Case Studies

The Community Food Stop Café

Community meals and provision of communal food

People dining in a community hall

In 2025, Nourish Scotland started a community meals knowledge exchange programme. This programme aimed to review what ‘good practice’ looks like for community meals and gather intelligence on the current provision of these meals across Scotland. Crucial to doing this work well was getting a good cross section of meals involved – those with different prices, approaches and, importantly, in different geographical areas/communities. For this reason, we were keen to engage Kyle of Sutherland’s Community Café , given its unique remote location – in comparison to Edinburgh for example where there the landscape of food provision looks very different. We planned to facilitate exchange visits between the meals so that learning could happen between them.

Given the distance to Kyle of Sutherland, we were unsure whether an in person would be possible. This funding enabled the Nourish members of the programme to visit Kyle of Sutherland. It meant we were able to experience, review and properly reflect on the meal. This informed key learnings about the differences in community meal provision across Scotland. For example, sourcing looked very different here than it did for a community meal in Glasgow – as did the menu and customer base. What we found about the current state of community meal provision is that it is increasing, but that it’s not always clear when, where, who is running the meals. For meals that means it’s difficult to share learnings and for customers it means it’s not always clear when they can/can’t go to a community meal.

This work has helped to shed light on this invisible network. In doing so, it will help policymakers understand where community meals fit into the current landscape of food provision as well as inform expectations and help set directions for this type of provision. There will be a report produced in the coming months that will detail the main findings.

Learning Outcomes

  • Facilitated key relationships between community meal providers across Scotland
  • Shared and built on key learnings around payment, customers, dining experience and funding models
  • Developed findings around what good practice means for community meal provision

Community Organisation:
Nourish members

Exchange Host Partners:
Kyle of Sutherland Development Trust

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Nourish

"We know that community meals are a part of transitioning out of a food bank or ‘food aid’ model towards a more dignified way of eating together in community. Some community meals are more successful than others at escaping the stigma associated with food aid and food insecurity – and are therefore more accessible to a wider range of people, not just those in most acute financial crisis. In addition, research indicates that two thirds of people who need help with food are not getting it, in part because of the stigma associated with food aid. Community meals, if done right, could provide part of a solution to some of these issues in the medium term."

Case Studies

Greener Kirkcaldy visit to Whitburn Community Development Trust

Mutual sharing, collaborative projects and shared resources for strengthened reach and impact.

A community kitchen

The tour of the community garden was particularly inspiring. Their use of a variety of growing spaces and seating in a very visible location demonstrated how a garden can be made both productive and inviting. We were especially interested in their use of clear signage and storytelling boards to engage visitors and educate them on the purpose of each growing area. These ideas are easily adaptable to our own setting and will help us improve both the educational and social value of our community garden.

Their community fridge is clearly a well-established and trusted local resource. Through discussions with staff and trustees, we gained a better understanding of how the fridge is managed day-to-day. We learned that they have a clear rota system to ensure consistent coverage, charge for some items to bring in income to cover the fridge costs and deliver a success cooking at home programme. They also explained that building strong relationships with local retailers and food partners has been crucial to maintaining reliable donations. The fridge is integrated into a welcoming space, which helps reduce stigma and increases footfall. We left with practical ideas to improve the accessibility and sustainability of our own community fridge.

We were impressed by how they empower volunteers to take leadership roles within projects. Conversations with both volunteers and staff highlighted the importance of trust and clear pathways for development. For example, we spoke with a volunteer who had been a key player in the start up of the garden. The Trust’s approach to involving volunteers in planning and decision-making ensures that their voices are heard and that they feel ownership over the projects they support. This reinforced our own belief in the importance of volunteer leadership and provided new ideas for how we can more effectively support and empower our own volunteers. In summary, this exchange provided us with a range of practical, replicable ideas and valuable learning. It
strengthened our understanding of how to enhance both our community garden and fridge and deepened our thinking on meaningful volunteer involvement. We are grateful to Whitburn Trust for their openness and hospitality and look forward to maintaining a relationship of shared learning going forward.

