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Kickstarting a Greener Future
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.
Forthill Community Sports Club Solar Panel Project
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.
The World is My...
2024-09-25 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.
Climate Action Workshops for Single Parent Families
2024-09-19 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.
Green Gazebo: A place to connect 💚
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
Campy Growers is the largest community growing space in Dundee. With passionate volunteers we grow and distribute hundreds of kilos of ethically grown food to various project across the city. We run workshops about gardening, biodiversity, cooking, harvest and wider events open to all, to raise awareness about climate change and food growing.
What's missing is a location to run all our projects and activities: a living roof green gazebo. A place to gather, to share ideas and knowledge, to enjoy the sun whilst protected from the Scottish weather. A place with a positive climate impact. A place that will make the difference.
Picture a L-shaped wooden gazebo, south facing and made from larch sourced from a local sawmill. Can you see it? It will have a guttering system to collect water so we can wash the produce and water our plants. But most of off all, it will have a sedum (green) roof which will capture CO2 emissions and support wildlife, improve air purification, increase biodiversity, and more.
It will become a social space for the Collective and a central point for learning:
- We will run more workshops and events in relation to gardening, cooking, biodiversity and resilience. Although we ran several workshops last year, we were quite limited in terms of space, so we want to expand and make people feel welcome! Here is a wee taster of what we are planning for 2025: start your garden, botany, Harvest session, mushroom growing, cooking with seasonal veg, fermentation, learn about moths and bat, movie screening, open days and more.
- Start a Climate Café style conversation: Every month we will run climate café style conversation giving the opportunity to everybody to share their thoughts about climate change. Campy Growers is an example of a proactive project which counter-act climate change. Being surrounded by food and green space changes the dynamic and impact of such conversations can have.
- We will offer a space for our volunteers and visitors: With our volunteers and visitors we talk about gardening for sure, but we also create connections, share aspirations and ideas. A dedicated area to relax, think, gather and enjoy homemade food together is the key of our Collective
- We will use it as a packhouse for our weekly veg stalls and distribution, an open space visible to all visitors who want to get some vegetables or learn about community market gardening techniques. It is a self-sufficient space with its guttering system too.
We need your vote to create to social space which will support the biodiversity and will allow us to run more events and workshop creating resilience and awareness about climate change and food growing.
ScrapAntics Resilience Worker
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
ScrapAntics would like to begin a new project by employing a Resilience Worker. Their role would be to connect with the most vulnerable in our community, providing them with essential resources and items, offering accessible advice and education on climate action and exploring tangible changes people can make to emphasise sustainability in day-to-day life.
The Resilience Worker would get to know individuals and families on a one to one basis, initiating conversations around climate topics and encouraging them to enact change in their lives, with the aim of positively impacting wider community change.
The worker would identify what direct support or signposting to agencies addressing financial, food or fuel poverty is most needed.
ScrapAntics have access to corporate donations of household essentials and many in our community are in desperate need of these items - but do not currently have the capacity for targeted distribution. The Resilience Worker would ensure that they reach people who need them most. These include bedding, towels, toiletries and cleaning supplies, food packs and clothing.
This role would particularly benefit those we work with in our Wellgate space who are often unemployed, from an asylum seeker or refugee background, have mental or physical health issues or suffer from isolation.
Multi-actor workshop: Young-people co-design the pathways to climate transitions
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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]
Green Rep!
2024-09-15 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.
Community Food Larder Electric Van
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
Fairfield Community Sports Hub are based within the North East of Dundee, and provide vital services for one of the poorest areas in the city. As well as providing sports and activity in a way people can afford, the Hub also runs a Food Larder (Bank) which at present serves 1900 people across the community. The Food Larder is supported entirley by volunteers anbd without this service many of the families would struggle to support themeselves and their children, with the basic necessitaties many of us take for granted. The Food Larder offers a vairety of products as well as food, which includes, fresh fruit & veg, healthy alternatives, special diets and allergies, and of course the pets in the household are catered for! To allow us to provide such a vital resource for the community the most important thing we need is a van. Which collects foods from around Dundee including supermarkets, and donations made by the public. Without the van the Food Larder would not be able to run and 1900 would suffer as a result.What we are asking for is funding to secure a new electric van which would replace our current diesel van which is begining to show its age and due to its year of registration we are no longer able to go into the centre of town due to LEZ area Please help Fairfield COnmmunity Sports Hub and the community we serve by voting for us
Thank you for reading
Creative Gardens - Connecting Community, Nature, and Art
2024-09-30 • No comments • • Dundee Climate Fund Round 3.0
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.