ALL WELCOME
WHO WE ARE
PAT ABEL
Pat Abel has been Chair of Transition Edinburgh South since 2009. She chairs the TES management group which meets several times a month.
Pat is on the board of Nourish Scotland, Scottish Communities Climate Action Network, Edible Edinburgh and she chairs the Community Growing Forum Scotland. She has more than 25 years’ experience in strategic planning issues, including published work.
LYNN JAMIESON
Professor Lynn Jamieson is Vice Chair of Transition Edinburgh South, and a member of the TES management group. Her expertise focuses on research, outcomes, and reporting to funders.
Lynn is an academic with expertise in all aspects of social science research. She is also currently Chair of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.
RITA BUDAVÁRI
Rita Budavári is Youth and Children’s Worker at Transition Edinburgh South and brings valuable experience to our team through her extensive background in language education. She previously worked as a PSA at Gracemount Primary School, giving her a strong familiarity with the Gracemount area and its families. Since 2019, she has been an active member of Trees and Seas Outdoor Adventures, a local community interest company. Her involvement includes leading Hungarian Forest Families sessions and being a forest school assistant with Forest Under Five and Forest Fridays programs.
Rita’s enthusiasm extends beyond traditional classroom settings. She is passionate about both teaching and creating enjoyable outdoor activities. Rita’s personal interests align seamlessly with her professional pursuits, as she enjoys trail running, hiking, camping, and exploring the hidden gems of Scotland.
NORRIE MACPHAIL
Norrie MacPhail is an experienced asset manager and builder within the social housing sector with expertise in sustainability leadership and renewable energy, team building, negotiating and people skills. He has supported Transition Edinburgh South since 2013 and led on the sourcing, supervision of refurbishment and installation of a portacabin on site, which has operated ever since as a temporary project hub offering a small office space, some kitchen facilities and a disabled access toilet.
Norrie stepped down as a Trustee in January 2023 due to other pressures but remains a member of TES and continues to make his expertise and time available.
RICHARD WHISTON
Richard Whiston is our Garden Manager. He delivers open gardening and learning sessions for a range of participants and visitors, including children and young people, adults and community groups, such as school groups, youth organisations, disability services, and pre-school groups. Some of these individuals have additional support needs and are referred by partner agencies. Richard has worked for Transition Edinburgh South since 2013, developing the Gracemount Community Garden as an outdoor learning, meeting, food-growing and recreation space for public and community benefit. He has extensive experience as a community gardener in Edinburgh, having worked and delivered programmes for Bridgend Growing Communities from 2013-16, a youth programme for Edible Estates in 2016 working with 17-25 year olds, and leading community garden sessions for Bridgend Inspiring Growth 2016-17. He previously helped establish and lead a community growing space at The Salisbury Centre in Edinburgh. He has been a self employed garden designer and builder for more than ten years.
TRICIA KAMINSKI
Tricia Kaminski has recently joined TES as a trustee. She was a social worker for over 30 years in the criminal justice system. She is aware of the role trauma can play in peoples’ lives and believes that we need to build systems that allow people to grow in resilience with improved mental, physical and spiritual health. She lives locally, volunteers regularly in the community garden, and is a member of the Friends of the Mansion Group. She is part of SEECAT (South East Edinburgh’s Churches Acting Together) and through that feels increased commitment to the need to protect creation, the community garden being an important part of that. She also volunteers as an ESOL tutor, visiting people to teach English and befriend.
Nuria Lopez Vazquez
Nuria Lopez Vazquez ’s tight relationship with food and food growing dates back to childhood. Nuria was born in a family of cooking chefs or “witches”, as part of the matriarchal line (at least 4 generations back in her lineage). Experiences around the table, behind the bar, growing and producing their own food and building relationships and cultivating the existing ones were always made through food.
Nuria is a feminist researcher, teacher and community organizer and grower. Nuria’s PhD project “soil care, home gardens and monocultures” examines the potential for a politics of interdependent soil care in the call for a regenerative future. Nuria is also keen on practicing yoga as a tool to engage the body and align with collective values and visions to transform societies and can be found teaching community yoga in various locations in the area. Nuria lives locally and has been a trustee with TES since 2023.
As a queer immigrant Nuria is committed to making the garden a place of retreat and joy for queer people from diverse cultures in the local area.
CHRIS MACEFIELD
Chris Macefield is Workshop Leader for Transition Edinburgh South. He delivers outdoor learning programmes for a range of groups, including adults and children with additional support needs. With a background of working in NHS Public Health, Social Work and Voluntary Sector organisations, Chris has over 20 years experience of coordinating community food growing projects in different therapeutic settings. This includes hospital growing and therapeutic greenspace projects at: Midpark in Dumfries, Royal Edinburgh Hospital and Midlothian Community Hospital; along with various schools and community settings. As well as his role with Transition Edinburgh South, he is currently working for The Orchard Project in different locations in Edinburgh. Having studied horticulture, he has delivered accredited training courses in growing your own fruit and veg.
KIRSTEN FOGGO
As the Food and Wellbeing Worker at Transition Edinburgh South, Kirsten Foggo brings with her a wide range of experience, from growing produce and teaching cookery to confidently engaging these skills and passions with the community.
Recognising the need to increase food knowledge in the community, Kirsten is committed to sharing her understanding of the connection between the food we eat and our physical and mental health, as well as our overall general well-being.
Just as importantly, Kirsten loves to share her own enjoyment of food with others!
Gill Walker
Gill Walker was appointed Treasurer of Transition Edinburgh South in November 2023 and is a member of the TES Management Team. Gill retired in 2023 ending a 42 year career as a Financial Services professional and brings extensive sales, governance, customer service and management experience. During the first Lockdown Gill started to research and learn about the affect our food, and the processing of it, really has on the human body and is keen that this knowledge reaches more people in Scotland through organisations like TES.
Gill enjoys spending time with her husband Colin and their two Romanian rescue dogs Mason and Roxy.
Jill Purves
Jill Purves, a resident of Gracemount for the past 15 years, has always been driven by a love for the outdoors. Recognising the benefits of outdoor play and learning for children, she’s passionate about helping the community connect with nature. Both her children have enjoyed the Gracemount Community Garden, and Jill has volunteered her time to support the garden ever since.
This dedication to her community led her to found Trees & Seas Outdoor Adventures in 2019 and, most recently, to become a trustee of Transition Edinburgh South.
Rob Davidson
Rob Davidson is Project Manager for Edinburgh Transition South. He has had a connection with food and community his entire life as he comes from a long line of farm labourers.
He studied environmental biology and worked as a chef in restaurants during that time. This has guided him to a career working on community food projects which he feels is a great way to connect people with the environment, their wellbeing and their neighbours. He has managed and coordinated many great projects throughout Edinburgh, The Lothians and Fife and delivered training at all levels. Those projects include Nourish Scotland, The Fife Diet, Cyrenians Farm, Common Good Food,Youth Vision, The Yard, Lauriston Community Farm and Grow West Fife.
He sees social enterprise, regenerative methods and community wealth building as new terms that fit the principles of the Transition movement very well and brings his experience of management and delivering on those to TES.
To relax he rides bikes and makes electronic music that probably only he enjoys listening to.