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www.advertizer.co.uk december <strong>2015</strong> One World Celebration Hosts LEAP’s Knitting Competition Presentation of Prizes The One World Celebration Event in Bridge of Weir on the last day of October kindly hosted, amongst all their other events and activities, the presentation of prizes for LEAP’s Doug the Draught Excluder Knitting Competition. Lilian Delaney from Home Energy Scotland, the sponsors judged the 10 entries and presented the £50 Rainbow Turtle Voucher prize for the Best Doug, aptly named Big Doug for its 5 foot length, to the Johnstone based Knuts4Knitting group. The ‘simply a draught excluder’ £25 prize went to Lochwinnoch resident, Anne Thomson, who not only knitted a very easy to make home Draught Excluder, named Calder Doug, but also penned a knitting pattern for fellow Helping Hands Craft Group members to use. Mc Doug of Castle Semple Loch won the £25 prize for Most Creative Doug and the Lochwinnoch knitting group winners, Sally, Linda and Maggie have kindly donated their tartan home sewn with fetching tammy to any resident who might need a draught excluder this winter. A Big Thanks from LEAP and Home Energy Scotland to all the competition entrants for their incredible response to this competition and to download the simply Doug knitting pattern or express your interest in finding a good home for McDoug, visit the LEAP website on www.myleapproject.org or our Facebook page. Visiting Our Villagers’ Green Homes More than 20 people took to the bumpy terrain of the villages by minibus to visit the Green Homes and meet their owners, who were on hand to showcase their hard work and investment in integrating renewable energy and energy efficiency measures in their homes and gardens, on their roofs, in their walls and windows and as part of their general everyday household interior decoration. Lined curtains behind potentially draughty doors were on display as well as remote and rooftop solar heating panels with graphs, energy monitors, information boards and fuel bills to demonstrate how wall insulation had warmed their homes like an extra blanket and a couple of pairs of socks in bed. Determined to prove that the sun actually did shine on their homes during the spring and summer this year, monthly calculations had been kept on the actual benefits of reduced energy bills and improved home comfort and warmth. As the latest design in AGA cookers was unfolded to a gasp, the green tourists were keen to gather more information about modifications to earlier designs, learn more about sealing off skirting boards around the kitchen units to prevent draughts and to understand how simple mechanisms such as fans can spread heat from wood burning stoves to other rooms in the house. Questions were asked of the merits of LED lighting, about the opportunities there might be to improve the heat loss in homes from a range of renewables, energy saving systems using both the natural resources and new innovative technology. Expect future tours and information sessions on our villages’ Green Homes next year. A Big Thanks to all our Green Homes householders and to the Green Homes tourists for making the tours fun and informative. 25 25 Make it Happen for Friends and Neighbours Photos – Lillian HES presentation of Best Doug prize at One World Celebration Event - Lochwinnoch Knitting Group - Most Creative McDoug. Now that winter has arrived, it is vitally important for us to look out for our family and neighbours to make sure they get access to the services they might need help with this <strong>December</strong>. LEAP’s makeit-happen service allows our energy team to carry out free home repairs and draught proofing to improve the warmth and comfort at home for those who need it most. We’ve already helped over 30 local homes free of charge including work such as filling holes around doors and windows to cut out draughts, fixing and insulating leaky pipes, adding secondary glazing to single glazed windows. If you or someone you know might need help to make their home more cosy and secure, get in touch with us on 01505 842530 or 612034 or by email to info@myleapproject.org. All enquiries are treated in the strictest of confidence. Photo – Reflections on Green Homes Tour by participants LEAP’s BIG Energy Saving Week - a BIG Success What happens when you mix a LEAP Green Homes Tour, a Biofuels visit with 3 Bill Energy Surgeries, a Bike SWAP and a knitting competition, all in the name of Energy saving? It’s a difficult question to answer! However the response to LEAP’s Big Energy Saving Week at the end of October was outstanding! Residents, householders, local companies, social enterprises, one world organisations, community groups, the Scottish Government and Renfrewshire Council all participated in the weeklong events. Records were broken when sponsors Home Energy Scotland were presented with a 5 foot caterpillar draught excluder crafted by 10 knitters, just to make sure that no draughts entered our homes this winter. During our Bill Energy Surgeries, we launched LEAP’s new energy switching service and four householders switched their energy suppliers to an alternative, saving them an estimated total of £1000 in the first year. Our Houston Bikeswap attracted a whopping 66 bikes with over half of these swapped by families and children looking for an alternative sized bike to ride off with. 12 people participated in the cycle maintenance workshops to learn and understand more about how to maintain their bikes. A Big Thank You to all the primary schools that helped to spread the word and distribute the flyers about the bike swap in Houston and to the partners and local people and groups who supported and took part in all our Big Energy Saving Week activities.