The Findhorn Ecovillage has been awarded a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery to help reach its goal of becoming carbon neutral.
In the weeks surrounding COP26, the Moray community set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
This new funding will be allocated to the Park Ecovillage Trust’s (PET)
carbon reductions team so they can explore how best to get there.
All residents, businesses, buildings, gardens and roads will be included in the project.
The ecovillage is already a holder of a UN Habitat Best Practice award and has a lower carbon footprint than the UK average.
However, they believe there is more work to be done, and the trust hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by setting yearly emissions goals to stick by.
Carbon neutral by 2030
The PET aims to become carbon neutral by being less dependent on fossil fuels and measuring all emissions in the area, from locals as well as from suppliers and visitors.
Those living and working in the area can take part in various measures to help the community move towards their goal.
These include increasing solar energy installations, replacing oil and gas heating with heat pumps and encouraging the use of electric vehicles by installing additional charge points.
To help locals modify their lifestyles to fit with the PET’s vision, a support system will be put in place.
They can use the PET’s carbon offsetting system whereby people can balance emissions that they have not yet been able to reduce by investing in tree planting and forestry projects in developing countries.
In these areas, growing trees will draw down carbon dioxide and store it in the biomass.
Another step on the path to net zero
Since its establishment 59 years ago, the Findhorn Ecovillage has developed its own wind park, biological waste water treatment plant, and pioneered eco building techniques.
People from around the world come to learn how to build and run an ecovillage, however this in itself poses problems.
This international travel contributes towards the ecovillage’s carbon footprint, so the PET is working to make more resources available online. This means people will be able to learn more about the Findhorn Ecovillage from home while being close to carbon neutral.