The Bike Station, the Community Alliance Trust in Craigmillar and transition towns in Edinburgh South and Heriot-Watt University are among ten Edinburgh projects to benefit from a Scottish Government green initiative.
The government announced on Tuesday that 130 community and non-profit groups across Scotland would receive funding totalling over £8 million for environmental projects in the eighth round of its Climate Challenge Fund (CCF).
The fund has been supporting projects in Edinburgh and across Scotland since 2008, with 345 communities receiving a total £37.7 million in a bid to reduce Scotland's carbon footprint.
The Bike Station has now won over £1 million from the scheme, after receiving £750 million in 2009 for its 80:40:20 Challenge to get over 12,500 staff working for small and medium sized companies in Edinburgh to walk, cycle and use the bus more and drive less.
Transition towns continue to be popular with the CCF, with Transition Edinburgh South and Transition Heriot-Watt university gaining from the latest round of funding.
The global network of Transition "Towns" (aka "Transition Initiatives") has steadily grown as motivated groups of individuals from towns, universities, and other communities organise and develop carbon reduction blueprints for their local area. The emphasis is on local initiatives taken by local people to allow the local community to thrive without ongoing fossil fuel reliance.
As author Rob Hopkins, who started the first Transition Town in Britain, explains in the video above, it's about creating "a really attractive, enticing vision of how the town could be beyond its current dependence on oil and fossil fuels."
The Edinburgh Hindu Mandir and Culure Centre in Leith received funding to help its community reduce its carbon footprint, and annual activist film festival Take One Action, was also among the latest Edinburgh projects to gain funding.
Climate Challenge Fund Recepients (Round 8, 2011)
- The Bike Station £250,000
- Community Alliance Trust (based in Craigmillar) £183,690
- Transition Edinburgh South £172,125
- Edinburgh Community Energy Co-operative £50,145
- Edinburgh Hindu Mandir and Culture Centre £49,895
- Transition Heriot-Watt University £48,590
- Edinburgh World Heritage (EWH) £33,413
- Take One Action Film Festivals £31,452
- Nepal Scotland Association £15,500
- East Craigs Wider Action Group (ECWAG) £12,250
Edinburgh Projects funded by the Climate Challenge Fund Rounds 1-7