This special initiative will empower young students to connect with the environment through hands-on, food-growing experiences. School children in Eastern Dundee will not only learn the science of planting, growing, and harvesting, but will also develop a deep appreciation for the environment and sustainable living. By running student-led farmers' markets, they’ll gain practical skills in agriculture and business, bringing fresh, healthy produce home to their families. This initiative will also improve school grounds, local greenspaces and biodiversity by buying and planting a diverse school orchard and sustainable vegetable gardens, with the input of the pupils themselves.

This project is more than just teaching children how to grow food—it’s about nurturing the next generation of environmental stewards. Many of these students come from low-income households, and some do not have gardens at home. The school becomes their only opportunity to engage with nature in a meaningful, skills-focused way. By instilling these abilities early, we help cultivate healthier lifestyles and promote self-reliance, all while creating a lasting impact on their communities. The seasonal alignment of Terms 4 and then Term 1 of tha academic years 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 ensures that students experience the full growing cycle, from seed to harvest, making this project a cornerstone for future school-led growing initiatives.

With the support of Dundee Climate Fund, this project will transform the way children view food and sustainability, making their school not just a place of learning but a thriving hub of community-driven resilience and environmental consciousness. These young learners will be equipped to tackle food insecurity and promote healthier futures for generations to come. Our instructors will even show them how to preapre and cook some of their produce on open-fires outdoors! Without this investment, the project simply cannot move forward. 

Kanzen is a registered charitys committed to not only building better lives but also to making a positive impact on the environment. With our new initiative to introduce an electric vehicle, we aim to significantly reduce our carbon footprint and contribute to a greener, more sustainable future. This will help us cut harmful emissions, reduce reliance on fossil fuels, and set a strong example for other organisations in the community. It will also support us to remove barriers by providing accesible transport to those who need it. 

As well as reducing our carbon emmissions, an electric vehicle would also help us save money which we can then repurpose back into our charitable activities. 

Kanzen is an award winning charity and we are the current Dundee Social Enterprise of the Year, Dundee Sports Club of the Year and winners of The Courier Business Awards for Community Impact. 

We organised the first carbon neutral martial arts event in Europe and are proud to be an organisation rooted in the community. 

Enter 'The World is My...' an immersive and participatory dance-theatre show for the 10-12 years old on climate crisis, eco-anxiety, and how to transform from eco-worriers into eco-warriors! 

Follow the two characters as they dance their way through the recovered Lego washed-out pieces that continue to reach the Cornish shores from a 1997 drifting steel container on its way to New York, the Tokio Express. 

The project covers two weeks of rehearsals and two weeks of performance shows in Dundee (up to 20 shows, and 2,000 audiences). It is a development phase from a previous period supported by Aberdeen Creative Learning where the team became company in residence in two primary schools in Aberdeen. We learnt facts from great partners such as the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen, a world-leading scientific research organisation; as well as from local partners like the amazing Transition Dundee. 

Following this learning, which included the children’s feedback, we will continue to develop the show and perform it, this time in Dundee, exploring the power of creativity in conveying transformational and long-lasting messages for radical environmental change. 

Your support will help both the dissemination of key learning for the young children of Dundee and the exposure to performing arts activities in schools, contributing to implement the Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, with relation to accessing play, cultural activities, and recreational activities. 

A multi-award-wining organisation with a 10-year long-standing partnership with NHS Tayside delivering the smoking awareness programme Well Good reaching 7,000 children per year (yep…70,000 so far!), we know how to provide engaging and inspiring learning, but we need your help. 

If you want to contribute to this project, becoming a community producer…Vote for us! 

Many thanks. 

One Parent Families Scotland aim to deliver Climate Action Workshops offering a variety of sessions designed to empower single parents and families in Dundee to reduce their environmental footprint and create a more sustainable future.

Discovering how small changes can make a big difference in daily life through our sustainable living sessions. Learning to save money and reduce waste with our food waste reduction workshops. Discovering tips to save energy and money on utility bills in our energy efficiency sessions. Enjoying fun and educational activities with your children in our family-friendly workshops. Connecting with other like-minded individuals and become a Climate Champion in our community engagement sessions.