One of the key additional areas of learning was around fundraising and income generation. During our conversations with staff and trustees, we learned about their upcoming fundraising community ball – an initiative that combines community celebration with vital income generation. We were impressed by the creativity and ambition of the event and appreciated the detailed insight shared around planning, ticketing and raffle prizes from local businesses. Inspired by this, we are now exploring the feasibility of holding a similar fundraising event tailored to our own community, recognising its potential to raise funds, build local support, and raise awareness of our work.

Learning Outcomes

  •  Gain replicable ideas to develop activities in our community garden.
  • Gain learning about how their successful community fridge works in terms of staffing, volunteers, donations and funding.
  • Learn more about how volunteers are given ownership to lead and develop projects.

Community Organisation:
Greener Kirkcaldy

Exchange Host Partners:
Whitburn Community Development Trust

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Development Trust Association Scotland

"Our learning exchange with Whitburn Community Development Trust was a highly valuable experience. The visit included a tour of their community fridge, community garden, and High Street advice centre. We had the opportunity to speak with a range of staff, trustees, and volunteers. These conversations and observations provided us with rich insights and practical ideas that we can take back to Greener Kirkcaldy. The exchange fostered a sense of peer support and connection that we feel is invaluable in the third sector. Meeting with others who share similar challenges and ambitions reminded us that we are part of a broader movement of community-led organisations working towards positive change. The relationships built during this visit have already led to follow-up conversations and we are keen to continue collaborating with the Trust in the future, whether through partnership work, staff visits, or knowledge sharing."

Case Studies

Door in the Wall Arts CiC visit to Edinburgh Tool Library

Sharing networks for supporting access, re-use and diversity.

3 people sitting at a table

We feel that the Community Learning Exchange with the Edinburgh Tool Library helped us better understand the processes of lending equipment and how to create a robust sharing network with our access library. It allowed us to discuss the nuances and differences in our sharing library and to create some processes around ensuring that it didn’t burden our staff and potential volunteers with time commitments.

It also allowed us to understand how to effectively deal with organisations who may be borrowing our equipment for events and to create processes around ensuring the equipment is returned on time. We established what we would need to include in a user agreement and what policies to have in place for staff and members. We also discussed how to set up a payment model for the different organisations and individuals that would be using this equipment that allows us to safeguard our services.

It gave us an opportunity to see how we could bring members and staff together to share skills and knowledge, creating a community ethos around making events accessible and learning from this work.

We learnt a lot about carbon tracking and how we can monitor and evaluate the carbon footprint our project has and how we can measure this as well as showcase the benefits of our project on reducing organisations buying these plastic products.

We had the opportunity to discuss the administrative factors around the sharing library such as insurance and the My Turn software. It gave us the opportunity to think about how our other offerings such as consultancy and training in this area might be beneficial to supporting organisations/individuals to create more accessible spaces within their events and the additional support they may require from us and how we can provide that.

We discussed how we can promote our access library to organisations across Scotland, curating information to promote the importance of creating more accessible spaces that we can display at events to raise awareness. It also helped us consider the messaging we use around our access library.

Learning Outcomes

  • Through working with the Edinburgh Tool Library, we feel that we would learn about their processes in lending equipment, creating a strong and robust sharing network with our Access Library. Learning about the policies, paperwork and administrative side of creating a sharing library.
  • This opportunity would aid us in creating hyper-local volunteering opportunities to learn skills and build a community around creating safer spaces and accessible environments.
  • We want to learn how to create learning and community opportunities around our access library sharing the benefits with the organisations and individuals that we collaborate with. The Edinburgh Tool Library is an exemplary example of an organisation that has brought members together to share skills and knowledge and create a community ethos around their sharing network and we would like to learn from their work.

Community Organisation:
Door in the Wall Arts CIC

Exchange Host Partners:
Edinburgh Tool Library

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Circular Communities Scotland

"The team at the Edinburgh Tool Library were incredibly welcoming and supportive and said that we could contact them in the future if we had any further questions so we have contacts with experience within the industry should we need any further support. It was a great opportunity to make connections and see first-hand how things run in a successful and established sharing library."

