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We are delighted to announce that we have secured a share of funding made available through the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund (CCF).
The Centre has been awarded a CCF grant totalling £32,731.
The CCF is a Scottish Government grant programme, managed and administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful. The CCF provides funding and support for community groups to help tackle climate change by running projects that reduce local carbon emissions.
The Energy Efficiency Project will be run by our volunteers and, in addition to enhancing energy efficiency and reducing CO2 emissions at the Centre itself, it will offer free support in the wider community to help people improve their knowledge about climate change and its impacts. The project has committed to delivering tailored workshops to residents, businesses, community groups and to local schoolchildren to boost climate change literacy within Lewis and Harris. Attendance at a training course “Carbon Literacy for Communities” forms another part of our commitment to the project.
In terms of the building improvement planned, the key elements of our project include: installation of thermal curtains to the large glazed areas within the Centre; two areas of loft insulation; lowering two room ceilings; improved thermostatic controls (tamper protection) in all spaces; upgrading all light fittings to LED; fitting of insulation to steel beams to reduce previously identified thermal bridging.
The building enhancements will deliver a more sustainable community building - with reduced energy costs over the long-term, a lower carbon foot-print and facilitating a welcoming venue and affordable hire costs. Beneficiaries will include the various user groups at the Centre and the wider Lewis community who hire the venue eg Youth Club, Over 60’s Group, Dementia Café group, Mother & Toddler group; and other charity hirers. We hope that maintenance of affordable hire charges will help to sustain user and attendance levels at all events within the Centre.
Agnes Rennie, Chairperson of Clan Macquarrie Community Centre said:
“We are delighted to have secured grant support from the CCF. Improving climate change literacy is vitally important and Clan Macquarrie is pleased to be able to make a contribution to that within our own community.
A key aspect of our Project is to help improve the knowledge within the Lewis and Harris area, of a variety of audiences, of climate change and its impacts. We are on our own journey of steadily reducing carbon emissions through various energy efficiency measures. We have made decent progress since the Centre opened 10 years ago and the additional measures now made possible with the support of the CCF grant will deliver even greater savings – we look forward to sharing the story of our journey and to helping other individuals and organisations consider what they might be able to achieve themselves with regard to reducing carbon emissions ”
Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful manages the CCF on behalf of the Scottish Government and provides tailored support to grant recipients.
Fiona Jarvis, Development Officer at Keep Scotland Beautiful said:
“We congratulate Clan Macquarrie Community Centre for securing funding from the Scottish Government’s Climate Challenge Fund and encourage the local community to take advantage of support available through the Energy Efficiency Project.
“We look forward to supporting Clan Macquarrie Community Centre as they implement their project and empowering many more communities to take action on climate change. We see it as part of our work to make Scotland clean, green and sustainable.”
The CCF has awarded over 1,100 grants since its introduction in 2008, for projects involving energy efficiency, sustainable travel, local food and resource efficiency. Total CCF funding since 2008 has exceeded £104 million.
Further information at www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org/ccf
