Our story
Sustainable Selkirk is a project that aims to support the local community with energy saving, sustainable travel and reduction of emissions. We started with the help of Selkirk Regeneration and funding from Keep Scotland Beautiful.
It wasn't something that just happened unexpectedly. Selkirk Regeneration has a long history of energy-related projects. In April 2010 the charity employed a "carbon reduction officer" (CRO) for a year. In July 2018 SR Board members visited similar projects and identified a range of desirable outcomes (through a robust and thorough community consultation) such as encouraging more use of public transport, cycling and walking for short journeys; encouraging businesses and households to reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprint.
Sustainable Selkirk's Home Energy Support team goes to local homes, has phone calls or even virtual visits to offer advice on reducing their energy use and carbon emissions. This includes independent switching advice and tips on how to reduce damp, mould and condensation, how to draught-proof a house and improve air-tightness.
We also help people to consider the installation of renewable systems and moving into more carbon-neutral heating systems. Our project encourages people to consider reducing their dependence on cars for shorter trips by enabling them to test our e-bikes and take part in eco-driving courses. Our website offers lots of tips and tricks to make your home warmer and greener!
To encourage the local community to take action, we organise bi-weekly conversations with experts covering such topics as PVs, electric cars, heating older houses, dealing with condensation, etc.
Our advice
Sustainable Selkirk started in 2020 whilst the country was in lockdown, thus making the first few months really difficult. What was very helpful at that time was support provided by a similar, but much more advanced project from another locality (Arran Eco Savvy).
What we found to work really well was to use our Facebook Page to publish weekly 'Energy Saving Sunday' with short, but more in-depth tips about efficiency at home. This is something we learnt from another project (Lochaber Environmental Group - LEG) and it shows how important is to be in touch with similar projects in other localities.
We have also joined forces to engage members of our local communities to participate in our bi-weekly Zoom conversations. Again, this proved to work really well as we have access to more diverse audiences and a broader scope of experts.
Looking back, we've learnt that developing strong partnerships with other similar projects in other localities can greatly strengthen and enhance our own work.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by the reduction of energy use and carbon emissions by local homes; the switch by members of the community to renewable energy and carbon-neutral heating systems; people's reduced dependence on cars for shorter trips (through e-bikes and active travel); and by our collaborations with similar organisations in other localities.