News

Defending Environmental Democracy

April 30, 2025

Blog by Clare Symonds, Chief Officer at Planning Democracy

 

On 25 March, Planning Democracy and the Environmental Rights Centre Scotland (ERCS) hosted a webinar on defending environmental democracy.  The webinar was in response to the current hostility being displayed towards planning and environmental concerns. Against the backdrop of public participation in environmental decision-making being dismissed as NIMBYism, rather than a fundamental pillar of a democratic society, we wanted to bring people together to discuss how we can mobilise in defence of our environmental rights.

Speaking at the webinar were writer and broadcaster Lesley Riddoch; Laurie McFarlane from Future Economy Scotland; and Malcolm Tait, Professor of Planning at Sheffield University with Dr Kiera Chapman from Oxford University. Malcolm and Kiera run Planning for Nature with Planning Democracy and Scottish Environment LINK as partners. Read on for a summary report and link to the webinar recording.

If you were unable to join the webinar on the day, recording of the webinar on defending environmental democracy is available to watch online.

Context on current challenges in politics, land use and planning

Laurie began outlining the political and economic context and the centrality of land use to addressing 21st century challenges. He talked about the economics of development and the environmental crisis, and why tackling this requires a strengthened and more democratic planning system. The erosion of the planning system in response to vested interests, and the prioritisation of shareholder interests over the public interest is why creating a more democratic and proactive planning system is critical to building sustainable places that cater to human needs.

Erosion of environmental democracy in English planning reform

Malcolm and Kiera focussed on planning explaining how the state of debate within planning is myopically focused on policy tweaks, interpretation, and process. With the consequence being a reduction inattention on the material outcomes of development. They argued that democratic participation is being squeezed out of planning in favour of technical ‘solutions’ and centralised policy. The so called ‘win-win’ environmental policies are necessarily developed as a means of excluding communities, their concerns for the qualities of individual sites and places.

Democratic participation is now seen as antithetical to a ‘growth agenda’, even though those communities will have to live with the consequences of this growth. The Nature in Planning project will be tackling this problem in more depth.

Lack of local democracy in Scotland

Finally, Lesley gave some shocking statistics about the state of democracy in Scotland and suggested the reasons for the low election turnouts and community disempowerment.  She gave examples of community enterprises elsewhere and in Scotland showing how communities are filling this void.

To hear about future webinars and keep up to date on our work on environmental democracy, subscribe to Planning Democracy’s mailing list and ERCS newsletter.

Case Studies

Community Led Tourism exchanges

From community toilets to courthouses- why community tourism works for local people.

A group of people standing next to a statue of local fishermen

The six different learning exchanges provided great opportunities to visit and better understand current community led tourism enterprises in the Angus area. An important aspect was the value the hosts gained from the exchanges with knowledge, advice and insights provided by all participants as well as the direct learning from the visit. In total 66 people and 56 community groups and organisation benefitted from the exchanges hosted.

We were able to gain an understanding of how nature led conservation in a former and now restored quarry worked with young people, maintained their assets and supported volunteers to ensure reliable revenue streams. Focussed discussions on collaboration between different assets highlighted how Caledonian Railway, Brechin Cathedral, the Aberlmeno Pictish stones and Brechin City hall work to bring in regular revenue streams to sustain large buildings  and attractions, alongside the role of the community in preserving heritage assets.

Visits with Friends of Arbroath Abbey, Fit O’ the Toon Regeneration Group, The Court House and East Haven Together focussed on creative opportunities to animate the community and the value of community led tourism approaches in tackling resilience, particularly in the winter months when footfall to the town is slow and how the community use these times to connect and plan for the coming months. The pristine East Haven community owned public toilets are a shining example of how to bring tourism to an area, attract funding for cycle paths, generate revenue to invest back into community activity and the important upkeep of the toilets themselves.

The Glen Esk museum and Church have much to share from the perspective of a remote location in terms of indigenous and rural crafts for visitor engagement, with good partnerships with transport to bring in trade. The learning from historic building and churches highlighted the realistic uses for these buildings to generate revenue and allow the building to still function as a place of worship when needed.

