Sharing and learning with Whitburn Community Development Trust

In April 2025 a small team from Greener Kirkcaldy visited Whitburn Community Development Trust to learn from their projects and share ideas. This inspiring learning exchange gave us fresh insight into how another community-led organisation runs its garden, community fridge and volunteer programmes. We left with a range of practical ideas and renewed motivation. Here are a few things that we learned.

Growing ideas from the garden

The visit began with a tour of Whitburn Community Development Trust’s community garden. The garden uses a mix of growing beds, social seating areas and clear signage to invite people in and help them learn. The storytelling boards that explain each growing area were a highlight. These simple but effective tools help engage visitors and teach them what’s growing and why. We would like to use similar approaches to increase the educational value of our own training garden and make it more welcoming.

Lessons from a busy community fridge

Whitburn Community Development Trust’s community fridge is a well-loved local resource. Staff and trustees explained how they manage it day-to-day – including how a clear rota helps keep things running smoothly. Some items are sold at low cost to help cover running costs and their Cooking at Home programme adds even more value for visitors. Strong relationships with local food retailers ensure regular donations and placing the fridge in a bright, friendly setting helps reduce any stigma around using it. These insights will help us to improve our own community fridge model.

Putting volunteers in the lead

We were inspired by the way Whitburn Community Development Trust empowers its volunteers. Many take on leadership roles and help shape the projects they’re involved in. One volunteer helped set up the community garden and still plays a key role in its development. These conversations reminded us of the importance of trust, support and clear pathways for volunteers. We came away with new ideas for involving our own volunteers more in decision-making and long-term planning.

Extra learning and unexpected benefits

Beyond the three main learning goals of our visit, we gained valuable insight in other areas. One of the most exciting ideas was their upcoming community fundraising ball — a fun event with a serious purpose: raising money and support. They shared how they planned the event, priced tickets and secured raffle prizes. We’re now exploring how we might run a similar fundraiser in Kirkcaldy.

The visit was a chance to share our own experiences — especially around partnerships and governance. We discussed how we’ve improved relationships between our board and staff, and we had some helpful conversations about how they approaches the same challenge. It was a positive exchange on both sides.

A Growing Relationship

Lastly, we were reminded of the power of peer support. Spending time with people working in similar roles gave us a boost and made us feel part of something bigger. We’ve already had some follow-up chats and hope to stay in touch through future visits, joint work and sharing what we learn.

We’re grateful for a warm welcome to Whitburn and excited about what we do next, together.

Lauren Brook, Chief Executive