Celebrating our Community: AIA Community Development Worker, Julia Priestley

If you had told me back in 2003, when I moved to the UK from Australia, that I’d eventually be spending my Friday mornings singing nursery rhymes in a restored historic Scottish church hall or chasing 1000 yellow plastic ducks down a burn, I might not have believed you. But ten years after moving to Cellardyke with my husband, two kids, and our chocolate lab, Penny, I can safely say I’ve settled into my home away from home.

I work as the Community Development Worker for Anstruther Improvements Association (AIA). While the name sounds official, we are a grassroots charity, predominately made up of volunteers working to improve Anstruther for all. The AIA has been active since 1950, but my role — funded by the National Lottery Community Fund — is a newer chapter for this community-led group. My role is to support the incredible strengths we already have in Anstruther, Kilrenny, and Cellardyke, helping people to take action and make things happen. I’m the AIA’s first-ever employee, but whether it’s working with our dedicated Trustees or chatting with local people about our organisation at outreach events at the Family Learning Roadshow or Bowhouse Food Market, everything we do is very much a team effort.

People often ask what a “typical” week in my role looks like; the truth is, I don’t really have one! On Tuesday, I might be working away at home on my laptop writing funding bids or designing posters. By Thursday, I’m at Dreel Halls — our beautiful heritage building — setting up for a coffee morning or a crafters session with volunteers. I may be meeting new parents at Dreel Babies and Toddlers in the morning and later that day I’m outdoors with a litter picker or helping volunteers collect uninhabited whelk shells for our Shelled Wall restoration project. It’s a unique and fulfilling role that keeps me on my toes.

 

One of the highlights of the community calendar is just around the corner: the annual AIA Duck Race! Every Easter, the Dreel Burn in Anstruther turns into a sea of yellow as members of the community cheer on their sponsored duck, hoping it will be the first across the finish line. It’s impossible not to get caught up in the excitement.

Beyond the fun, we are doing some “big picture” work, too. Creative initiatives like the Beach of Dreams art installation at Castle Street Beach and the Dreel Crafters Poppies Project have shown just how much talent lives in our corner of Fife.

Our organisation has a strong connection with Balcaskie, we are especially proud of the Dreel Burn Project which we launched with our community vision in 2022. This ambitious landscape restoration initiative simply wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Balcaskie Estate. We worked with Balcaskie and Forth Rivers Trust to deliver the Balcaskie Wet Woodlands project. Seeing the environment thrive from nature-based solutions is a testament to what happens when local organisations and estates work together for the benefit of the local area. 

Whether it’s at a monthly Anster Cinema screening, a Vintage Day craft fair, or an AIA coffee morning with delicious home baking, the AIA is here to make life in the East Neuk just a little bit brighter.

If you see me out walking Penny or setting up at Dreel Halls, come and say hello! We’re always looking for new volunteers, new ideas, and to provide a warm welcome to new members of the community.