It’s always interesting to see what corporate sponsorship can do to change the landscape of a community and make it more eco-conscious. The front end investment can be sizable but the long-term benefits can go along way towards demonstrating how a community can become greener and save energy. British Gas is sponsoring a program called ‘British Gas Green Streets Challenge’ and aiding 14 different communities in the UK with investments of  £140,000 (about $200,000) to install new energy-saving technologies. The community that is most successful will receive an additional £100,000 next year from the company to invest in an environmental project.

The small village of Casterton sits quietly in the hills of the Lake District in the northwest of England, in an area renowned for its scenic beauty the little hamlet of about 500 residents hopes to win the award and celebrate being one of the greenest communities in the country. The stewardship of the investment has been left in the hands of the locals and so far the village has diversified its efforts. Three homes in the village now have solar PV panels on the roof, half a dozen have energy-efficient brand-new boilers would save about 40 percent per year while two homes will be installing biomass stoves. On a broader scale the villagers shared new insulation, radiator panels which improve central heating systems efficiency and of course this part of the world runs on cups of tea – a small army of eco-kettles has also been called into action. I wish they would do this in my neighbourhood!

Casterton in Cumbria

The local school has also installed solar panels upon its roof. This will generate about $4,000 per year for the school as part of a special tariff system in the UK which reimburses the owners for the generation of excess electricity. In turn the school will donate half of the earnings back to the village who have opened a community energy fund to distribute money earned two other new projects.

Village co-ordinator Ian Ashworth stated the project is being warmly embraced:

“Many of the houses in Casterton are solid-walled cottages, which are notoriously hard to insulate.As part of the challenge we’ve shown residents that there are lots of simple things you can do to make your home more energy efficient, like putting in reflective radiator panels. We’ve also installed a number of solar panels and are really excited about the impact the money generated from these will have on our village for years to come.”

The final decisions are made next year but you can find out about Casterton and all of the other entrants via the official website for the project at www.GreenStreets.co.uk