Island communities are to benefit from a £2million cash injection to help support their economic recovery following the pandemic.
The investment by the Scottish Government will form the Islands Green Recovery Programme, comprised of locally-led green projects to help stimulate new economic activity across our islands and aid the recovery of local businesses.
The programme is split into four strands and managed by four partners, delivering investment in low carbon transport, food sustainability and zero waste projects.
Inspiring Scotland has been awarded £900,000 to support a range of community recovery projects as Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) use their £500,000 fund to support green economic recovery.
Zero Waste Scotland will also be awarded a share of the funds, amounting to £300,000, to introduce packaging free shops whilst the Energy Saving Trust supports carbon neutral initiatives through their £300,000 grant.
Islands Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, welcomed the investment.
He said: “We know that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on our island communities. We want to use the learning from impacts encountered and solutions that have been identified during this pandemic to build the resilience of our island communities.
“The Islands Green Recovery Programme will stimulate new economic activity across our islands, helping businesses recover from the impacts of the pandemic and creating new, quality jobs.”
