community-owned wind turbine, to increase recycling facilities and to improve energy efficiency in homes.Community spurred to action by changes to the climateWHEN residents of the small Perthshire town of Alyth decided to form an environment group ten years ago it had modest aims.Those behind the Alyth Environment Group hoped to improve the look of the market town, which is home to about 3,000 people, by small steps such as litter picking and making over footpaths.However, when concerns about climate change began to grow they also decided to up their efforts.Now they have formed the Alyth Climate Action Town Project, with ambitious plans to spur residents into action to fight climate change.Clive Bowman, chairman of the project, said: "I think our aspirations have increased in light of much more awareness of climate change and the carbon reductions we need to achieve."Awareness events have been held, and hundreds of residents have been trying to cut down on their energy use by testing out smart meters, which show how much gas and electricity each home is using at any given time.In 2008 they were granted £11,750 from the Climate Challenge Fund to carry out a feasibility study into ways to reduce travel.They are considering setting up a "hot office" in Alyth, where employees could hot-desk to save their needing to travel to work.