Heart of Newhaven Community are developing the former Victoria Primary School, Newhaven as an intergenerational community hub, ‘The Heart’. We have three themes, identified by community consultation: culture and heritage, learning and enterprise and community well being with a common thread of intergenertaional practice.Our aim is that ‘Through partnership working and community engagement we seek to reduce isolation, challenge and remove barriers to participation and create opportunities for people of all ages, from all walks of life and with a variety of interests, to come together. Our intergenerational hub will help people experience, share and exchange culture and heritage, engage in formal and informal learning and develop business and enterprise skills in an accessible and welcoming environment that contributes to the positive wellbeing of our community.

The proposed development of a teaching kitchen will be an important facility of The Heart and contribute to our aim. It will complement the partnership wotk we are already doing with Homestart in the development of a community garden within the curtliege of The Heart and with Mwamba in our 'pots of herbs' project. Other organisations and groups keen to work with us in developing and using the facility include Edinburgh Community Food, Leith Pantry and the Ukrainian community. We also have close links to Friends of Victoria Park and Victoria Allotments who would provide a seasonal input of fruit and vegetables to the kitchen for community use.

The Meadows Festival understands that now is the time to act on climate change. We're a completely volunteer-run festival, involving people from all communties across Edinburgh for a two-day festival on the first weekend in June. The Meadows Festival has been running since 1975 by the community for the community, supporting local talent and local people to do what they love. The Meadows Festival has a main music stage, a youth music stage, a main bar, local bar, a dog show, kids' area, sports area and performance area. We also have the largest outdoor marketing in Edinburgh, providing a pitch for anyone who'd like to sell their wares or promote their charity or business.

The Green Team was established in 2016 and quickly after we won an ‘Improvers’ award from A Greener Festival for transforming the festival by introducing a Green Initiative Plan covering environmental sustainability across all areas of the festival and ensuring all stakeholders were involved. The Green Team are applying for this funding so we can do even more to support our mission to be a greener festival. 

Our funding to put on the festival (covering all stages, equipment, toilets, fencing etc) comes from stall holders' pitch fees and other sponsorship opportunities or grants that we're fortunate to get (often limited). This funding from the Edinburgh Community Climate Fund would allow the team to introduce a Green Hub at the festival to create opportunities for community leadership and learning on climate change. We’ll do this by working with local partners to put on workshops and have stalls to educate attendees whilst being interactive. The funding will also allow us to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the net-zero target for Edinburgh. We’ll do this by reducing our diesel van usage by 75% and use cargo bikes to transport equipment, partnering with local transport providers to promote to attendees, installing temporary bike racks (pending permission), hiring an electric van and using eco-diesel generators.

We plan to partner with Zedify, a zero-emission bike courier, for all deliveries around the city for which we’d usually drive a van. This includes collecting the music equipment, volunteer food, beer kegs and more (up to 250kg per bike). This eliminates our emissions for these journeys and greatly reduces our carbon emissions during the festival, whilst contributing to the net-zero target for Edinburgh. We’d also partner with local transport providers such as Lothian Buses to promote eco-friendly travel to attendees. If agreed by the council, we’d install temporary bike racks at the Meadows during the festival’s licensed hours.

The Green Hub would include workshops, talks and stalls from local partners such as The SHRUB, Food Sharing Edinburgh, Spokes, Friends of the Earth Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland and more. This area’s purpose would be education and promoting community involvement and leadership. We’d also promote the work of the Green Team at the festival, encouraging anyone to get involved and grow this project at future festivals. We’d introduce a Green Hub at the Kids Area for children to learn more about climate change, environmental sustainability and use eco-friendly products. The fund would also help support a local designer to promote this new area at the festival by designing an online poster with a QR code to be included on our main festival posters.

