Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead Outdoor Education Centre
Proposal code:
AP-2025-06-148
Our project will enable Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead to strengthen our role as a place of refuge and resilience for our local community as we face the impacts of the climate emergency together.
Estimated Price
30680
For 60 years Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead Outdoor Education Centre has existed to unlock the power of fun, physical activity and adventure, equipping young people in Scotland, whatever their background, with life and employability skills and enabling them to reach their full potential. Teamwork, leadership, communication, resilience - skills that have helped Scouts become everything from teachers and social workers to astronauts and Olympians.
With 150 beds, Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead is one of the largest residential outdoor education provisions in Scotland with over 20,000 young people visiting annually with their teachers and youth leaders. The centre is also one of the most significant providers of Duke of Edinburgh Award expeditions in Scotland.
Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead has also been a part of the fabric of the local community for 60 years and a main employer in the village, the centre inputs to the rural economy and brings substantial visitor numbers to the area annually. The centre staff are recognised as a resource to local rescue crews and there have been multiple occasions where fire and rescue, coastguard and ambulance personnel have requested support from our staff. The centre is also the landing site for the village for the air ambulance.
Following an Energy Efficiency Assessment carried out by Business Energy Scotland at our Lochgoilhead centre, we have identified an opportunity to help our community become more climate resilient while also reducing our own energy costs and our carbon emissions to help tackle the climate emergency.
Scout Adventures Lochgoilhead Outdoor Education Centre is built into the local community resilience plan – the Lochgoilhead Emergency Plan - which is coordinated through our local community council and Argyll and Bute Council. We act as a base for major village emergencies and large flood, fire and loss of utilities/resources which can cause huge economic costs to a community already living in an SIMD2 area.
Due to heavy rainfall, landslides and the resulting closing of the Rest and Be Thankful, there have been occasions when the roads in and out of the village have been severely flooded or washed away, isolating the community, sometimes for 4 or 5 days. The community also faces regular power outages with 5 already in 2025. Our community resilience to climate impacts and energy disruptions needs to be strengthened.
Our project aims to install 3 solar thermal panels on our dormitory buildings and install 15 solar PV (Photovoltaic) panels with battery capacity on our lodge buildings.
By installing a solar renewable energy system across our accommodation buildings, during environmental incidents, we would be able, as part of our Lochgoilhead Emergency Plan, to offer heated buildings with accommodation, communal areas to gather in and we would also be able to offer food and drink e.g. a soup kitchen.
The installation of solar thermal panels, PV panels and battery capacity will also help us save on energy usage, reducing our carbon emissions by 2.6 tonnes as well as reducing costs. Our centre faces increasing energy costs, material costs, staff and catering costs, so these savings are crucial also for the sustainability of our operation. By reducing costs we can then ensure more young people can access the amazing experiences we offer by keeping costs low or subsidised as well as ensuring we can then remain a base for major village emergencies.
These changes we want to make for the community play an essential role in our resilience as a community and we would ensure that we would communicate this change as a climate resilience partner for the Lochgoilhead Emergency Plan. Ensuring all are aware of what we are offering in times of need and strengthening our links with the community for the future.
We will also offer the benefits of education and awareness for schools, scouts and other community groups who will be able to learn about the environmental, community and climate benefits of renewable energies and see for themselves what we have on site and how it delivers for the climate emergency and climate resilience.
