Our Vision
To be a catalyst for change that helps individuals and organizations tap into their potential for innovation and inspire meaningful and purposeful action. Working from the ground and across sectors, we see solutions in collaboration where community is an equal partner in co-imagination, discovery and delivery of activities, with everyone sharing what is and isn’t working and can work better.
Co-developing Pathways
The way to really make it happen, to push boundaries, join the dots, help develop the strong, sometimes nascent role for communities and enablers to deliver solutions together through a renewed partnership with nature and each other. Active green citizens making policies and collaborations work, calling out and correcting solutions that don’t.
Partnering with Pioneers
Nature needs us; we need each other. Without people with vision and tenacity coming together in their neighbourhood, with the volunteers and workers who make it a reality on outdoor sites across the country, we couldn’t ‘get our act together’. We support and celebrate them, cheer on new pioneers we encounter, ensuring that everyone can participate, and encourage investment in their work.
Protecting Place
We can shape our future, learn from and connect with nature and food only if we safeguard, secure, and accelerate access to land close to where we live. Local Development Planning offers an opportunity to advocate for sufficient and suitable land for community-led growing and stewardship in nature spaces. This is essential infrastructure in growing nature-rich and climate-resilient places.
Producing Projects
Where it makes sense to tackle issues, harness opportunities, and accelerate participation, action, and change through partnering with communities and nature, we deliver www.getgrowingscotland.org with the help of our partners on the ground and the Scottish Government. We help people and places connect to the food system and nature and learn from each other through grassroots inspiration and the help@getgrowingscotland.org advisory service. This works.
Investing in ourselves
Being brave enough to be naïve, not to take the easy route, to get your hands dirty, to make mistakes and change direction. Ensuring communities and people are part of the big nature and climate solutions, not detached from far-off new forests with trees that will take a generation or more to prove their worth in the carbon offset world.
Kenny McCubbin – Trustee
Hi, my name is Kenny McCubbin and I have lived in Ayrshire for over 50 years. With over 45 years’ experience in food growing and climate issues, I have assisted projects in Glasgow, Renfrewshire and North Ayrshire to develop their community food growing community projects. I am also passionate about climate adaptation and mitigation and have worked with grassroots projects, individuals and climate organisations to help address the impacts of climate change. I am currently working for Creative Climates Future in the Gorbals to empower Glasgow’s most vulnerable communities to design climate-ready futures and building resilience whilst fostering positive change.
Lizz Spence -Trustee & Member
I have been a gardener for thirty years now, I trained at SAC Auchincruive, going onto work with South Lanarkshire Council. I have worked in landscape training, run a garden at an outdoor centre on Mull
and was Head Grower at Phantassie Organics in East Lothian for 13 years. In 2016 I began the work of transforming four weedy acres of land in Duddingston Kirk Glebe which is now the thriving community garden: JockTamson’s Gairden.
Emma Witham – Trustee
I am a lover of good food and never happier than when the kitchen table is filled with family and friends sharing food, stories and love. Professionally I have had a varied career but always with an environmental theme. From policy development to teaching and from grassroots action to project management. I am founder of community food charity MOO Food and co-founder of the Highland Good Food Partnership.
Sharon Hill – Member
I am the Trust Manager at Mayfield & Easthouses Development Trust in Midlothian and a local. We developed the Mayfield Community Garden, on the old bowling green and pavilion site, this lovely local asset is a place where people connect with each other and nature, to heal, share, learn, grow food and participate in a range of activities on the site. Tatties, courgettes, berries and other harvests are shared with our pantry and cafe, Local people and partners make this happen.
Karen Davidson – Trustee
I have over 25 years’ experience helping develop and deliver action on local and global challenges, themes including environment, economic development, employability, equality, education and wellbeing. My work has taken me across sectors, from communities in Scotland and industry in the EU. I see that community led action is an imperative for effective and just transition and transformation, and I am committed to serving this fertile space. I co-founded GrowGreen Scotland in 2021 to support and connect communities and enablers, to build local and national momentum with urgency and ambition.
Lou Evans – GrowGreen Scotland Coordinator
I have worked in the community growing sector in Scotland for over 20 years as a practitioner and supporting groups across Scotland of all shapes and sizes to realise, grow and sustain their local vision. In 2021 I co-founded GrowGreen Scotland to support, connect, and inspire communities to deliver their vision through local food, nature, and climate solutions. In my role, I advocate for growing in communities and its multiple outcomes, and I’m a passionate campaigner for communities to receive the recognition, resource and support they need to grow happier, healthier and greener places.
GrowGreen Scotland
Sharing insights, helping to generate new pathways and frameworks. Contact us if you want to connect to our network, share your experience and invest in solutions.