 

Learning Outcomes

  • collaborative discussions between the hosts and participants on shared themes (eg sustainability, succession, funding, governance etc)
  • interrogations on specific aspects of the project being visited and the host’s approach to different issues
  • first hand experience of what other communities are doing which is relevant to the participants existing community endeavours or ideas for the future

Community Organisation:
SCOTO network members

Exchange Host Partners:
Caledonian Railway, Brechin Cathedral, Brechin City hall, Friends of Arbroath Abbey, Fit O' the Toon Regeneration Group, The Court House, East Haven Together, The Glen Esk museum and Church

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Scottish Community Led Tourism (SCOTO) Network

"An idea our organisation had last year but couldn’t progress due to a lack of local expertise is now moving forward, thanks to contacts made. A follow-up meeting took place today (5 days post exchange!) between both community organisations, and we are now exploring ways to not only implement our original idea but also roll it out on a more ambitious scale to bring bigger benefits to a larger geographical area. Additionally, we are continuing conversations with other community groups. After last year’s Gathering, we engaged in two learning exchanges with organisations we met at the conference, leading to new developments within our organisation."

Art work on a white brick wall
People walking on a path
A group of people chatting
A women with an apron on and a group of people smiling

Case Studies

Stella’s Voice visit to Cunninghame Furniture

Mattress cleaning and reuse exchange

A group of people observing mattress cleaning

Stella’s Voice and Instant Neighbour are about to start a mattress cleaning project with Aberdeenshire Council. By learning from Cunninghame who have run a similar project for a few years, we will be able to start with maximum efficiency and minimum disruption. By being able to effectively clean and reuse mattresses there will be be less waste and landfill – a saving to local authority budgets, more mattresses available for people – we never have mattresses to meet demand for them and ultimately, less situations where children, for example are sleeping on the floor.

Those that went on the visit expressed ideas such as how this could be expanded to include sofas and other soft furnishings, thereby increasing what can be diverted from landfill and put into good use. The trip also was a good time for Instant Neighbour and Stella’s Voice to talk through, learn from and discuss other challenges currently going on in the sector. We also got a chance to sit down with the leadership team at Cunninghame and discuss wider sector issues relating to reuse – an opportunity that is rare and was only made possible because of the grant from the Learning Exchange which enabled this trip in the first place.

 

Learning Outcomes

  • Correct use of the cleaning machine – There are several techniques to using the cleaning machine and the chemicals that are used along with the cleaning machine. There are several different cleaning chemicals – the correct use of the different chemicals for different mattresses and the amount of each chemical required.
  • Correct handling and storage of the mattresses – ensuring the mattress don’t get damp, are dried correctly, etc. Cunninghame have a system worked out that maximises space but ensures quality and drying are not compromised.
  • Labelling and communication to the general public so that they can know using a cleaned mattress is safe and giving them the confidence to do so. Cunninghame Furniture have developed an effective system/process and the visit will allow us to see, understand, partake in all of this and develop our procedures to run a mattress cleaning project. 

Community Organisation:
Stella's Voice & Instant Neighbour

Exchange Host Partners:
Cunninghame Furniture

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Circular Communities Scotland

"Being on site and seeing first hand how the project can work was invaluable. Theory is one thing, but the practical is another. Our team have come away with a real world working knowledge of how to clean mattresses. Learning the 'do's' but also the 'do not's' from the experience of a project that has now been running for a few years. Being able to observe, document, photograph and video all of this will enable us to setup a really good working model that will allow many mattresses to be diverted from landfill and ensure many more people have a bed to sleep in. We now have a launch date of June 2025 to get the project up and running."

Case Studies

Creative Dundee exchange

Using ancestral and creative tools to connect with nature.

A group of people standing outside a thatched cottage

During our day at The Scottish Crannog Centre, we discovered more about the ways of living and sustainable practices from our ancestors 2,500 years ago – how these resonate with and can inspire our current ways of living, making, growing, sharing and connecting with the land beneath our feet, and how we make sense of the world through experimenting and storytelling.
In the village, we also had the opportunity to feel a slower pace of time and get our hands on ancestral tools. We chatted with staff who were demonstrating ancestral making, weaving, cooking, blacksmithing etc. We also had time to reflect in small groups about our own ways of living and connecting with others and nature, how these ancestral ways of being and doing could be applied in our everyday lives, practices and the ways we work together. In the afternoon, we heard more about  Bioregioning Tayside, their past and present actions and projects, their impacts and challenges, and how we need to expand our ways of thinking and care for the natural environment that nourishes us literally and creatively. Through the presentation and discussions afterwards, we gained a better understanding of our natural surroundings and ways to re-inhabiting them – for example, the natural boundaries that define the Tayside catchment area should be more relevant to us than the arbitrary political lines.