By participating in our workshops, single parent families will:

• Gain valuable knowledge and skills.
• Save money on household expenses.
• Help protect the environment for future generations.
• Connect with your community and make a positive impact.

The Douglas Diggers are formed of parents from Claypotts Castle PS who are committed to improving the physical environment of the school as well as the surrounding community spaces.  We are lucky to have a huge playground, but sadly it is simply an expanse of concrete and grass.  We have been working at pace this year on introducing native, hardy planting to the playground and creating opportunities for children and adults alike to learn more about gardening and growing.  We are at the start of a very exciting journey of transformation which will stand the test of time for many children to enjoy and learn from for years to come.

The vision for the Douglas Diggers has children at the heart, but very much surrounded by adults, old and young, with lots of gardening experience, or none at all.  We hope to create a space where all are welcome and feel valued; a space that embraces avid gardeners as well as those who simply wish to enjoy the surroundings of a living, growing garden. 

We are a school who are committed and attached to our families.  We do our very best to create many varied opportunities to involve our parents and carers and the Douglas Diggers have plans to offer many family-based activities this year from the creation of our Polycrub, the Claypotts Caterpillar to Family Fun Days and creative workshops during the winter months. 

Developing our outdoor spaces will create opportunities to: address the cost of living pressures, to reduce social isolation, to offer zero cost family activities and to create volunteering opportunities for those looking to start/return to work to name but a few.  Moreover, it encourages our families to claim the school space as their own whilst exploring the concept of climate change and the impact we can all have as citizens both individually and collectively.     

Forthill Community Sports Club is committed to sustainability and enhancing its facilities to better serve the community. Our proposed solar panel installation, (£22,505 cost), will significantly lower energy costs, allowing us to reinvest savings into sporting programs, outreach, and development. By reducing our carbon footprint, we create a more sustainable future for our members and inspire young athletes to take part in an environmentally conscious sports culture. This initiative strengthens our role as a community hub, promoting both physical well-being and environmental responsibility.

Forthill Community Sports Club is a local hub dedicated to promoting sports and physical activity in the community. Based in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, the club provides facilities for a variety of sports, including cricket, tennis, hockey, squash, rugby and table tennis. It serves a wide range of age groups and skill levels, from beginners to seasoned athletes, and is focused on fostering both sporting excellence and community engagement. In addition to hosting matches and events, Forthill also plays a key role in sports development and outreach, offering programs that encourage active participation, teamwork, and personal growth. The club's inclusive and welcoming environment makes it a vital part of the local sports culture. Our facilities are used by a variety of community groups who are not directly linked to Forthill, and we hope that the financial savings throught this solar project will allow us to open our doors to more groups.

For over 40 years, actors appearing at Dundee Rep have prepared for their stage roles in one of our eight dressing rooms and have chilled out pre and post-performance in our Green Room, whilst colleagues in our programming and planning department work tirelessly to schedule an exciting programme of events for you our audiences, whilst box office staff sell tickets to each show. For over 40 years, all these professionals have shivered in the winter, as the draughty, single-glazed windows in each area leach warmth out of the rooms and let the chills in!

As an A-Listed building, we are limited in changes and modifications we are allowed to make both externally and internally. Our windows are 42-year-old, single-gazed originals; some are very unique: triangular in shape reflecting the stylised motif based on our stage which occurs throughout the building. Some also feature a louvre-design of slatted glass opening for ventilation and due to the listing they can’t be replaced. However they are hugely draughty and it is very difficult to keep above 21oC, the ideal office temperature.  Our recent annual Energy Report by Creative Carbon Scotland estimated we have been losing around 60% of heat generated through our gas central heating system through these windows!

