A chance question about an orchard sparked something unexpected in this Aberdeenshire market town. Now, a growing collective is proving that community passion and financial sustainability can grow from the same soil. It started with fruit trees. Katrina, an ecological designer juggling young children and a fledgling business, posted what she thought was a simple question on Facebook: how do people feel about the Huntly Community Orchard? "The response completely took me by surprise," Katrina recalls. "People were incredibly passionate. About green spaces, about food, about fairness. But what struck me most was how many felt they had no voice. Things were being done to them, not with them." The orchard project eventually moved in a different direction, but Katrina couldn't shake the conversations that had followed. People with wildly different views had found common ground in caring about their town's natural spaces. The question was: how could that energy become something constructive? The Unlikely Founder On paper, Katrina was entirely the wrong person to attempt what came next. New to the area, minimal local network, no spare time, and admittedly "very new" to the intersection between ecological and community resilience she was so interested in exploring. "I wanted it to happen badly, but I would have been too scared to start alone," she admits. It took encouragement from Abi, her co-founding director, and Claudia from Deveron Projects to take the leap. Securing Firstport's Start It grant gave them the confidence to formalise what would become the Huntly Greenspace Collective, now operating as Greener Huntly. Even then, an accountant's response to their social enterprise model summed up the uphill battle: "Why would you work hard and not keep all the profits for yourself?". "I was annoyed," Katrina says, thinking back on that meeting, "because it seemed obvious to me that businesses should really have social and environmental obligations. He really did not understand that perspective. But it also made me more determined. This isn't charity. It's about showing what happens when you stop financial erosion and keep the pound circulating in your own area. Everyone gets paid fairly, but excess profits are used for good, on a local level. That's empowering." Why Huntly? There's something particular about this place that makes the model work. "Huntly has always had to get on with it themselves," Katrina observes. "Geographically isolated, people have learned that working together is how things get done. No one else is going to do it for them." That independent spirit runs through the town's recent history. The Huntly Development Trust, Deveron Projects, and Gordon Rural Action for example all have contributed to turning around what had become a struggling former market town. But more is needed." People still express a sense of hopelessness," Katrina says. "And meanwhile, nature's collapse is real. So we need to move fast. The vision Huntly Development Trust created through their town-wide consultation isn't just a nice document. It's a North Star. But to act on it, we needed to organise ourselves in a way that we could act." The structure of greener Huntly provides scaffolding - insurance, tools, coordination, funding applications - for people to lead on projects they're passionate about. If someone's idea doesn't clash with existing priorities, aligns with the collective's objectives and values, and they can line up the resources, it can go ahead. Rather than everything needing to be a community priority, the structure creates space for individual initiative within a shared framework. The Long Game Progress has been slower than anticipated. Katrina thought they'd be fully operational within a year; instead, it's been a gradual process of building clarity about what they actually do and what's possible. "Things only really accelerated when more directors came on board in 2025, asking the right questions and using their experience to shape greener Huntly further." she explains. "In the beginning, it wasn't clear—not to people, not even to myself. The vision was there, but I had no experience in how to implement any of that into governance." The model they've built is deliberately responsive. Rather than imposing projects, Greener Huntly starts with listening. Community conversations shape "greener intentions"—priorities that are then assessed against the collective's values, potential impact, and feasibility. Members are asked to give weight to the different intentions as well. All this makes it clear what are feasible priorities that we can work on both in the short and in the long term. Directors then develop projects to deliver on these priorities. What sets this apart from typical third sector organisations is the financial model. Greener Huntly isn't waiting for grants to sustain operations indefinitely. Instead, they're building trade income streams: such as a community plant nursery selling locally-adapted, field-grown plants; greenspace contracts for farms, crofts, and gardens; and training programmes in regenerative practices. The work supports local land based enterprises and keeps money circulating in the area, building both skills and wealth within the community. That income funds the ongoing regeneration work, creating a self-sustaining cycle rather than dependency on external funding rounds. It's a structure designed to move swiftly when needed, without being held back by competing interests, while ensuring the projects people care about can continue beyond any single grant cycle. Listening Before Selling The collective has now secured funding for the Huntly Toon Gardeners, which will run drop-in volunteer gardening sessions across council-owned public spaces. It's also supporting Dawn, who has been running the Huntly Seed Bank for six years, helping people grow their own food. A small act of revolution really when you think about it. Last year, the collective completed baseline habitat mapping of Huntly's greenspaces, providing the ecological foundation for restoration work ahead. All of these projects emerged from community conversations about isolation, rising living costs, and the desire for practical, accessible activities that build skills and connection. "When you put listening before convincing, it becomes a dialogue," Katrina reflects. "I could address people's specific concerns rather than have a sales pitch ready. That's what brought new directors on board - conversations based on genuine understanding." It's this ethos - responsive, community-led, grounded in real needs - that underpins everything Greener Huntly does. Looking Ahead The Town Team's vision spoke of "a habitat mosaic of orchard, meadow, scrub, tree group and wetland" in what was "currently a relatively dormant space." Greener Huntly is taking that vision further, exploring how the greenspace itself can support business that funds the work needed to bring it to life. "We believe a greener future and financial sustainability can go hand in hand," Katrina says. "We want to proof it can be done. Not through charity, but through a model where the community creates wealth that stays local, regenerating both nature and the people who depend on it." It's early days, but the Facebook question that started it all has evolved into something more substantial: a working model for how communities can take back control of both their greenspaces and their economic futures, one conversation at a time.