This funding opportunity would also support the current initiatives we run at the festival including our infamous Sustainable Stall Award which encourages our stalls to act sustainably (we have up to 180 stalls on site, our biggest stakeholders), whilst continuing to work with Food Sharing Edinburgh to donate all left-over food. In 2019, we collected 99.5kg of food, that's 0.48 tonnes of CO2 equivalent saved. We'd ask food stalls to offer at least 3 meat free options and give priority to meat free vendors. We'd provide water to volunteers using a water dispenser, reducing the number of single-use plastic bottles. In 2019, this was reduced by 80%. We'd continue to partner with The Binn Group as our waste removal contractors. All cardboard, plastic, paper and cans were recycled at the Binn Group's material recoverable facility, and all waste from the Meadows Festival was 98% diverted from landfill in 2019.

We look forward to the opportunity to grow the work of the Green Team volunteers at the Meadows Festival! Our group are constantly learning about what else we can do. See you all on the 3rd & 4th June in the Meadows. 

Meet IMBY. He’s not from around here – he’s from another galaxy! IMBY was flying in his spaceship when it ran out of energy and crash landed on Earth. It’s down to the kids of Edinburgh to teach IMBY about our community and the elements that fuel it, so he can power his spaceship.

Through a series of hands-on activities, IMBY Powers Up! inspires primary 5 to 7 pupils to learn about their energy supply, create a vision of a sustainable Edinburgh, and have their say in a better future. Building on our previous successes, and driven by a team of specialists, our project will reach over 100 primary school pupils across Edinburgh, in five or more schools.

IMBY Powers Up! is made of four lessons:

Lesson 1 – IMBY Explores Your Community

Students meet IMBY through an animated video. A planning professional visits the classroom to discuss what different communities look like and environmental challenges they face - we call this “placemaking”. Students explore Edinburgh aerially, with a focus on where they live.

Lesson 2 – IMBY Links Land and Energy Usage

Students discuss various forms of renewable and non-renewable energy and refer to the aerial community map to identify links between land and energy usage. Students consider the ways in which our energy usage has changed the landscape over the years with an art project. They then examine the impacts of climate change in a few different communities.

Lesson 3 – IMBY Discovers Renewable Energy

Students think about how our energy usage has changed the landscape over the years and add their new discoveries to their art project. Students interact with IMBY to explain key issues related to the use of renewable energy and analyse how these issues affect their local community.

Lesson 4 – IMBY Gets Energised

Students relate valued parts of their community to energy usage. They consider how civil engagement impacts the planning process as it relates to energy forms and consumption.

Where does the name IMBY come from?

In 2011 to 2016, PAS delivered a successful national project called IMBY, taking the N out of NIMBY to make “In My Back Yard”. IMBY is a cartoon alien who arrived on earth and wanted to learn about why our local areas look the way they do. Through our project, over 500 primary school pupils engaged in active citizenship by focusing on relevant issues such as mobile phone masts, community gardens, shops and waste/recycling.

This project is our sequel, inspiring primary pupils to learn about their energy supply, create a vision of a sustainable Edinburgh fuelled by renewables, and have their say in a better future.

Edinburgh Remakery wants to encourage young people within local Edinburgh schools to engage in courageous conversations around environmental sustainability, particularly related to e-waste. Our project will give them the opportunity to get involved in a sustainable project which encourages achievable actions they can take to support the climate and help their local communities reduce their carbon emissions.

Our Tech Donation Box for Schools programme will see the manufacture of five donation boxes which will be placed within primary and secondary schools across Edinburgh. They provide an easy way for people to pass on their old devices, such as laptops and phones, for them to be repaired and reused, or responsibly recycled. These will allow young people to engage with the circular economy and learn simple methods to reduce their waste. This project also allows students to support their local communities, as a portion of all the devices that are donated through our Tech Donation Boxes, go on to support our Tech Gifting Project and are given for free to people in need across Edinburgh.

All donated devices are securely wiped of data and categorised for repair, refurbishment and reuse. If they cannot be repaired or refurbished, they are broken down into component parts which are then used to repair other devices or are responsibly recycled so that as little as possible goes to waste.

Our project will engage with:

• 15 schools across Edinburgh
• Young people within schools and their friends & families
• Individuals and families facing digital poverty through our Tech Gifting Programme

To promote our project, we will engage with school heads, the leadership and sustainability teams  A ‘Programme Pack’ will be distributed to each school, outlining the programme and its benefits in taking part. We will develop core messages around e-waste that the school can use in its communications, and details of how the school can help promote its participation and impact.

