ECBI - Edinburgh Community Backgreens Initiative - Providing Greenspace for the Community

We want to help residents look at ways that backgreens can support sustainability and provide the information needed to make practical changes to their lifestyles.  This is the first year which we will run the Carbon Weight Watchers scheme so we are going to focus at three pilot sites, and if successful, roll the scheme out to other sites next year.  The sites which we have chosen are:-

• Strawberry Field in Leith,
• Marchmont Triangle in (surprise) Marchmont,
• Wheatfield in Gorgie.

Emma Burnett, our Climate Officer is going to run a series of workshops at each site.  The Workshops will explore different aspects of our 'carbon footprint' such as food, waste and energy.  The workshops will be followed by a Carbon Fair that will be delivered in the community backgreen at each site which folk from the local community will be invited to attend.

The workshops will start in August this year. If you are interested in reducing your carbon footprint, taking part in workshops or coming along to events, please contact us us to register your interest.

More Information About Workshop Format
Our Climate Officer will work with 12 Community Backgreen Group facilitating 3 workshops with each group. The three workshops are themed:-

• Local Food & Composting
• Local Transport
• Energy

We hope to encourage approximately 5% of residents around the community backgreen to participate in the workshops. The groups will meet once a month for three months, with a defined end point, at which residents will receive a certificate showing them the carbon reductions they have made. 

The workshops will allow people to work together and encourage one another to make changes that will significantly reduce their carbon footprint.  It is hoped that residents will provide their homes as a venue for workshops.  If this is not possible we can make use of other local venues, or weather permitting, community backgreens.  The workshops will use the following format:

Provision of Information and Group Discussion
During the workshops, information will be provided, through presentations, course materials and interactive activities.  If possible, relevant speakers will come to workshops to provide expert knowledge on particular topics.  Group discussion will be encouraged and it is expected that knowledge, such as locally relevant information, will come from participants and facilitators.  Discussions will be structured and will help participants focus on up to three changes to make each month - allowing them to be realistic about these changes and hopefully more successful in completing them.

This part of the workshop will create a forum for the spread of information and ideas.  The workshops will provide a socially supportive network for lifestyle change.  Participants will be encouraged to continue with changes and there is the capacity to develop a scheme in the future, that encourages CWW participants to go on to help other tenement dwellers to live more sustainably, possibly even running workshops of their own.

Measurement of Carbon Emissions
The start of each workshop will include a ‘Weigh-In’ questionnaire that will allow participants to calculate their own current carbon emissions in relation to the monthly topics.  A ‘Weigh-Out’ questionnaire will also be completed, one month later allowing participants to see the effects that the changes in their lifestyle have made to their carbon footprint. 

End of Year Report
An end of year report will be produced for each individual/household, allowing them to see the changes they have made and to have a record of their achievements.  This information will also be used to report to the Climate Challenge Fund.