Two Cumbrian projects have been awarded almost £10,000 each to combat climate change.
Sustainability projects were invited to apply and present their ideas to reduce carbon emissions to Cumbria Sustainability Network and the public for a chance to be awarded the grants of up to £10,000.
An audience of over 60 people voted on their preferred projects that targeted the areas of energy use, land use, waste, and transport.
Ulverston Food Waste Project received £9,815 to aid its effort to ensure that food at the end of its shelf life goes to people who will make good use of it.
An additional £9,700 was given to SENS from Staveley to develop their pilot electric-bike hire scheme that will enable locals to access sustainable transport.
Linden Grieve, of Ulverston Food Waste Project, said: “We were overjoyed to be successful in our bid for funds to make sure that we can continue to save as much edible produce as possible from disappearing into landfill. It was an amazing moment when we realized that so many people had voted for our project! I’m so pleased that we can continue to build and grow our project to benefit people in Ulverston as well as the planet.”
Alistair Kirkbride, of SENS, said: “e-bikes are a great carbon-neutral way of getting out and about for short journeys, and a really effective option to replace short car journeys. Our pilot will enable local people to use this fun and convenient mode of travel day-to-day without having to commit to buying a bike.
‘We are aware of how hard it is for young people to access work or other services without a reliable, frequent bus service, and we want to encourage people of all ages to keep their cars parked up as much as possible or even replace their cars with their own e-bike. We hope to include a pay-as-you-do cargo bike as part of our offer, and we hope that local business will pick up on this as an alternative for deliveries.”
The funding for the grants came from the National Lottery Climate Action Fund, as part of the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership’s (ZCCP) ambitious emission reduction programme to make Cumbria carbon neutral by 2037. The grants are awarded by Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS) on behalf of ZCCP.
