This summer there has been lots to celebrate at Gate Church. We've celebrated Pentecost and the Queen's Jubilee, held baptisms on the beach, worshiped together as a church family, connected with other families across the city through our children's activity packs. Another highlight was our summer round-up event: Picnic in the Park. We took church out into community with live worship, testimonies, free picnic lunches, face painting, kids games and much more. It was a great day for all the family. We'd like to especially thank all those who volunteered their time and effort to pull it off - we c ..read more

Buying vs. renting ...... We are still considering what we will be wearing this festive season. We're hoping that many of you have been able to come to our Community Wardrobe and that you found just what you wanted, but maybe you didn't. It happens. Occasionally. So, what will you do now? Will you consider renting instead of buying? We've written about renting clothes before as one of the ways to avoid the fast fashion trap, while still giving you the fashion fix you crave. It certainly makes sense if you want to wear something really special, but have more than a sneaky feeling, you will not ..read more

We're back out meeting the public again. Hurray! Don't you just love it when you plan an event (this can be a work or a social event - or even a combination of the two) and it grows arms and legs. When others hear what you are up to and want to join in. When what started off fairly small ends up being a big, joyous occasion at which you meet new people and learn new things. That's just what's happened to us. Each year we team up with the university of Dundee's Sustainability Officer to run an event, often aimed primarily a new students. This year that is not just freshers, but also those goi ..read more

In 39 days time it will be 1st November It' a special day in many countries National Jealousy Day in Finland All Saints Day, around the world National Cook for your Pets Day in the USA World Vegan Day in the UK the day many men put away their razors as they allow their moustache to grow for Movember For us, it is the start of the long-awaited COP26 in Glasgow. You really can't NOT have heard of COP26 recently but maybe it's one of those things you hope no-one every actually asks you to explain. The name is all over the media, and you know it is something to do with climate change, and that ..read more

We get on average 960 kg of food donated to our Community Fridge each week. Where does it all go? 960 kg, is a lot isn't it? We love the variety of food, and the surprise of totally random items that appear every now and then. But regular visitors will know that we often get crates and crates of one particular food. At this time of year it's often lettuce and salad leaves. Try as we might, we just can't give them all away before their use-by date. You don't think we chuck them out, do you? Maybe we put them in the compost bin? Well, yes, that's a last resort. Before that, we call on the pet ..read more

We love learning a new word. Climatarian We first heard this word during Cop26 - how long ago does that seem now! There were probably more important things to remember, but we rather like this new word. Climatarianism is a new way to eat if you are not ready to go vegetarian, or vegan, but still want, whenever possible, to choose the low carbon option. Of course, it is also a healthy way to eat and is kind to nature. What we really like about this way of eating is that you can take one step at a time and gradually build up your carbon savings. It's also not as rigid as some diets so you don ..read more

It's the time of year when awards are given out. Why, us! Cue modest faces all round :) We, along with C J Lang, were recently awarded the Green Apple Environment Award. To be precise, after winning Gold for the Best Environmental Practice in Scotland, we went on to win the overall Gold National Award. We have now been entered into in the Global Awards...... watch this space! The Green Apple Environment Awards were established in 1994 as an annual campaign to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world. They have admirable aims: to improve environmental perform ..read more

The big day is nearly here That's the day when so many of us waste, waste, waste ...... So while we know you have a lot on your mind right now, can we just ask you to squeeze in a little more? Of the three R's, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, the most important, by far, is REDUCE, but we have a feeling it may be a little too late to remind you of that one, so let's move on. Recycling is not really the answer to our current crisis, but it's important that we do continue to recycle whatever we can. To be honest, it's not going very well. Dundee City Council's latest figures are more than a little di ..read more

We love second-hand items, you know that already. We wear second hand clothes, we use second hand items daily and when we need to buy something, we always look for the second hand option first. OK, what do we need to buy at this time of year? Presents. Is it OK to buy them second hand too? Well, we think so, and we have done so many, many times. We have given presents bought from charity shops and re-selling sites, and we have also re-gifted presents that we received, but which we didn't actually want or like. No shame in that. Or is there? To be honest, we don't always tell the recipient the ..read more

Relax for a moment. This time of year can become quite a frenzy at the best of times and we are well aware that these are not necessarily the best of times. Many of us are feeling quite anxious, aren't we? Hardly surprising ....... there's a lot to be anxious about. Covid 19 is still lurking the climate crisis has not gone away the build up to Christmas can be quite stressful Maybe time for something soothing? Let's have a fairytale for our time. This is worthy of a Disney production, but we don't have that kind of budget, so if we give you film notes, could you please add in your own sound ..read more