Greener Kirkcaldy

You can now vote online to help decide which of more than 76 amazing community projects across Kirkcaldy and surrounding areas receive funding through You Decide. You can vote up to five times in each of the four categories until Sunday 30 March. Vote now - https://lnkd.in/eQXPrqRd About our project - Cooking with Confidence is included in the community and social category. We want to support families with neurodiversity to learn essential life skills, increase their confidence and socialise. Thanks to Jackie from our Community Food team for sharing more about the project in this video.

Happy International Women's Day! 💪 Staff and volunteers from across our teams are showing their support for this year's theme of Accelerating Action for gender equality. Here at Greener Kirkcaldy we've made some positive steps. - 2/3rds of our leadership team are female - We have introduced unconscious bias training for staff - We are part of the Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme - People can access free sanitary products at our community building We know there is always more to do to tackle inequalities. Greener Kirkcaldy's equalities working group is to make sure we improve diversity and inclusion in all areas of the charity. You can find our equalities plan on our website. 👇 https://lnkd.in/eqHuK2EC

Meet Esme and Kit! We have recently recruited two new staff to take care of our gardens at Ravenscraig Walled Garden and 8 East Fergus Place. Esme Armour Hi, my name is Esme. I am excited to join Greener Kirkcaldy as Nature and Growing Projects Coordinator. Kit Cubitt is also new to the team as a Community Garden Worker. Kit and I look after the Greener Kirkcaldy Training Garden at Ravenscraig Walled Garden and the Climate Friendly Garden at 8 East Fergus Place. We are running training and community events throughout the year. We’re keen to hear from you what types of event you might be interested in! Before coming to Greener Kirkcaldy, I worked as a community gardener at Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens in Nottingham. We grew fruit and veg organically to sell at affordable prices to the local, inner-city community. The garden also provides a green haven for people and wildlife. I also worked for Ellie’s Wellies Organic Gardening, where I learned how to create and maintain gardens using wildlife (and climate!) friendly methods. My first foray into gardening was through volunteering at Woodlands Community Garden in Glasgow about 13 years ago, where I learned that getting your hands in the soil is good for you! I’ve continued volunteering at different projects ever since, it’s a great way to learn new approaches to growing and meet interesting people. I love growing cut flowers alongside vegetables, and have also taken classes in floristry. Kit Cubitt Kit has spent most of his life travelling around and working in a variety of farms, gardens, orchards, and smallholdings. These were both close to home and further afield. Experiencing a range of climates, growing techniques and challenges in these places gave Kit a rich and varied skill set. Combined with a deep love of nature this informs his approach to work as a Community Gardener with Greener Kirkcaldy. He is passionate about protecting and celebrating our planet. He loves to share that enthusiasm with others. He says: “Community gardens are magical spaces. Learning, exploring and healing happen very naturally as we collectively tend to a plot of land. I find the veggies we produce – while beautiful and tasty- are often secondary to the enormous social benefits we gain from growing them together.” One aspect of the garden we’re really excited to work on this year is compost making. The community kitchen at East Fergus Place is a great source of food waste, but it needs careful management to balance the veg peelings with higher carbon materials, and prevent it becoming anaerobic (or stinky slime!). We are looking at ways to help share the skills of compost making with volunteers and staff in the kitchen. This means we can produce high quality compost and grow even more food!

We have exciting opportunities to join our Cosy Kingdom team! The deadline for applications is Sunday 16th March. Visit our jobs page for more information. Energy Advisors (permanent and maternity cover) - We are looking for two enthusiastic energy advisors to work within the Cosy Kingdom partnership. You will provide home energy advice and support to householders across Mid and West Fife. This includes support to help people struggling to heat their homes, advice on reducing energy and tips on making homes more climate friendly. Full training is provided. Both positions are full time (35 hours a week) One position is permanent. One is a maternity cover (fixed term until Friday 26th June 2026). You can apply for either or both roles. Handyperson - We are looking for a handyperson to support householders with simple energy-efficiency measures in their homes. This includes putting up curtains, fitting LED light bulbs and installing radiator panels and draught proofing. You will also be responsible for cleaning and maintaining Greener Kirkcaldy’s premises. Full training is provided. This is a full time permanent position (35 hours a week). https://lnkd.in/ezS_-E3s

Say hello to our new Chair, Matthew Lawson 👋 After recently joining our board, he has now stepped up to the role of Chair. Matthew said: “Greener Kirkcaldy is an incredible community-led charity making a real impact locally and across Fife through its, projects, partnerships and volunteers. I’m excited to support its work to bring people together, tackle the climate emergency and support people through fuel poverty and food insecurity.” Read more in our article

Last chance to apply! Applications close tomorrow (Wednesday 26th February).

We have two exciting opportunities to join our Community Food Team. Development Worker (Community Food) - We are looking for an enthusiastic and passionate individual to join our Community Food Team and play a key role in running a vibrant and busy community kitchen and delivering a varied programme of community events and activities. Community Kitchen Assistant - We are looking for an enthusiastic Kitchen Assistant to support the running of a vibrant and busy community kitchen. This is a great opportunity to gain experience working in a busy kitchen environment. These roles are both part time positions (17.5 hours a week). Fixed term until 31st March 2026 with the possibility of extension, subject to funding. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 26th February. Learn more about the roles and how to apply on our website.

It is with profound sadness that we share the news that our friend and colleague Walter passed away recently after a courageous battle with cancer. Walter was a passionate advocate for both people and the planet. He was committed to tackling the climate emergency and supporting those in need and always did so with a smile on his face. He’ll be remembered for his kindness, generosity and positivity. We’ll miss him more than words can express. As well as a valued friend & colleague, Walter was a proud and devoted husband, father and grandfather. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.

We have been sharing #Veganuary content across our social media throughout January. It's been a great collaboration project between our Development and Communications Team and Community Food Team. A highlight has been the Cooking with Greener Kirkcaldy video sharing how to make scrambled tofu! Available to watch on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. We plan to do more cook-along style videos over the coming year, sharing fun and interesting recipes. 🧑🍳

Recently, Ralph and Peter from our Active Travel team ran their first Build Your Own Bike course at Fife College. When asked "Where will you go first on your new bike?" one of the participants said "I dunno, I could go anywhere!!" At the end of the session Ralph said “you’ve just built a bike out the box!" and another participant said "honestly I didn't think I could do it." They all now have their own bike and can proudly say they built it themselves. Well done to all!