Volunteer Assembly

Volunteer Assembly 1
The Duddingston Conservation Society can now re-pot and sell plants in all weathers!

PLEASE NOTE: We are taking a wee break over the next few months to revise and refresh our Volunteer Assembly programme to make it the best it can be for people, place and planet. BUT, we’d still love to hear your ideas! Please do still fill out the form (linked below) to tell us about your good idea, and we can then be in touch once when we know if and how we can help!

  • Are you a change-maker in your community?
  • Do you have a good idea? Good for people, place and/or planet?
  • Do you need tools, skills and human power to turn it into reality?

This is where the Volunteer Assembly comes into action and we want to hear from you!

We have tools, skills and human power*

Submit your idea via the form below and get a chance to come and pitch it to our next Volunteer Assembly (see dates below). If your pitch is successful, volunteers will help you make it a reality in the coming months!

Submit your idea

We particularly welcome ideas from individuals and organisations that we’ve not worked with before.

*A small budget is available for materials for the build, snacks for volunteers, or any other relevant items.

How does it work?

1. Feasibility review

Once your idea has been submitted, we’ll review its feasibility.

2. Selection

If our team of volunteers can help, you’ll be shortlisted to come and pitch your idea directly during a Volunteer Assembly.

There will be 4 projects on the shortlist.

3. Pitches

You have 2 minutes to pitch! We’ll send you advice on how to make the best impression.

Once all groups finish pitching, volunteers have about 20 minutes to ask individual questions, and then voting starts.

Voting determines which 2 of the 4 projects will become a reality.

Volunteer Assemblies are social events, so we have some food and refreshments before, during, and after settling in to listen to the pitches.

4. Planning

Once the 2 winning projects are chosen, a volunteer project manager is nominated for each. This is the volunteer who helps bring everything together (from budget to design, to workshop access) with support from our staff.

5. Call out and build!

Once a plan is in place, our volunteers and your community will come together, with tools and materials, and do the actual build!

Recent builds

Volunteer Assembly 2

Our Tooligans were at it again over a weekend in November, supporting Ferry Rd greengrocer/refillery @gullsgrocery to upgrade their shelving and storage solutions. Gulls Grocery are absolutely wonderful people, not just providing a shop, but supporting the community that supports them (free winter coats etc for anyone that needs one – no questions asked).

Past projects

Other projects we have undertaken so far include:

– making a set of giant musical instruments for Dads Rock,

– designing and building a garden space with a Cyrenians community,

– building a large and beautiful bar for the Hidden Door Festival,

– reshaping a Bikes for Refugees container workspace,

– designing and setting up an irrigation system for a community garden in the Meadows,

– building a range of large planters for the Grass Roots Remedies cooperative to run their classes (read all about it in their lovely blog post )

– building a potting shed, outdoor furniture, and a shop for a community garden in Duddingston (watch the video),

– and many others, we even repaired a pirate ship!

Let’s see what we can do together!

Not sure we can help?

Any questions? Drop an email to hello@edinburghtoollibrary.org.uk.

Reach out if you’re not sure about applying. We’ll give you a call and help you figure out if this is the right opportunity for your idea.

For example, if you don’t have a lot of flexibility, or you need something built by a fixed date and have a bit of money, we can still help, but we might recommend you for our Tools For Life programme. (This is a programme where we pair mentors and trainees to build things for community groups like yours while helping raise funds for the Tool Library.)

Volunteer Assembly 12

Meet Dorothy our mascot

Dorothy the Chop Saw happily comes along to every outside build we do in the community. From bird tables, potting sheds, even a vegetable shop, with her power and versatility, Dorothy makes any project possible. Your donation will make sure this scheme continues to help both Dorothy and local communities thrive.