Dundee Climate Fund update

City Councillors are to be updated on the impact of the first Scottish local authority-led green participatory budgeting scheme, the Dundee Climate Fund, next week.

The Dundee Climate Fund involves citizens in developing proposals for, and deciding on, the allocation of up to £750,000, to deliver on community-led climate change projects around the city.

The scheme is operating over a four-year period, from September 2022 to March 2026, with the funding being allocated over a series of rounds.

Organisers structured the Fund on the principles of participatory budgeting, raising awareness of climate change and supporting communities to identify and vote on local projects specifically aimed at delivering on; energy, transport, waste, resilience, and community engagement.

Climate, Environment & Biodiversity Committee Convener Cllr Heather Anderson said: “The scheme effectively funds community groups, social enterprises, community interest companies, and charities to deliver projects to tackle climate change which are supported by a public vote.

“Dundee was the first local authority to use participatory budgeting in this way and we’ve worked with local people to both generate the ideas and decide where the funding should be spent.

“The first round of the Dundee Climate Fund saw 12 city projects benefit, and this second round is still open. Please make sure you use your vote for your favourite projects either online or in your local library.

“The fund has supported a wide range of projects, including developing community gardens, reducing food waste, establishing a community toolbox, expanding growing initiatives at the Maxwell Centre and Garden and vegetable production by Campy Growers.  We’ve also supported Transition Dundee’s Gleaning Project and funded electric transport for Dundee Bairns to deliver free meals and clothes.  All these projects are bringing wide-ranging and positive change across the city.”

Campy Growers Project Co-ordinator Adele Stewart said: “The Dundee Climate Fund has transformed the project at Campy by creating a team of skilled staff, letting us expand our outreach capabilities, start a Community Supported Agriculture veg box scheme and produce more locally grown veg.

“It has allowed more volunteers to engage and benefit from using the site while improving their own health and well-being as well as helping to tackle Climate change."

Lynsey Penny, Managing Director of Transition Dundee, said: “With the help of the Dundee Climate Fund we managed to create another sustainable job, build great relationships with local farmers and strengthen partnerships with other local food projects by providing farm fresh, healthy fruit and vegetables to those projects helping many communities with access to food around the city, as well as adding food-themed workshops to our skills programme.

“Eight months in we are keen to keep this going and help save lots of surplus food that would have otherwise gone to waste, for the benefit of many local people - we are really excited to see how this project grows over the next few months.”

Project proposals to the Dundee Climate Fund once submitted are vetted by a Review Panel of various experts before the final decision on spend is made by public vote.

Full details of the Round One and Two projects can be found on the Dundee’s Voice website.

The update report will go to Dundee City Council’s Climate, Environment & Biodiversity Committee on Monday 19th February 2024.

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