GreenPower was delighted to attend the RSPB Nature of Scotland Awards hosted by Mike Dilger, ecologist and natural history presenter, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Edinburgh last night.
GreenPower, one of the leading independent renewable energy developers in the UK, has been sponsoring the RSPB Community Initiative Award since 2014. Sponsoring this award reflects GreenPower belief in working with, not against nature and its vision to help deliver a world powered by sustainable renewable energy.
Five projects were shortlisted for the Community Initiative Award:
- Tayport Community Garden is a community growing space where organisations, groups, families and individuals of all abilities can work, learn and socialise.
- Cumbernauld Living Landscape works to engage communities to enhance, restore and connect the urban greenspace areas of the town and ensure healthy places are at the heart of the town’s future.
- Greenbuds is a project from Dundee Association for Mental Health which supports individuals to access the outdoors to improve mental health and wellbeing throughout Dundee and the surrounding area.
- Growing for Nature is a grassroots social project initiated and run by the local community. They aim to produce sustainable food that is grown in a way which enhances and supports the other flora and fauna in Muiravonside Country Park.
- The South Seeds Croft is a community garden that’s been developed on the disused tennis court of the Queen’s Park Bowling and Tennis Club at Queen’s Park recreation ground on the south side of Glasgow.
The Tayport Community Garden, which won the Community Initiative Award, started in 2015 and there are now raised beds, ground beds, a polytunnel and an outdoor classroom to name but a few of the features they have put in place thanks to a growing band of enthusiastic and multi-skilled volunteers. As well as encourgaing children to experience delight in the natural world and to encourage respect and care for the environment, they also offer advice on growing plants to help grow more food locally. Over the 2016 growing season they succeeding in shrinking Tayport’s carbon footprint by 2.9 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. They have achieved this through a number of ways including growing more food locally and reducing short distance car travel.
Rob Forest, CEO of GreenPower, who presented the award to Tayport Community Garden said, “GreenPower is once again proud to sponsor the RSPB Nature of Scotland Community Initiative Award. These grass roots community projects are essential to the success of promoting awareness and protecting Scotland’s amazing natural environment. I am delighted to present this award to Tayport Community Garden which is a fantastic example of this and we wish them every success in their ongoing ventures.”
Photos courtesy Simon Williams Photography Edinburgh.