Sustainability at the core of latest The Prince’s Countryside Fund grants

14 projects across the UK have been awarded £250,000 by The Prince’s Countryside Fund (PCF) through their “Supporting Rural Communities” grants programme, supporting over 17,000 people in the British countryside.

The UK-wide charity, which works to create a real future for rural Britain, funds projects that make a difference in rural communities across the UK, providing grants of up to £25,000 over two years.

This year, five of the 14 projects are Scottish based which between them were allocated £105,200 of funding. 

This included Transition North Ronaldsay who were awarded £13,650 to run a project which will turn the island’s plastic waste into usable products that will benefit the community. These products will be developed with the community, and can be traded in for remanufacturing, creating an innovative circular economy on the island whilst removing litter from our coastline.

Oliver Gibb, Plastic Warden said: “We’re delighted to receive this fund from The Prince’s Countryside Fund. It’s a big step in our journey to take ownership of the plastic that washes up on our shores and is sent away in bin bags, turning it from plastic waste to a usable product within a developing circular economy.

“This grant will allow us to scale up our production quality, developing new and versatile items such as sheets, bricks and posts. It will also allow us to run fun and interactive workshops with the local and regional community to promote our innovative approach towards remanufacturing and raise awareness of the rapidly growing ‘Precious Plastics’ community.”

The Scottish organisations that were award grants were:

• Berwickshire Swap SCIO, Scottish Borders, Scotland, £21,400
• Helmsdale & District Development Trust, Highlands, Scotland, £20,150
• Kilmory Community Fund, North Ayrshire, Scotland, £25,000
• Third Sector Hebrides, Western Isles, Scotland, £25,000
• Transition North Ronaldsay CIC, Orkney, Scotland, £13,650

You can find out more about PCF grants, and how to apply here.