Reflections from our 2025 Annual Gathering and AGM
On Saturday 8 November we welcomed over 70 members, partners, community representatives and supporters to the Adam Smith Theatre for Greener Kirkcaldy’s 2025 Annual Gathering and AGM. It was fantastic to see such a wide range of attendees – from long standing members to people who have recently moved to the area and are looking for positive ways to get involved in our community.
Our Chair Matthew Lawson hosted the day. He began with a Chair’s Report that provided a clear outline of Greener Kirkcaldy’s priorities that includes tackling the climate emergency while also supporting people through the challenges of rising costs. Ultimately, Greener Kirkcaldy is working towards a simple vision – a Kirkcaldy where everyone can live well, while treading more lightly on our planet.
Matthew introduced a series of highlights showing a year of impact for Greener Kirkcaldy. These included:
- Celebrating five years of community ownership of our building at 8 East Fergus Place
- Rebranding our Lang Toun Cycles Community Bike Shop as an Active Travel Hub
- A new report showed that £1 invested in our Cosy Kingdom energy advice service creates £34 in benefits to society and the environment
- Being reaccredited as a Gold Carbon Literate Organisation for the second time
Additionally, our volunteer Janet Kerr was named one of Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling. And our Community Food Team worked with students from Fife College to develop tasty plant-based dishes.
You can see more highlights from our year and learn about the positive impact we have on our community in our 2024/25 Annual Report.
Our Annual General Meeting
At our AGM, four members of Greener Kirkcaldy’s board were successfully re-elected. Well done to Pat Crosbie, Matthew Gardiner, George McDermid and Jim Slater for stepping us to serve as Trustees for another term.
Our Treasurer Ian Stirton reflected on the year’s accounts and noted that Greener Kirkcaldy’s finances are in a healthy position. Following this presentation members agreed to go out to tender to appoint a new auditor for our annual accounts.
Inspiring speakers
One of the key highlights of our Annual Gathering is our guest speakers and this year was no exception. Our two guest speakers, Zarina Ahmad and Dr Mike Robinson OBE, offered powerful and complementary perspectives on the theme of climate justice.
“Climate work must be anti-racist and intersectional” – Reflections from Zarina Ahmad
Zarina Ahmad is Co-director, Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) & Climate Change Communicator and PhD Researcher at University of Manchester.
She opened the gathering by acknowledging the contradictions of our time: public awareness of the climate emergency has never been higher, yet global inequality continues to deepen. She pointed to devastating events – the genocide in Gaza and starvation in parts of Africa – as reminders that climate change is inseparable from questions of justice, humanity and power.
She invited us to reflect on the moral and spiritual dimensions of climate action. Whose stories are centred when we talk about climate change? Whose voices shape decisions? Who is funded, heard or made invisible?
Zarina challenged the idea that climate change is simply about emissions. It is also about colonialism, control and the unequal distribution of harm - who breathes the dirtiest air, who lives beside polluting industries and who gets left out of solutions. Diversity and representation alone, she reminded us, are not justice.
A key warning in her talk was the dangerous rise of eco-fascism, where far-right groups use nature as a symbol of purity and exclusion. Environmentalism loses its soul, she argued, when stripped of compassion. Eco-fascist narratives distort the climate crisis and fracture solidarity, framing essential policies – net zero targets, 20-minute neighbourhoods – as attacks on ordinary people.
Zarina emphasised that community power and solidarity can overcome this fear. Leadership begins with listening to communities and choosing courage.
She left us with two questions that resonated throughout the rest of the day:
- What does leadership look like when it is shaped by those most impacted by the climate crisis?
- How do we build transformative coalitions that reimagine power and give everyone a stake in climate action?
“There’s no scientific wiggle room left” – Insights from Dr Mike Robinson OBE
Mike Robinson is Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. His talk shared a long view of how far the climate movement has come and how far there is still to go.
He reflected on 2019 as a watershed moment when school climate strikes, ambitious new targets and widespread public engagement created unprecedented momentum. The climate might have dropped down the list of priorities for our decision makers since then but Mike emphasised that the science has been clear for decades. As he said: “If you don’t want climate action, you don’t understand the science.”
He spoke about the need to connect across sectors – faith groups, healthcare, agriculture, civic organisations and to build a consistent, solutions-focused message. “The longer we delay;” he reminded us, “the more it will cost.” Urgency is essential, but panic is not: early action is always cheaper and more effective.
Mike also stressed the importance of education and explanation. Criticism, he argued, is an invitation to engage. When people question why anti-poverty groups or faith organisations are involved in climate issues, it’s an opportunity to show how deeply interconnected these challenges are.
Fairness must be at the centre of every climate solution. Wealth may offer insulation from immediate impacts, but flooding does not care how wealthy you are. Building understanding requires talking about climate in ways people can relate to.
Mike shared his experience lobbying for Perth to become the most sustainable city in Europe – an intentionally bold vision. His closing message was one of confident optimism:
- Be robust
- Be positive
- Be solutions-focused
- Be consistent
Lastly, Mike emphasised that most people do want climate action and they need to be reminded that they are the majority.
A conversation with our members
Following the individual talks, Zarina and Mike came together to discuss these topics and answer questions from the audience. The discussion that followed the talks highlighted the energy and imagination within our community. Members spoke about:
- The need to encourage more imaginative thinking in climate work
- Avoiding the repetition of systems that created today’s inequalities
- Setting ambitious priorities and climate targets
- Resisting the relentless consumerism embedded in our culture
- The power of positivity in keeping communities motivated and hopeful
What emerged from the conversation was a shared belief that community groups like Greener Kirkcaldy have a vital role: shaping priorities, building solidarity and modelling the kind of transformative thinking that is needed to tackle the climate emergency.
Consulting our community
Following on from our speakers we hosted a workshop to focus discussions on what we could do here and now. We are at the mid-point of Greener Kirkcaldy’s current Strategic Plan: A Greener and Fairer Tomorrow, Starting Today (2023-28).
This workshop was the first of several public consultation events to give a voice to local people as we review our plans.
After introducing the key themes, aims and outcomes in the plan, people had had an opportunity to remind themselves of the actions and aspirations in our current Strategic Plan. We asked three key questions:
- What has worked well so far and why?
- What do we want to have achieved by the end of this strategic plan?
- How can we achieve our aspirations?
Staff and board members helped people to share their ideas and capture feedback. The questions generated inspiring/informative/thoughtful and many people commented on how great it was to have any opportunity to share ideas and be involved.
After a final call for action – Is there anything we do that you would like to be more involved with or learn more about? – We thanked everyone for taking part. The feedback will be used to review and update our Strategic Plan. We will share it after we’ve finished the review. The discussions prompted by our guest speakers and community consultation continued over a delicious plant-based lunch prepared and served by our Community Food Team.
Thank you to everyone who joined our Annual Gathering, asked questions, shared reflections and contributed to a day of collective learning. It was great to see so many Greener Kirkcaldy members, partners and people from our community there. We look forward to carrying on the great conversations that started at this event!
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