Both The Scottish Crannog Centre and Bioregioning Tayside have radical approaches in the way they engage with (and outreach) partners, audiences, and their local communities, making sure that their voices and stories are woven into their work and advocacy for better ways of live together with people from different heritage and cultures, and with nature.

Learning Outcomes

  • Develop and exchange creative, environmental and leadership knowledge and skills within a network of peers.
  • Learn from and make new connections with radical and innovative community-rooted and climate-focused
    actions and projects across the region.
  • Explore and share understanding of community engagement and creative climate work.

Community Organisation:
Creative Dundee, Dundee Change Makers Hub,

Exchange Host Partners:
The Scottish Crannog Centre, Bioreging Tayside

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Creative Lives Scotland

This learning exchange has generated a sense of hope for many participants, and revealed the importance of storytelling. We also had discussions on how to become ‘good ancestors’, what we are leaving behind, and what future generations will carry on or learn from us. It has given us the space to understand what climate action means and to connect with others who are sharing my values and drive for change. The size of our world, what makes up our life, changes how we value things. We need to better connect with the small parts and nature around us!”

Case Studies

The Haven in Stonehaven visit to Kin Collective

Increased community wellbeing and emerging community needs

Two people smiling in front of door signs for wellbeing services

Our journey took us to Leith, where we visited the Kin Collective, a wonderful organisation doing impactful work.

What’s been so rewarding about these trips is the practical insights we bring back with us. For instance, during our visit to Kin Collective, we realised we didn’t have a toddler potty in our bathroom. A small detail, perhaps, but it’s one that makes a real difference when it comes to creating a welcoming, inclusive space for families. We also loved the way the hub engaged beneficiaries by offering an opportunity to win a voucher for the time to give feedback. It’s such a simple and effective way to show appreciation and nurture a sense of belonging. This is something we can easily implement and also support the work of our Havenites, wellbeing co-workers.

One shared experience that stood out during our visit to Kin Collective was the lack of in-person breastfeeding support. Both of our organisations have worked hard to fill this gap, providing essential services that can make a real difference to new parents. We’ve also shared the frustration that, despite our work in supporting NHS aims, the support we provide often only moves in one direction, leaving social enterprises to deliver health services with no funding.

Learning Outcomes

  • Sustainability and Income Models: To gain a deeper understanding of Kin Collective’s sustainability and income generation strategies, exploring how they balance financial viability with community impact, and identifying adaptable practices for The Haven.
  • Best Practices and Community Impact: To exchange insights on successful programmes, tools, and approaches that improve accessibility, inclusivity, and responsiveness to community needs, while maximising the impact of family wellbeing services.
  • Community Impact Strengthening: To co-develop strategies that maximise the impact of our respective services, ensuring they are accessible, inclusive, and responsive to community needs.

Community Organisation:
The Haven in Stonehaven

Exchange Host Partners:
Kin Collective

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Social Enterprise Scotland

"As we continue our journey, we’re excited to see what new insights and connections the next exchange will bring. The bonds we’ve formed with other organisations remind us that, together we can go further than we can alone."

Case Studies

Weekday Wow Factor visit to Sabhal Mòr Ostaig & An Crùbh, the Selkie Collective

Urban – rural learning

A group of people standing beside a mini bus, smiling with their thumbs up

The exchanged helped us to look at ways to increase the confidence and wellbeing, including the sense of connection, for the Glasgow community participants. All our participants are be over the age of 50 have a strong emphasis on tackling ageism, alongside racism and other forms of discrimination. We were provided with the opportunity to share experience of drawing on the rich cultures within communities to promote mutual understanding, wellbeing and economic development (learning partners: Sabhal Mòr Ostaig).

