Sustainable Kirriemuir celebrates after receiving £160,000 in National Lottery funding

Sustainable Kirriemuir is celebrating today after being awarded £160,000 in funding from The National Lottery, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

Sustainable Kirriemuir will use both the ‘Together for Our Planet’ (£10,000) and ‘Community Led’ (£150,000) funding over the next two years to support and deliver their Future Kirrie Climate Action Plan, developed by local people, with support from Keep Scotland Beautiful, including a series of events and workshops, commencing on the 1st of April 2022. 

The Future Kirrie Community Climate Action Plan looks to support the people of Kirriemuir to cycle, grow, cook, share, sew, get out in nature and to be more connected and resilient in the face of climate change.

The funding will help local people come together to build solutions in food growing, biodiversity, waste reduction, active travel and energy that are good for people, their mental and physical wellbeing, AND planet. 

Plans include helping 100 members of the community to grow food, rolling out a growing award across Angus, building a seed co-operative, sharing know-how on saving seed, and establishing a tree growing collective to grow and sell trees helping with carbon capture. Furthermore, the project will train 10 people to deliver community cooking sessions, work with local groups, schools and Angus Council to develop an active travel culture of walking, cycling, wheeling or scooting, support individuals and workplaces to reduce their energy usage and bills, and promote a culture of reuse and repair before recycling and replacing through a sustainable fashion and needlework group ‘Stitch to Enrich’.

The project will increase local climate literacy across all ages, through social media campaigns, workshops, and a range of learning resources alongside the launch of a green map of Kirriemuir, linking everything together!

Events will involve 3 Community Climate Showstopper events: fun packed days highlighting the power of community action, 12 community skill sharing workshops delivering connection and skills to supercharge local change, and the establishment of a community resilience network; a team of committed people with specialist skills to handle the changing climate.

Sustainable Kirriemuir Staff, Gareth Jennings/DCT Media.

This National Lottery funding will support the people of Kirriemuir to reduce their carbon footprint, whilst future-proofing their town.

The events and workshops will enable local people to learn skills and behaviours which will help them to live lighter on the planet. In addition, it will improve health and wellbeing by encouraging local people to be more active and spend time in nature, whilst connecting with a huge variety of other people at get-togethers, community events, activities and workshops to make meaningful, positive change together. Anyone living locally can get involved with the project, contribute to plans and support local climate action in whatever area interests them the most.

Moreover, the National Lottery Community Led fund will support the continuation of 3 local job positions for a further two years, with Emily the Growing Leader, Lauren the Learning and Events Leader and Fiona the Administrator (all pictured) working alongside the Sustainable Kirriemuir Committee and a huge team of fantastic, dedicated members and volunteers to implement their project and meet shared goals and outcomes together.

Kate Munro, Chairperson of Sustainable Kirriemuir said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that we can build a stronger, more resilient community for everyone. This will make a big difference to people’s lives, wellbeing and the future of our town.” 

National Lottery players raise over £30 million a week for good causes across the UK. The National Lottery Community Fund distributes a share of this to projects to support people and communities to prosper and thrive.  

The National Lottery Community Fund, Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “National Lottery funding can make amazing things happen in local communities across the country. This project, delivered by Sustainable Kirriemuir, is a great example of community activity in action, showing just what can be achieved when people come together for a common cause or to help others. National Lottery players can be proud to know that the money they raise is helping to support this vital work and to help communities thrive.”

During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK. To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk