PECT was set up as ‘Peterborough Environment City Trust’ after Peterborough’s designation in 1992 as one of four UK Environment Cities – along with Leeds, Leicester and Middlesbrough – after a nationwide competition run by BT that the city entered back in 1991.
Peterborough City Council was heavily involved in this bid and, on being one of the four winning cities, it set up PECT as a charity to house the environmental ambitions for Peterborough.
PECT has been an independent charity since 2012, delivering ground-breaking and innovative projects of local, regional and national significance, enabling change for a sustainable future.
The Get a Green Grip Peterborough campaign was officially launched by PECT in May 2008.
The campaign aimed to distribute over 5,000 natural cotton bags for free to enthuse shoppers across the city to replace plastic bags with a reusable cloth bag.
The aim was to combat the use of plastic bags, which are used sometimes only once, but can take 1,000 years to decompose.
Investors in the Environment (iiE) is a national environmental accreditation scheme. It is designed to help businesses save money, reduce their impact on the environment, and get promoted for their green credentials.
We provide tailored support and expert advice to help businesses reduce their impact on the environment. The supporting membership around this accreditation scheme gives businesses the help, promotion and networking they need to make their business greener and to receive recognition for their eco initiatives.
Members’ achievements are highlighted at the annual iiE Awards, through case studies and media articles. Commitment is demonstrated with a recognised stamp of accreditation.
By ultimately putting together a credible Environmental Management System (EMS), the scheme also allows businesses to keep ahead of emerging environmental legislation, involves staff in securing operational efficiencies, and raises their corporate profile. Creating smarter businesses of the future.
Running from 2009-2016, Greeniversity was a national green skill share initiative that gave people the opportunity to teach and learn everything from bee-keeping to bike maintenance through free sessions, helping to create sustainable communities for the future.
In a nutshell, Greeniversity helped people get together to share practical eco skills and information. Greeniversity helped people think about the impact of everyday actions by giving them something positive they can do for the environment.
It promoted group learning and encouraged community cohesiveness in a fun, informal environment. Participants gained new skills, met like-minded people, and grew in confidence.
In 2010 PECT launched Forest for Peterborough, an exciting project to plant over 180,000 trees in and around the city and surrounding countryside by 2030. The aim is to plant one tree for every person living in the city.
PECT wants to improve tree coverage to create a network of wooded areas, improving our green spaces, the quality of air we breathe, and also making sure that Peterborough is less vulnerable to the effects of flooding and other extreme weather.
By the year 2021 over 25,000 new homes will have been built in Peterborough, meaning more built up areas and more people. The tree planting will change the city’s landscape, forming a vital network of wildlife corridors and green spaces, threading their way through our built-up areas.
Bringing together communities, schools and businesses for the volunteer planting days means that everyone can get involved with and contribute to improving their natural surroundings.
Forest for Peterborough means so much, not only for the quality of life of city residents today, but for future generations of Peterborough citizens. In 20 years’ time your family will enjoy the benefits of the trees planted today, which will be big enough to walk under.
Faith in the Environment ran for three years. During this time 200 local people from five different faith groups in Peterborough learnt about climate change and how to reduce their impact on the environment.
Since 2010, the five faith groups – Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian and Buddhist – took part in a range of interactive, hands-on workshops about the environment. They also attended green events to share eco-friendly tips with other members of their communities, and created art to showcase what they had learnt.
The Faith project explored how to reach a diverse range of people with an environmental message and how to get that message passed from person to person within the faith community.
PECT’s Love Local was a community engagement project that ran until 2015. It aimed to tackle health inequalities in Peterborough, in particular levels of obesity and associated chronic disease. It did this by addressing barriers to healthy eating through a linked programme of cooking skills and nutrition knowledge.
In its final stage, the project worked within two of the most deprived areas of the city where rates of obesity and associated diseases are particularly high. Sessions took place every week across five inner-city hostels, delivering healthy cooking classes to adults who, for a variety of reasons, are homeless, socially isolated or unemployed.
Topics discussed during the course included cooking tips and techniques, food safety, smart shopping and budgeting. The sessions taught essential life skills in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere where participants could access free education while growing in ability and confidence.
PECT is leading the way nationally with its bespoke Eco Charter for Peterborough schools – embedding knowledge of sustainability issues into classes to inspire the next generation of forward-thinking students.
The framework allows schools to show their progress towards becoming Sustainable Schools and their contribution towards enabling Peterborough to become the UK’s Environment Capital.
As part of the new framework, schools can gain accreditation in each of the 10 themes. Certificates are awarded for each theme, and when a school has achieved five themes they can proudly fly the flag.
For each framework theme there is a target to achieve by 2050, objectives to work towards, plus a list of local providers who can assist with resources and information. The aim is for schools to develop a responsible outlook among the pupils based on an appreciation of the impact of their personal values and behaviours.
In summer 2017, Donald Trump may have pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement but in Peterborough organisations, individuals, and communities came together to show that understanding and caring for the environment is vitally important.
In 2017, PECT’s Green Festival took on a new life as ‘Planet B’. It encompassed a two-week programme of events, performances, film screenings, workshops, commissioned artworks, and a conference – all around encouraging discussion and debate on sustainability.
PECT worked alongside arts organisation Metal and community garden The Green Backyard, with funding from Arts Council England.
“We wanted Planet B to be both relevant locally to Peterborough, but also to engage with wider contemporary environmental thinking and developments”
“It is challenging to consider alternative ways of living to what has become the norm but the process of questioning these and considering what would lead to a fair and respectful global community is what the focus of ‘Planet B’ was.” – PECT’s Karen Igho
In October 2017, Forest for Peterborough reached a massive milestone when its 100,000th tree was planted within the city’s Central Park.
CEO Carly Leonard explains: “We are so grateful for the support of all the volunteers, individuals and organisations who have dedicated time and enthusiasm towards making this project possible.”
“Together we are working to transform the city’s landscape and forming a vital network of wildlife corridors and green spaces. Trees also play a vital role in mitigating climate change and adapting to extreme weather conditions by providing shade on hot days and absorbing water during periods of heavy rain.”
“To plant the 100,000th tree in the city is a truly fantastic achievement, and one we’re incredibly proud to be leading on.”
