Two projects in Falkirk are set to benefit from a Scottish Government fund that supports local action to tackle climate change.
Falkirk West MSP Michael Matheson welcomed news that Revive Falkirk and Re-Union Canal Boats have been awarded grants of £97,633 and £62,215 respectively by the Climate Challenge Fund.
Revive Falkirk, an initiative run by Forth Environment Link, will create a community reuse space in the town centre. The project will use innovative ways to breathe new life into old and unwanted items that would otherwise be destined for landfill sites.
Social enterprise Re-Union Canal Boats will run activities on and off the water, including educational boat trips from The Helix and canal clean-ups that will focus on recycling recovered items.
Mr Matheson said: “Local projects such as these play an important role in helping to deliver Scotland’s climate change ambitions by encouraging community action and behaviour change.
“Hopefully these initiatives will inspire more people to care about the problem of climate change and to do their bit to help tackle it.”
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced this week that the Climate Challenge Fund has awarded nearly £10million worth of grants to 113 projects across Scotland for 2017-18. The Scottish Government provided £9.09million of the funding and the European Regional Development Fund another £880,000.
Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, who manage the fund on behalf of the Scottish Government, said: “Climate change impacts all of us and we need collective action to tackle it. We were delighted to have supported so many communities from across Scotland in applying for the grants.”