Our CEO will visit each of the participating schools to deliver a presentation about e-waste, and its impact on the environment, and explain how the Tech Donation Boxes provide an achievable and accessible way for people to take action, whilst promoting environmental sustainability and supporting our people and our planet.

Each participating school will receive a report at the end of the term which details the number of devices they have helped to save, and their carbon savings. Schools will also be eligible to enter our Environmental Champion Awards and have the opportunity to be awarded a prize for their participation in the project.

Our aim is to not only spark important conversations about climate change but to also provide ways for young people to take positive action to help Edinburgh become a greener city and help it meet its net zero targets.  

We want to set up small farms in three community cafes around Edinburgh: training volunteers from these spaces to transform waste including cardboard and coffee from their cafes into delicious nutritious food they can cook and use in their cafe’s kitchens.

Being able to grow our own food indoors from local waste is a really valuable skill in a time of increasing climate instability which threatens outdoor crops. Indoor mushroom cultivation can be practised year round at household or community levels which is very significant in a country where we have to import 90% of our fresh produce in winter.

The aims of the project are to  1) reduce waste and emissions by growing food with zero food miles from waste within cafes 2) engage new audiences in food growing, and its links to climate change by offering an accessible year-round indoor food growing project 3) Train people in mushroom cultivation skills to build resilience in our communities 4) build connections across Edinburgh by starting a network of community micro mushroom farms.

The funds would be used to pay for a mix of material and staff costs. These include the material costs of building an automated mini mushroom farm and the supplies needed to run it for a year. In a space the size of a cupboard we can set up a mushroom farm able to grow over 10 kilos of fresh mushrooms every month. The grow space would be located in a public facing part of the cafes to allow people to enjoy watching the beautiful mushrooms grow. 

The staff costs would cover extensive training for volunteers from the three community spaces we partner with. This training would include: a tour of our own mushroom farm; time spent with volunteers building their own micro-farm; 5 follow up sessions at the cafes where we carry out the mushroom ‘inoculations’ together, a special session on cooking mushrooms and some follow-up check-ins and support.

Because mushroom cultivation can be practised indoors year round, sat at a table, without the need to stoop like most forms of food growing it is accessible for people with mobility issues, be that because of age or disability. Mushrooms also have a very short cropping cycle, taking only a few weeks to grow - making them an exciting project for the short attention span of children. We plan to use these features to engage a diverse group of people who may not usually participate in food production. As a final part of this project we would bring together people from the three cafes to take part in shared events, including meals. This would be an opportunity to share their experiences learning to grow mushrooms, and form a diverse network from across the city of new community mushroom growers.

Milan proposes to employ a climate champion to work within our daycare provision and carers support groups to promote and raise awareness about climate change and how best to make small changes within their households to benefit our environment. The project will: 

• Deliver climate healthy meals within our day-care provision and educate older people on how and why to avoid rich carbon food and how they can reduce carbon emissions by making the right choice of foods.
• Deliver informative workshops at least three times per month to promote reducing carbon emissions through food, travel and upcycling and recycling activities
• Organising and delivering 3 swap shops per year for older people and our unpaid carers support group to get rid of unwanted goods which would go to landfill
• Informative stall at a large Mela festival which Milan organises yearly and attracts over 5000 people. And is open to all..
• Deliver informative talks and activities around saving water, growing their own vegetables and encouraging people to share transport and walk more.
• Recruit a climate challenge champion within both our older people groups, unpaid carers groups and staff groups to set a good example and motivate people to tackle global warming together.   
• Organising wardrobe audits for group members and encouraging people to bring in clothes they have no worn to get altered to wear rather than sitting in their cupboard. This will help to reduce clothes being taken to refuse bins and impacting our climate.
• Recruit volunteers to work within the groups to engage with people with disabilities and who need more one to one support to participate in the project.  
• Gardening activities to promote own growing at daycare centre

