Greyhope Bay Centre’s ambition to help communities connect with each other, their environment and place has grown from strength to strength. Their recent Festival of Ideas event sought to share its learnings with others and bring together the third sector and the business sector to explore alternative models for creating impactful projects.
The event spanned two days: February 26th featured community groups from across the city sharing their projects, while February 27th focused on exploring how these groups foster engagement that leads to meaningful action.
Day One – The Community Groups
The first day saw four community groups share their green and social initiatives including:
- Torry Retrofit Group – Erik from NESFit, the Torry Retrofit Group, and the Aberdeen Retrofit Project highlighted that one-third of carbon emissions come from heating homes. Retrofitting homes can reduce heating bills by up to 25%. The Torry Retrofit Project aims to retrofit properties across the area on a large scale, providing financial benefits and employment opportunities for the North East.
- Bonnymuir Green Community Trust – Jen shared the story of how Bonnymuir Gardens transformed from a disused bowling green into a beautiful garden and community space. The garden supports biodiversity (including bee populations) and produces food for the local community.
- Bon Accord Baths – Jack presented the ongoing efforts to save the historic Bon Accord Baths building. Volunteers have been working tirelessly to restore the space, which is now used creatively, such as for the upcoming jazz festival on March 16th, 2025.
- Yahya’s Hub – Yahya’s Hub shared their work on transformative approach to social integration to the North East ( City and Shire) and climate justice applying the principles of deliberation, representation and inclusion to their work with unaccompanied young asylum seekers.
Following these presentations, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions and discuss the various initiatives. Special mention was made of Rachel Smith from NESCAN Hub for her support to communities with funding and grants, and Karina for her work in climate justice with the Go Deep games across the city and shire. The range of projects supported by NESCAN Hub was truly inspiring.
A unique element of the presentations was the use of PechaKucha, a presentation style that encourages brevity and creativity. Each presentation consisted of 20 slides, each displayed for 20 seconds, allowing for a dynamic and engaging experience.
Day Two – Co-Creation and Engagement that Leads to Action
The second day kicked off with a presentation from Mark of Stella’s Voice and Nico from Camphill. They shared how a chance introduction led to a successful partnership, built around the shared interest in repairing bikes. Their story demonstrated how openness and collaboration—without the need to claim credit—can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.
Bob and Derek from Our Union Street shared how their small group grew into a movement that now engages the entire city of Aberdeen in planning projects for the future. Their approach to openness and community involvement has led to visible changes, such as planned shopfront displays, and some truly out-of-the-box ideas for the city’s future.
Fiona from Greyhope Bay spoke about the community-driven approach that formed the basis of Greyhope Bay’s next five-year plan. This process began with a blank piece of paper and a community invited to share its ideas. These ideas were refined over time and now form an exciting new plan for expanding the project while preserving the historic Torry Battery. Marco from JCE Energy spoke about how the community-assembled approach has reshaped how his company approaches projects, integrating green technologies into their plans.
Engagement that Leads to Action
The second part of the day explored how groups successfully created projects and engaged volunteers to bring them to fruition:
- Empty Kitchens Full Hearts: Lewis shared how he launched this catering charity during the COVID-19 pandemic, initially providing 10 meals a day, but rapidly expanding to millions of meals. His message was clear: sometimes you just have to start a project, and help will follow.
- Bonnymuir Green (continued): John from Bonnymuir Green returned to discuss the engagement process behind the creation of the gardens and community groups. He shared practical advice for other groups, noting that collaboration and sharing resources, such as business plans, can save time and effort.
- NESCAN Hub: The NESCAN Hub team shared how their Community Development Officers support groups across the North East, emphasising the importance of building relationships and learning about the communities they work with. Jamie offered insights into the value of understanding local dynamics, which can lead to transformative outcomes.
- Karina highlighted the work of the Just Transition Communities Project (JTCP) in addressing how environmentalism intersects with poverty, inequality, systemic neglect and structural racism. Her talk on the JTCP initiative emphasized that true environmental action must consider the unique challenges faced by marginalized communities, ensuring inclusivity representation and resilience.
NESCAN Hub's presentation sparked further discussion on the importance of inclusivity in community engagement. One attendee noted the need for active anti-racism in community work, stressing that inclusivity can change the conversation and lead to more meaningful outcomes.
How to Move from Ideas to Action – Panel Discussion
The final panel discussion featured Lewis from Community Lab, Laura from BMT, and Fiona from Greyhope Bay. They explored how to turn ideas into action, focusing on the potential benefits of partnerships between businesses and charities. Laura emphasised that businesses are increasingly looking for impactful, long-term social and environmental partnerships, rather than simple financial donations. Charities, with their deep community knowledge, offer valuable insights that businesses can’t replicate.
The panel also discussed the idea of creating a union of charities in Aberdeen to amplify their collective voice in government discussions, giving them more leverage in policy-making.
A thought-provoking challenge emerged regarding Greyhope Bay’s relationship with nature. The idea of amplifying the voice of the ocean in governance was discussed, inspired by movements calling for non-human-centred decision making. For example The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has elected the Ocean to be a Trustee of SAMS, challenging anthropocentric models of governance that prioritise human interests over the natural world.
Final Reflections – A True Festival of Ideas
Greyhope Bay succeeded in bringing together a diverse range of community groups and businesses, offering new perspectives on engagement, partnerships, and project implementation. The event demonstrated that sometimes, all it takes to make a difference is to start a project and trust that help will follow. The range of initiatives presented, and the inspiring stories shared, left everyone with much to consider as we move toward next year’s Festival of Ideas.
A special thanks to all who made this event a success, especially Fiona, Natalia and the volunteers at Greyhope Bay, whose dedication was evident throughout.
What's Next?
For those who missed the festival, the full programme and more information can still be found at: Greyhope Festival of Ideas.
Explore the PechaKucha presentation style and consider using it for your next presentation. It’s a fun and engaging way to share your ideas!
Consider reaching out to other community groups in your area to form partnerships. You never know where these connections might lead! NESCAN is a great resource to start building those connections.
Think about how you could benefit from working with a corporate partner. Many companies are now interested in long-term collaborations that focus on community impact rather than one-off donations. How about starting that conversation with you group members or bring it to a NESCAN Member’s Meeting (the next one is Wednesday 30th April).
Read about the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) has electing the Ocean to be a Trustee - Can your organisation reflect on how to include nature’s voice in your decision process.
