A climate-focused project by a Kintyre trust saw a strong turnout at Campbeltown Town Hall on Saturday to mark six months of its work across the peninsula.
Kintyre Climate Action, a campaign run by South Kintyre Development Trust (SKDT) in tandem with Kintyre Grows, has been working to deliver climate-minded changes as part of Climate Action Towns, a Scottish Government-supported campaign, with Campbeltown one of nine designated towns to receive support since 2021 from Architecture and Design Scotland.
There was a warm atmosphere for the climate action activity day – and not just down to the tea, coffee and flapjacks on offer for visitors to the hall – with a steady arrival of visitors across the five-hour event.
Ed Tyler, community growing specialist for SKDT and Kintyre Grows, and would-be arborists branched out from the town hall venue late morning for a tree pruning workshop.
Back on Main Street, Campbeltown businesses such as Kintyre Recycling, low waste shop Kintyre Weigh and Preloved 2 Reloved ran stalls, giving those who attended a chance to find out about Campbeltown’s burgeoning ‘circular economy’ which emphasises community self-sufficiency and buying and reusing locally-found products, from food and clothes to furniture and services.
Sharyn Lock, climate action development co-ordinator, praised the well-stocked clothing, toy and kitchenware stalls on show for swapping and reuse.
She said: “We are buying too much ‘new stuff’ as a society and it isn’t sustainable.
“We need to buy second-hand where we can, even gift second-hand.”
Later, the launch of the Kintyre Rainforest Alliance, which seeks community minds – and helping hands – to help preserve Kintyre’s pristine spots of Temperate Atlantic Rainforest, a landscape covering one per cent of the world’s surface and found in abundance in places such as Torrisdale in East Kintyre, was heralded by Dr Jennifer Lane Lee, an arboreal expert and a member of Carradale Community Trust, in front of the healthy crowd gathered.
Hannah Jones, Kintyre Grows community growing co-ordinator, who with support from Ed Tyler is developing designated growing spaces in Campbeltown for community groups, schools and other interested parties to get involved in growing flowers and food within them, showed off fresh vegetable produce from her Farm Stall.
She also talked about progress made at the Gateway Garden on Kinloch Road, as well as at the herb garden on Quarry Green.
It is hoped more volunteers will get involved in their weekly gardening get-togethers, every Wednesday from 2pm.
For more information, email kintyregrows@skdt.org or phone Campbeltown Town Hall on 01586 552870.
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