Having seen the positive impact installing secondary glazing in other parts of the building has made to reducing our heating bills, we now want to complete the rest of the building, installing recyclable, polycarbonate glazing to the remaining areas.  We estimate it will save around 25% of our gas usage, will stop staff use of portable, electric heaters- an inefficient, health and safety risk- and will help towards making the building air tight, so allowing the possibility installing an air source heat pump in future. This installation will contribute towards our target of a reduction of 109 tonnes of CO2 by 2028.

We were recently voted Dundee Chamber of Commerce Champions 2024, in part due to our work in climate adaptation and mitigation working towards Net Zero, some of which is highlighted in the video on this page.

Thank you for your support.

Positive collaboration is the key to climate action.

To address climate change we need to think and work in more creative ways and engage people from all walks of life. At the same time we need to nurture and celebrate the people who are volunteering and working in this sector who are often overwhelmed and anxious about not doing enough. This is why we will be focusing on community green spaces or growing spaces across Dundee.

This project brings together two Dundee-based collectives in collaboration.  The Art and Nature Collective, based at Dundee Botanic Gardens and the Dundee Network of Community Gardens (aka Grow Dundee) to deliver 5 artist mini-residencies hosted by the community gardens, bringing together artists and community growers.

Please support our project so we can:

1.       Support learning and increase the confidence of smaller community environmental initiatives and environmentally engaged artists to work together in all areas of our city

2.       Offer interactive creative and caring nature-based activities within community growing spaces - new ways for communities to connect with nature and engage with environmental action

3.       Increase visibility and impact of both of our environmental networks to engage more people in sustainable living through art, community growing and UoD Botanic Gardens. We are all here for the long run!

4.       Publish a small guide to creative and caring practices for sustainable community food growing. Multiply the impact of nature restoration and sustainable food growing activities in community settings by being more inclusive and creative

Real change demands swift, comprehensive action across entire systems. "Creative Gardens" will connect communities, with nature and art in a positive and productive way to highlight the critical need for collaboration between all areas of society; producing inspiring examples of successful partnerships to help drive positive change.

How daunting and frustrating it must feel to be a young person now - as climate change gathers pace - more uncertain than previous generations about what the future holds. Furthermore, many feel failed by governments and older generations, and powerless to influence the direction of travel. Although schools are tasked with preparing children for the future and providing the skills and knowledge for the climate transition, teachers often feel similarly ill-equipped to fulfil this role.

So, how can this stalemate situation be overcome? Is there a way that young people can be given agency over their future careers and livelihoods? These are the questions that led researchers at The James Hutton Institute, in collaboration with teachers in secondary schools and career-advisors at Skills Development Scotland, to develop a novel multi-actor, multi-generational model to engage young people in the discussion and co-design of pathways for climate transition.

The Dundee Climate Fund 3.0 would allow us to develop and run a ‘COP’ style event bringing young people in Dundee together with potential future employers in the co-design of pathways for climate transition. The workshops will empower young people to work with scientists and industry experts to discuss collective actions, skills, careers and individual behavioural changes underpinning this transformation.

We propose a one-day event involving between 5 and 10 students (S5/S6 – age:15 - 18) from each Dundee secondary school, in the novel workshop model previously piloted in a successful event in Perth.  Selected academic and industry speakers will present challenges and visions for the climate transition in major socio-economic sectors (chosen in collaboration with local educators) and open a collective discussion with the young people. After initial presentations, young people will be divided in discussion teams where they will perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) and STEEP (Social, Technology, Environmental, Economic and Political drivers of change) analysis of climate transition in each of the different socio-economic sectors, with the support of academic and industry experts. Following this analysis, young people will design a route map and recommendations to reach the desired future.

Young people, supported by academics and potential future employers, will learn about the climate transition and gain confidence in their own potential contributions and agency. This will create socio-ecological benefits for Dundee communities and environment by empowering the next generation of adults to make meaningful changes in our future society. After the workshop, students will receive a certificate of attendance from The James Hutton Institute, and their recommendations will be disseminated to target audiences in education, policy, business, and research through the project team’s communication pathways.

[the word cloud summarises the young people’s recommendations for policy during the pilot workshop in Perth]