Sustaining Dunbar

History  |  Successes | Challenges |  Contact

History
Since 2008 Sustaining Dunbar has been bringing people together to support new initiatives which create local jobs, help people cut their fossil fuel use and grow more food. Our ‘Dunbar 2025 – Local Resilience Action Plan’ provides a guiding framework for creating a positive and sustainable future for Dunbar and District. We believe that the challenges we face are also an opportunity. As we create a vibrant and resilient low-carbon future for ourselves, we will be creating opportunities for
  • learning new skills
  • strengthening local networks and relationships
  • restoring and enhancing the local environment
  • creating meaningful work and new employment opportunities
  • and much more 
As a community development trust we provide an enabling structure to help get new initiatives off the ground and support other local projects that are in line with our aims. Many of the projects we have initiated or nurtured now run independently.

Success
Dunbar Community Bakery, Co-Wheels East Lothian, Belhaven Community Garden, Community Chicken Coop, East Lothian Community Rail Partnership, Rural East Lothian Bus Users Forum, OurLocality web platform, Dunbar Cycling Group, Dunbar Natural Beekeepers…….
Many hundreds of local households have received support to reduce home energy consumption, walk and cycle more and grow more of their own food. All our local schools have been actively involved.
In 2014 we were selected as Scotland’s first Zero Waste Town pilot project and we are hatching plans for a Waste Innovation Centre.
  
Challenges
We are still struggling to develop an income stream to allow us to become financially more self-sustaining. All our plans to develop community owned renewable energy projects have been thwarted.  We have experienced our share of suspicions and misunderstandings of our motives from some in the local community.

Contact:  
www.sustainingdunbar.org
www.zerowastetown.org.uk
or Facebook
www.facebook.com/sustainingdunbar/
www.facebook.com/zerowastedunbar/