February 2022
Dear Sustaining Dunbar Member,
The New Year is a time when many of us are looking to the coming months and planning for change. At Sustaining Dunbar this is an on-going and urgent theme that drives our work as a Community Development Trust.
In October we joined with other local groups in a day of celebration to mark the launch of the Pilgrimage for COP 26 and some of our Members completed the route from Dunbar to Glasgow.
Of course opinions vary on the achievements and outcomes of the Conference, however goals were set, commitments made, and we hope it marks a shift in awareness and understanding of the agenda. Regardless of what politicians may or may not do we strongly believe that community development processes are fundamental to promoting the vision and action we need to respond to the challenges we face.
As a Member of Sustaining Dunbar you will be aware of our collaboration last year with the Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace to create the exhibition ‘John Muir -Earth, Planet, Universe’ and the ‘What Next’ plan which arose from the What If project which brought together diverse groups across our community to explore how we can become a place in which everyone can thrive within a flourishing environment. We were inspired by Rob Hopkins’ book ‘From What Is to What If – unleashing the power of the imagination to create the future we want’ and used some of his ideas to structure our process.
What emerged was a picture of a community that is resourceful and creative, led by people with generosity of spirit and commitment to building a stronger and more connected community. But our work is never done and there is still a way to go.
Within our Members we know there is a wealth of untapped potential to be unleashed and used to drive the changes we need to make. We think you could be one of the people who can help to make this happen.
We are looking to develop opportunities for our Members to be involved in activities that are satisfying, meaningful and practical.
There are ideas under development such as a community owned solar energy project, an emerging Local Good Food Alliance looking to promote local food production and processing, and the well-established Belhaven Community Garden that is extending its activities. We would like to involve our community in developing a vision for Belhaven Hospital that can inform the NHS planning process.
Without a doubt you will have your own ideas to add to the mix.
We would love to have a conversation with you to explore possibilities and hear any suggestions or feed back that you would like to offer. You could join us on one of our Second Sunday Strolls or meet someone from the Board at a time of your choosing. Please do get in touch.
Best Wishes
Jo McNamara – Sustaining Dunbar Chair
board@sustainingdunbar.org