Community Survey results
East Linton Melting Pot
Community Survey results – summary
September 2019
60 members of the community responded to the survey, either online or in paper form (with post boxes for forms made available at the community hall, library, and Mart). In addition a facilitated session was held with the Brownies to get further ideas of what was important.
Summary
What is most important to people?
The following themes were consistently shown to be areas of key interest, in terms of learning more about it, in daily living and to do something about within East Linton:
Reducing waste and consumption
Recycling and reducing plastic
Renewable energy
Gardening/growing food
Other themes also received plenty of interest and ideas (e.g. energy efficiency, transport, rewilding, tree planting).
Accessibility was also raised: how to make sustainable living affordable, easy and accessible and how to communicate the issues. Whenever events, projects and activities are planned this should be taken into consideration.
Results
Living sustainably
What would you like to learn about (in order of interest):
| Theme | Details |
|---|---|
| Sustainable living | For every day living, and how to do this cheaply |
| Recycling | |
| Reducing plastics | |
| Gardening and growing food | |
| Reducing consumption | Local re-using; how to live with what we have; how to pool resources/organise exchanges/bulk orders | Renewables | Community fuel/energy generation |
| Communication about the issue | How to engage people |
| Housing and energy | Energy efficiency and how to build houses sustainably |
| Transport | Car use and sharing |
| Food sourcing | |
| Nature/biodiversity | Rewilding and trres |
| Sustainable products | Natural cleaning products; energy and resources for online delivery |
| Community | How to work together / build community / live (and work) more locally / create a strategy for change |
| Other initiatives |
What is the most important to you in living more sustainably?
| Ranking | Theme | No. of people that ranked this "5" |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Reducing waste and consumption | 47 |
| 1 | Recycling and reducing plastic | 47 |
| 2 | Renewable energy | 44 |
| 3 | Energy efficiency in the home | 42 |
| 4 | Transport | 41 |
| 5 | Food | 32 |
2. Creating a resilient and sustainable community - your ideas
Is there any thing that you would specifically like to see happening in East Linton and that could involve people across the community?
| Topic | Ideas/Comments | No. of people suggesting it |
|---|---|---|
| Resource exchange | Swapping events: (clothes, toys, furniture, household goods, garden tools, power tools, DIY materials)
Toy library Bulk buying |
12 |
| Renewable energy | Community energy initiatives e.g wind, river
Making renewable energy accessible and affordable Energy storage |
8 |
| Community garden/allotments | 7 | |
| Rewilding/restoring and increasing biodiversity | Creating a wildflower field
Allowing wild plants to spread / reducing use of weedkiller by public bodies Educating the public about the importance of less manicured environment |
7 |
| Recycling facilities and knowledge | More variety of recycling (toys, film, pens, pet food sachets, crisp packets, plastic bags)
Food waste for businesses Easier recycling bins Better understanding of recycling: what can go in and where |
7 | Train station | 6 |
| Food sharing | Excess food / surplus produce shared
Wolesale / wholefood hub / local vegetable outlet |
5 |
| Repair it / Fix it events | 4 | |
| Tree planting | 4 | |
| Cars | Shared transport initiatives
Lower speed limits Electric car charging points at home Session to understand electric cars |
4 |
| More local food in the shops | 4 | |
| Campaigns with local business to reduce less single use, non recyclable plastic packaging | 3 | |
| Help each other grow food | A young growing club
Shared knowledge of gardening |
3 |
| Buses | Campaigns to improve public transport (e.g. more buses, mini bus links to beaches and other places, direct routes, cheaper bus fares) | 3 |
| Skills sharing | Knit it or sew it events
Learning to make what is needed in a household Clothes upcycling |
3 |
| Awareness raising | Education about consumption
Project for parents and children to create a visible message in East Linton |
3 |
| Supporting easy and accessible steps for people to reduce carbon footprints | 3 | |
| More refill options available | Foods e.g dried fruits and nuts
Water filling stations |
3 |
| Bike maintenance classes | 2 | |
| More offroad cycle paths | 1 | |
| Improve walking provisions for pedestrians | 1 | |
| Eco clean product workshops | 1 | |
| Eco bricks | 1 | |
| Lobbying further afield | 1 | |
| Films of positive change | 1 | |
| Greater choice and affordable eco friendly products | 1 | |
| More veggie food in pubs and cafes | 1 | |
| Agree a set of goals to set the focus of the village’s intentions – something we can all buy into | 1 | |
| List of tradesmen/services | 1 |
In discussion with the Brownies, the following issues were suggested:
Litter: More bins, stop dropping litter, litter picks
Stop wasting e.g. electricity, food
Reducing plastic use
Stop eating meat
Recycling
Picking up dog poo
Not chopping down too many trees
Try not to drive cars/ vans too much
Help the land/nature
Stop making homes
3. Joining in
Do you have simple tips, knowledge, experience, contacts you would be happy to share with others?
23 people offered the following skills and knowledge:
Gardening (x4)
Fixing / making things (x3)
Knowledge of nature / the environment (x3)
Planning events (x5)
Fundraising (x4)
Legal (x1)
Artistic / graphic design (x3)
Writing skills / communication (x2)
Social media (x2)
Working with children (x2)
Bookkeeping (x1)
Policy (x1)
Veganism (x1)
Low impact living (x1)
Climate/ environment contacts (x2)
Foraging (x1)
Marketing (x1)
Statistics (x1)
Campaigns (x1)
Strategy (x1)
How would you like to stay in touch with the Melting Pot? ((NB this question was only asked on the online form)
In order of popularity:
Email (x24)
Social media (x12)
Face to face (x10)
Other suggestions received:
Notice boards / posters (x4)
ELDA (x2)
Website (x1)
What types of activities would be of interest to you? (NB this question was only asked on the online form)
In order of popularity:
Social gatherings / community building (x16)
Practical workshops (x15)
Talks and knowledge exchange (x13)
Discussion groups (x13)
Lobbying and campaigning (x11)
Marching / protests (x7)
You can download the survey results as a pdf here.