Hello and welcome to the Eco Trust. This trust is a small charity run by five trustees and is all about celebrating creative work which inspires greener living. We have run the very successful Eco Prize for Creativity for three years. This Prize was awarded for a creative work which positively and imaginatively inspired eco friendly lifestyles. We are now looking to develop this concept into a new online venture that will showcase eco art, created by individuals, companies and communities, and potentially also enable those creatives to sell their work directly online.
We are in admiration of a whole new generation of eco pioneers who are out there doing stunning work and inventing our very green and thoroughly carbon neutral future. Through their creativity, courage, enterprise and independent spirit, they are inspiring us to change the world we live in and create a greener, more sustainable planet. We applaud them all.
Here are our friends who have supported the Eco Prize and others who provide us with constant inspiration.
SUST. The Lighthouse on Sustainability
Sust., the Lighthouse on Sustainability supported the Eco Trust in its Eco Prize initiative from the very start. Sust is hosted by The Lighthouse, Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City, and it is designed to raise public awareness of sustainable design and the contribution it can make to a sustainable future. Find inspiration from: Dumbiedykes EcoCity; My Sust House; and the Urban Energy Farm.
Friends of the Earth Scotland
Friends of the Earth Scotland is our other core supporter from the very first Eco Prize. They campaign for positive solutions to environmental problems, and launched a key campaign - the Big Ask Scotland - at the Radiohead gig at Glasgow Green. The Big Ask Scotland aimed to ensure that the Scottish Climate Bill at Holyrood is strong legislation - making Scotland a world leader in tackling climate change.
Loch Fyne Oysters
Loch Fyne Oysters Trust supported the Eco Prize for Creativity 2007. One of the roles of the Trust is to protect the environment, particularly within Scotland and around the head of Loch Fyne. The Trust is supported by Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd, a company owned and run by its employees, providing oysters for the Loch Fyne restaurants and a growing network of outlets. Loch Fyne Oysters was one of the first businesses to place the emphasis on sourcing sustainable seafood long before it became fashionable. It celebrated its Pearl Anniversary in 2008.
The Ecology Building Society
The Ecology Building Society supported the Eco Prize for Creativity 2006. The Society is dedicated to improving the environment by supporting and promoting ecological building practices and sustainable communities. Ecology lives its values having recently developed a new local impact HQ in Yorkshire following sustainable guidelines to a high environmentally friendly specification.
Otter Farm
The idea for Otter Farm started from two lists of food and one idea. The two were first, the delicious mainly Mediterranean crops that weren’t grown here in the UK, and second, the once-popular English fruit that had somehow fallen out of favour. The one idea was posed as a question: would it be possible to sustainably exploit global warming to grow these crops while ‘paying it back’ by cultivating produce in the South of England, which would otherwise be grown overseas, resulting in low food miles.
This landmark farm has become known as the Climate Change Farm demonstrating how a warmer climate can enable us to produce food previously grown abroad and imported so dramatically reducing our carbon footprint.
River Cottage
Best known for his River Cottage television series and his recent campaign for chicken welfare – Chicken Out – Hugh Fearnley Wittingstall continues to demonstrate the principles which have guided him in the development of River Cottage – self-sufficiency, food integrity, and, the consumption of local, seasonal produce. Hugh lays out his own personal philosophy about why food matters on his website under such themes as: The Joys of Growing You Own; Why Seasonality Matters; and, The Wild Food Ethos. Check out food currently in season at What’s Good Now and the Blogs of his colleagues and associates.
Centre for Alternative Technology
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) offers very practical solutions to the challenges around climate change, pollution and the waste of precious resources. The key areas it works in are: renewable energy, environmental building, energy efficiency, organic growing and alternative sewage systems.
The first launch of zerocarbonbritain took place at CAT in July 2008 during CAT’s third Sustainable Science Symposium. Zerocarbonbritain details how Britain can eliminate emissions from fossil fuels in 20 years and break our dependence on imported energy by halving energy demand and installing massive renewable energy generation. CAT is currently developing WISE – the Wales Institute for Sustainable Education – which will provide a state-of-the-art environmental education centre becoming Europe’s greenest education complex.
The Soil Association
The Soil Association is dedicated to developing a planet-friendly food culture. It is the UK's leading environmental charity promoting sustainable, organic farming and championing human health. One of the highlights of the organic year is the Soil Association Organic Fortnight when people across Britain celebrate all things organic. The Soil Association Organic Food Festival, Europe's largest organic celebration, usually takes place in Bristol and Glasgow in the autumn.