HEAT Update – At a Glance-1

Happy New Year & Welcome to the first edition of HEAT Matters for 2019! We hope you had a relaxing and enjoyable time over the festive period.

The HEAT Team were kept on their toes in the office throughout December with the arrival of our very own Christmas “Elf on the Shelf”, Esther! Esther was used in various photos on our Facebook page to highlight the little differences you can make within your home to help reduce energy wastage which, in turn, could save you money on those energy bills. If you don’t already follow us on our Facebook be sure to check out our page and why not follow us on our new Twitter account too,@HeatProjectPlus. This is where you’ll find the most up to date information about what the team are up to, events and even competitions.

Speaking of competitions, big congratulations to the winner of our very first Facebook Hamper Giveaway, Jennifer Lamond from Blairgowrie. We hope you enjoy your Hamper!

Radio Tay Mission Christmas Appeal – THANK YOU!

Our office was an official drop off point for the Radio Tay Mission Christmas Toy Appeal throughout December and we would just like to thank everyone who popped in with a donation – your donations helped towards making Christmas Day 2018 special for over 5,228 children in Tayside.

Climate Challenge Awards & Gathering

Last Month saw the 10th Annual CCF Awards held on Wednesday 12th December and the CCF Gathering held the following day at Perth Concert Hall. These events are big on our calendar as our Project is one which is funded by the Climate Challenge Fund (CCF). The HEAT Project was nominated in various categories and although we didn’t come home with an award this year, our Project Manager, Martin, was there to help judge the various other nominees. Find out more about the winners here.

The CCF Gathering was a great opportunity for the team to learn about the work of other CCF Funded projects, promote the work that we are involved in and we even had the chance to participate in a couple of workshops to develop our knowledge and understanding of all things Energy & Climate related!

If you are interested to learn more about the CCF and future events visit www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org.

Energy Fair in the Glens!

The Team have been busy this month preparing for our Energy Fair in The Glens which will be on Friday 1st March. This is our first Energy Fair of the year and will be held in the Kirkmichael Village Hall from 2.00 – 6.30pm. Be sure to make a note in your diary. There will be various exhibitors attending giving specialist advice on everything from draught proofing your home, stove installations, secondary & double glazing, renewable energy and everything in between! There will also be a special performance from Kirkmichael Primary School Pupils. The best part is, it’s free to attend and everyone is welcome, whether you are a Glen resident or not!

To help with the event planning, our Team have welcomed a new sessional worker, Jane. Here’s an update of what Jane’s been working on over the last few weeks;

“As a new sessional worker for The Heat Project, one of my main remits is to help with the Glens Energy Fair. During December I went up to Kirkmichael and visited a number of local folk. Gary West the coordinator of the Volunteer Firefighters at Kirkmichael is very supportive of our aims and will run a Fire Safety stall at the Fair.

The Heat Project has had a successful partnership with Kirkmichael Primary School in the past and the Deputy Head was keen to continue the relationship. We will be running 3 sessions with the school based around Forest School activities and looking at the themes of greenhouse gases, carbon footprint, energy efficiency and home energy savings. The school will make a small film of their sessions and create a song both of which will be on show at the Energy Fair. We have also produced a series of leaflets which are relevant to the specific energy needs of people in the Glens. These include a pamphlet on how to get the most out of your wood burner and one on describing the most efficient way of running an oil powered central heating system. A large number of residents in the Glens use these sources of fuel in their heating systems as there is no gas in that area. I will be continuing to make contact with people in Glenshee and Strathardle areas in order that we can best cater for the local needs at the Energy Fair.”

So, make a note in your diary as we look forward to seeing you at the Fair!

Martin Mathers, Project Manager