The Latest from IRRI

Resource for Life Appeal

2011-12-09T04:39:00.000-08:00

This January, IRRI’s Resource for Life ‘Runner Bean Team’ will be daring the snowy peaks of Edinburgh’s Arthur’s Seat to take part in the BUPA Great Winter Run.

Our cause is Resource for Life.

Nutritious food, water, energy, transport, clothing, household staples; all things that we often take for granted. Not all of us, though. Some of us live with the tough reality of deprivation.

Resource for Life will work with children in areas of deprivation to provide them with the knowledge and understanding of resources, teaching them how to make their own environments serve their needs.

We are building a practical learning programme that will allow children to grow their own food, learn of sustainable energies, recyclable materials and sustainable transport and even learn about opportunities for them in the new green economy.

Any donation you make will help a child to learn and grow through his or her environment. Your money will help to make their world and our world a better place.

To find out more, please visit http://bit.ly/tOUEQ3

To donate, please visit http://bit.ly/sSadJv

Please stay tuned to the IRRI blog for more updates on our fundraising campaign.

Sustainable Rural Communities Event

2011-10-21T01:57:00.000-07:00

FREE Sustainable Rural Communities Event

On Thursday 27 October the Biofuel Business Programme and partners* will be hosting a Sustainable Rural Communities event in Birnam Arts Institute, Dunkeld, PH8 0DS.

This event is being tailored specifically to the farming community, and will feature brief technical overview and case studies of a range of suitable technologies, including Anaerobic Digestion, PV, Wind and MicroHydro.

The event will commence at 10.15am and will run until 13.30 at Birnam Arts Institute in Dunkeld. During the morning, delegates will have the opportunity to hear all speakers, and also meet a range of exhibitors providing advice on technologies, funding and legislation. A detailed programme for the day and exhibitor list will be provided on registration.

To register for this free event, please email bbp@napier.ac.uk or call the team on 0131 455 2217.

If you would like to exhibit at this event please contact Claire Goncet, c.goncet@napier.ac.uk

Woodlands In and Around Towns (WIAT)

2011-10-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

The Forestry Commission will potentially be hosting a course based around the management of urban woodlands (details below). Please express your interest to Jim Smith - Jim.Smith@forestry.gsi.gov.uk

Purpose

The purpose of this course is to demonstrate how design can make a positive contribution towards the WIAT objectives of:

· Creating new woodland.

· Bringing neglected woodland into active management.

· Working with people to help them use their local woodland.

Audience

This course has been developed for all those who have responsibilities for the creation and management of woodlands intended for active use by local communities. This includes all those who are involved in the preparation and consultation of such urban woodland management plans.

Content

Over the two days, the course will demonstrate the stages of the design process:

· Gathering and use of survey information.

· Understanding the opportunities and constraints of a site.

· Developing a design concept.

Through that design process key urban woodland subjects will be covered, specifically the contribution of design in:

· Community engagement.

· Anti-social behaviour.

· Woodland access thresholds, pathways and spaces.

· Use of woodland spaces.

· Woodland edge.

Outcomes

At the end of the course it is anticipated that you will have an enhanced appreciation of:

· How the agency of design can optimise the delivery of a quality woodland environment for a local community.

· How design can contribute towards effective community engagement and help resolve anti-social behaviour.

· The fundamentals of the design principles and their application in the design process.

· The location, use and linkages of spaces for people to optimise their woodland experience.

· The development of an urban woodland design through to the preparation of a concept design.

And overall, increase your capacity and confidence to effectively communicate your ideas and engage creatively with all communities of interest.

Sigma for Water Partners Meeting

2011-09-15T02:06:00.000-07:00

IRRI is to co-host a visit by Europeans from 6 countries as part of the EU InterReg project "Sigma for Water". This project focuses on master planning for the creation and enhancement of wetlands and lakes for the purposes of water quality improvement and flood mitigation. Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership (GCVGNP) will share the hosting as UK project partners. Through the IRRI’s association with GCVGNP, the 2-day visit will include presentations from European visitors and discussion sessions before IRRI/GCVGNP led site visits. The first day 20th September will visit sites relating to Integrated Green Infrastructure while the second day will visit the Gartloch/Gartcosh 7 Lochs Wetland Park site to the north east of Glasgow.

To learn more about Sigma for Water, please visit - http://www.sigmaforwater.org/. To learn more about Glasgow & Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership, please visit - http://www.gcvgreennetwork.gov.uk/

Community Energy

2011-09-14T02:59:00.000-07:00

The Scottish Government has set ambitious targets of achieving 500 megawatts of community and locally owned renewable energy by 2020. Significant funding and resources have been made available to help achieve the government’s targets. The Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) loan fund was launched back in February 2011 and aims to provide loans towards the high-risk, pre-planning consent stages of renewable energy projects which have significant community engagement and benefit.

There is also the Scottish Governments Community Renewable Energy Toolkit which provides information, advice, funding details and next steps to community’s considering what they can benefit from renewable energy projects.

It is clear that community energy set ups can offer increased community cohesion and confidence which is especially important at a time when many communities, particularly those in rural areas, are experiencing financial hardship.

IRRI itself has a history of assisting with community renewable energy initiatives through the SMALLEST (Solutions for Microgeneration to Allow Energy Saving Technology) project in which they are lead partner. SMALLEST works specifically with rural communities throughout the Northern Periphery to access micro renewable energy solutions more effectively.

Moffat CAN

Moffat CAN (Carbon Approaching Neutral) are a community company and charity situated in the rolling hills of Dumfries & Galloway in South West Scotland. Here the community has come together to launch a multifaceted community group, working to reduce the towns carbon footprint. Their activities range from recycling and waste food collections to composting and food production. Moffat CAN has also invested in a closed loop aquaponics system where fish and plants work in harmony - the fish produce waste which provides the nutrients for the plants and the plants soak up the nutrients leaving clean, fresh water for the fish. Even more impressively the water in the tanks is heated by a combination of solar thermal panels and ground source heating. The set-up of the aquaponics system was assisted by IRRI through the SMALLEST project.

The Moffat CAN story goes from strength to strength - they were recently awarded funding from the Jubilee People’s Millions Award. This will allow them to launch their new ‘Tasty Waste’ project and continue their brilliant work, creating more jobs and doing their bit to safe guard the environment for the future.

For more information on Moffat CAN, please see their website - http://www.moffatcan.org/

Launch of Renewable Energy Mayo

This September will see the launch of Renewable Energy Mayo (REM). REM is a community energy set-up created through a partnership of Mayo County Council and IRRI.

County Mayo

A local team has been assembled to take REM forward. Shane Mulchrone; Community Development Officer, Michael Prenty; Energy Advisor and Áine Carr; Energy Development Officer, will work to offer guidance and advice to householders, businesses and community groups throughout Mayo who want to take a more sustainable approach by adopting renewable energy systems. This will contribute towards efforts to tackle climate change and also help alleviate fuel poverty and create jobs.

Interested community groups are invited to attend the launch of Renewable Energy Mayo on the 28^th of September at the McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris from 9am until 1pm.

If your community is interested in attending the launch or investigating renewable energy solutions, please contact Shane Mulchrone on 087 -6689467 or via email at shane.mulchrone@irri.org.uk. Coming soon, you will also be able to find further information on Renewable Energy Mayo at www.renewableenergymayo.com.