We would like to apply for funding to transform our daily programs at Chabad of Edinburgh Community Centre into a more eco-friendly and forward-thinking venue. As well as encourage all members of Chabad to transform their homes and workspaces into a greener environment. We have a identified the following as key project which we hope will make all the difference. 1. Due to the nature of our community centre, we serve many meals throughout the week which are currently being served on plastic cutlery and plastic tablecloths. We would love to change this by purchasing crockery/linen tablecloths which will transform all our ongoing events into an eco- friendlier environment and be good example to the whole community. 2. Start a Group get together of green-minded, passionate people who will engage people in green actions by providing information and opportunities to take small but significant steps in their lives. People often feel helpless in the face of the huge challenge of reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and tackling global warming. Acting together as a community moving towards zero carbon we feel we can have an impact and hopefully provide inspiration to other groups and communities to follow suit. 3. Bric-a-brac day. Many people would prefer to share their belongings with other members of the community that they know will be benefiting from it. By Chabad offering a Bric-a-brac day we will be encouraging people to recycle their furniture and all other items in their home instead of things just being thrown out and wasted they will be reused and enjoyed in other people’s homes.

We are seeking funding in the amount of £12,200 to support our project aimed at promoting sustainability and eco-friendliness in Edinburgh. This funding would be used to purchase new crockery and shelving units, host a "bric and brac day," and organize speakers to promote sustainable practices. By implementing these initiatives, we aim to reduce waste and inspire community members to make more environmentally conscious choices in their daily lives. With this funding, we are confident that we can make a significant difference in promoting a greener and more sustainable Edinburgh.

Our project aims to entice and engage diverse communities through climate literacy awareness, walking, cycling and food sharing activities. We encourage and support them to take climate action in their daily lives which would reduce their carbon footprint and have positive impact on their wellbeing and the environment.

The magic of Gracemount Community Garden is enjoyed by local people of all ages. Its future will be secured by repairing the key south facing wall.  The people who currently benefit from Gracemount Community Garden are from the local community including people facing particular challenges who can draw strength from the therapeutic green space of the garden, children attending local schools and local youth groups who come regularly to the garden, those who attend events in garden and spread the word to others.  We will use the money to maintain the magic of the garden by repairing the key south facing wall and develop related events for the community. That part of the wall has a break in it that is getting bigger and a wider stretch of cap stones are missing. 

Foraging a Feast at Forest Fridays

Our project - Foraging a Feast at Forest Fridays - will provide weekly outdoor sessions to children aged 6-12, teaching practical and sustainable skills based on the food growing cycle: planning; planting; harvesting and foraging food from that grows wild on the sites, working in partnership with two community gardens: Transition Edinburgh South (TES) trading as Gracemount Community Garden at Gracemount Mansion Development and Bridgend Farmhouse Community Allotments situated next to Craigmillar Castle Park. Children will use what they’ve grown to cook healthy food and will share a hot meal together at the sessions, a perfect activity for nurturing neighbourhood relationships. Both gardens are situated in areas of high deprivation.

Sessions will run during term-time for a year starting Spring 2023 and will benefit approximately 30 children each week. There will be gardening clubs throughout the holidays to maintain the plots supported by the community gardeners from both locations. The local produce grown by the children will be available for the community as well as the parents and carers to take home for free so that the families can benefit from fresh, organic ‘field to fork’ food.

Sessions are fully inclusive. We expect that 40-50% of the children in each session will have Additional Support Needs such as Autism, ADHD, and Down Syndrome. Our organisation Trees and Seas Outdoor Adventures is one of the main outdoor play/forest schools in Edinburgh that offers outdoor learning to children with Additional needs and disabilities. This funding will help us to continue to reduce both the barriers of disability and deprivation, allowing children of all abilities and circumstances to benefit from exploring and enjoying the natural spaces in their local communities. They will learn to care for and take pride in their environment, generating both climate resilience and sustainable-focused learning.

Forest Friday sessions were established in 2019. Connecting with these communities for four years has allowed us to work in a responsive way; recent feedback suggested that we offer food-focused activities. Lauren 12years said: ‘more cooking!’, Isobel 10years said ‘maybe something other than soup?’ and one of our parents asked: ‘can you continue to offer seasonal cooking, foraging and other things related to nature?’. If successful, the funding would allow us to continue to run this important community service free of charge.

Outdoor Cooking photos