The exchange offered  inspiration from different wellbeing-focused enterprise activities to bring  ideas back to Glasgow (learning partners: An Crùbh, the Selkie Collective). This helped increase awareness amongst participants of the different ways of connecting to landscape, especially for people who have mobility or additional support needs, as a means of improving health and wellbeing (learning partners: Skye for All (Accessible Walks and Experiences).

Learning Outcomes

  • Improve mutual understanding and connections between urban and rural communities, in particular through a women-led enterprise lens;
  • Enhance Glasgow participants’ knowledge of setting up and delivering health & wellbeing social and community enterprise activities/projects for hard to reach groups (in a rural areas ‘hard to reach’ groups will experience barriers arising from the intersection of geographic distance and socioeconomic factors).
  • To learn about the physical and cultural environment, how to protect and look after it and to appreciate its fragility for both the urban community members and the Organisation.

Community Organisation:
Weekday Wow Factor

Exchange Host Partners:
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig & An Crùbh, the Selkie Collective

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Scottish Rural Action

"We are so grateful for the joy we found on the island, the kindness, openness and generosity of everyone we met."

Case Studies

Scottish Islands Federation Virtual exchange

Understanding diverse approaches to marine litter reuse

Flyer promoting sea litter upcycling
  • Understanding Diverse Approaches to Marine Litter Reuse

The three speakers outlined their diverse approaches to marine litter, between them detailing how they galvanise community efforts to clean beaches and promote reuse/recycling; how a common beach litter item (rope) can be repurposed into a practical product (beautiful floor mats); and diverse examples of how art work created using marine litter is a powerful way of raising awareness of the challenges posed by marine litter.

  • Exploring Collaboration Models

One speaker gave useful insight into the collaborative linkages amongst a network of creatives and beach cleaners on the southwest coast of England that we hope to emulate in Scotland, whilst attendees were encouraged to make collaborative links with each other such as offering help on beach cleans, offering to save specific types of litter that could be used by others, and offers of holding workshops detailing how certain types of litter can be repurposed.

  • Fostering a Collaborative Network

Opportunities for discussion allowed attendees to learn from each other’s experiences and identify opportunities for collaboration. A contact list indicating the types of collaboration that people are seeking/can offer was established and distributed to attendees. A mailing list has also been created of those wishing to be kept abreast of further events/collaborative opportunities.

In addition to the more detailed accounts from our three speakers, the discussion section of the event allowed attendees to learn from each other’s shared experiences – outlining the problems they are experiencing with marine litter in their areas, tips on overcoming some of the hurdles, practical advice, sources for further information, and suggestions for collaborative action etc.

There were also numerous suggestions for what the nascent network might do collaboratively, eg a national story gathering collective with groups feeding back on ideas of objects found on the beaches; production of a collection of postcards of marine litter artwork; collaborative beach cleans; a collective art work eg each individual/group making a fish as part of a shoal; creation of a directory of plastic recycling artists.

Learning Outcomes

• Fostering a Collaborative Network
Participants will be able to actively engage in discussions, identifying shared goals and opportunities for forming a sustainable network that connects beach cleaners with artisans to enhance the impact of marine litter reuse projects

• Exploring Collaboration Models
Participants will learn about successful collaborations between beach cleaners, artists, and artisans, understanding how partnerships can be formed and maintained to transform marine litter into valuable artistic or functional materials

• Understanding Diverse Approaches to Marine Litter Reuse
Participants will gain insight into innovative ways marine litter has been reused, recycled, or repurposed through case studies shared by presenters, fostering awareness of the creative and practical potential of marine debris


Community Organisation:
Marine Litter Working Group

Exchange Host Partners:
Beach Cleaners & Creatives, Clean Ocean Sailing, Ocean Gives

SCA Endorsing Network Member:
Scottish Islands Federation

"One of the key benefits of the event was the opportunity to bring together individuals who often work in isolation, providing a vital morale boost through shared goals and collaboration, reinforcing the sense of collective purpose and demonstrating that, together, we are making a real difference. The exchange of experiences, challenges, and successes highlighted the strength of our collective efforts, inspiring continued action and resilience."